Introducing the 34th Class for the JMU Athletics Hall of Fame

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Six elite student-athletes and three former head coaches are among the eight individuals selected for the James Madison Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2022, the 34^th class to be inducted.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2022 will include: standout swimmer (1997-2001) and coach (2004-2013) Samantha Smith Barany; former women's basketball head coach Kenny Brooks (2002-2016) and one of his star athletes, Dawn Evans (2007-2011); football quarterback Rodney Landers (2005-2008), long-time women's soccer head coach Dave Lombardo (1990-2017), baseball catcher Jake Lowery (2009-2011), track runner Anthony Wallace (2000-2003) and golfer Jay Woodson (2000-2004).

The induction ceremony will be held on Friday, September 9, 2022 in the JMU Festival and Conference Center. Ticket sales for the event will be announced during the spring.

Nominations for the JMU Athletics Hall of Fame can be submitted online by any individual at any time. All candidates are considered according to the Hall of Fame selection criteria.

JMU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2022

Samantha Smith Barany ('01) – Women's Swimming & Diving (Athlete 1997-2001, Head Coach 2004-2013)

A standout student-athlete and coach for JMU women's swimming and diving, Samantha Smith Barany is one of only two individuals in JMU Athletics history to win a conference championship as both an athlete and a coach, joining fellow Hall of Famer Shelley Klaes. In 2001, she helped lead JMU to its first team title since 1994. As an athlete, she won individual CAA Championships in 2001 in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and team titles in the 200- and 400-yard medleys and established JMU program records in all four events. She was the first in program history to achieve a NCAA qualifying standard, which she reached in the 100 breaststroke. As a coach, she gradually built the program to consistent top-three finishes in the CAA, emerging with a championship in 2012. The Dukes have finished first or second every season since. She was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2012. Accomplishments by her athletes as coach included an Olympic qualifier, US Olympic Trial qualifier, the program's first NCAA qualifier, 30 NCAA B qualifying marks, 13 relay NCAA B qualifying marks, 65 school records, two CAA records and two league Rookie of the Year honorees. Samantha Smith Barany continued her impact on the sport and the program, departing for family reasons but working as championships coordinator for the CAA, including the swimming and diving event, among others.

Kenny Brooks ('92) – Women's Basketball (Head Coach 2002-2016)

The all-time winningest head coach in the storied history of JMU women's basketball, Kenny Brooks went 337-122 (.734) in 14 seasons as head coach, breaking Shelia Moorman's previous record in 2015. He became interim head coach in 2002, finishing the season 16-10, followed by 13-18 and 18-11 the next two years before reeling off 11 consecutive campaigns of 24 or more victories. The Dukes won five CAA Championships (2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016) under Brooks with five NCAA appearances. He was named CAA Coach of the Year four times (2007, 2014, 2015, 2016) and ranks second all-time in both CAA Tournament coaching victories (27) and victories in CAA games (220). Six athletes were named CAA Player of the Year under Brooks: Meredith Alexis (2007), Tamera Young (2008), Dawn Evans (2011), Kirby Burkholder (2014), Precious Hall (2015) and Jazmon Gwathmey (2016). JMU achieved postseason play every season from 2006 through 2016, including the second round of the NCAA Championship in 2014 and runner-up of the WNIT in 2012. Young and Lauren Okafor became the first WNBA draft picks in program history, with Evans and Burkholder also earning invitations. A Shenandoah-Valley native from nearby Waynesboro, Brooks was a four-year letterwinner for JMU men's basketball under Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell. He ranks fourth in career 3-point percentage at 41% (82-200). The two-year team captain played in 107 games with 606 points, 216 assists and 128 rebounds. He continues his coaching career at Virginia Tech, with a 118-65 record as of Feb. 8 in six seasons to stand at 455-186 overall in his coaching career.

Dawn Evans ('11) – Women's Basketball (2007-2011)

2010 Womens Basketball Head and Shoulders

2010 Womens Basketball Head and Shoulders

One of the most prolific scorers in women's basketball history at James Madison, the Colonial Athletic Association and the state of Virginia, Dawn Evans accumulated 2,667 points for an average of 21.3 points per game over four seasons with the Dukes. Both marks are JMU records and stand second in CAA history, trailing only WNBA All-Star Elena Delle Donne. Evans still ranks as the all-time record-holder for career 3-pointers in the CAA with 387 (second place is 323) while also ranking third in career free throws (578), sixth in free throw percentage (81.5%) and 10^th in assists (564). She was a key cog to a successful era under Kenny Brooks, going 100-35 in her four-year journey with CAA Championships in 2010 and 2011 to clinch NCAA Tournament spots. The 2009-10 Dukes squad spent three weeks ranked in the USA Today top-25 poll. Evans was a three-time First Team All-State and All-CAA selection and was Rookie of the Year in Virginia in 2008. For the 2009-10 season, she went on to rank fifth nationally with a school-record 24.6 points per game. Early in that season, in December of 2009, Evans was diagnosed with FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis). In the spring, she became an ambassador for The NephCure Foundation, which battles kidney diseases. She earned the prestigious John H. Randolph Inspiration Award from the CAA and was a finalist for the Lowe's Senior Class Award, the V Foundation Comeback Award and NCAA Woman of the Year. Her story was featured in Sports Illustrated and "The Real Winning Edge" national TV program, among others.

Rodney Landers ('09) – Football (2005-2008)

A dynamic, dual-threat offensive talent, Rodney Landers quarterbacked the Dukes for two seasons as the starter in 2007 and 2008, leading one of the best squads in program history in 2008 to a No. 1 ranking for much of the season and the top seed in the FCS playoffs before finishing in the semifinals. He was runner-up for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in the nation after passing for 1,534 yards with 21 touchdowns to go with 1,770 yards rushing and 16 scores. He was a Second Team All-American, CAA Offensive Player of the Year and winner of the Dudley Award as the best Division I football player in Virginia. As a quarterback, Landers set the JMU single-season rushing record in 2008 while also completing 63.3% of his passes with only four interceptions. He averaged 126.4 rushing yards per game. As a junior in 2007, he ranked 14^th in the nation for pass efficiency (148.22) and 20^th in total offense (245.9 per game). He rushed for 1,273 yards and passed for 1,678. Among all players, Landers ranks third in career rushing yards at JMU with 3,477, fourth in rushing touchdowns (31), sixth in all-purpose yards with 3,562 and sixth in total offense with 6,765 yards.

Dave Lombardo – Women's Soccer (Head Coach 1990-2017)

Dave Lombardo Hall of Fame

Dave Lombardo started the women's soccer program at JMU in 1990 and in 28 seasons went 337-222-35 for a .597 winning percentage, posting a winning record in 23 of the 28 campaigns. At the time of his retirement in 2017, he ranked 12^th all-time among NCAA Division I women's soccer head coaches with 415 total victories in 35 years as a head coach at four-year institutions. He has 12 total NCAA appearances as a head coach with 11 at JMU (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015). The five consecutive NCAA appearances from 1995 to 1999 helped JMU post the 12^th-most wins among all Division I programs for the decade of the 1990s. Lombardo led the Dukes to four CAA Championships and was CAA Coach of the Year in 1996, 2007 and 2013, to go along with three state Coach of the Year honors (1995, 1996, 2007). JMU had a winning league record in 23 of 25 CAA campaigns with three regular-season titles and reached at least the semifinal round of the CAA in 16 seasons. The Dukes had 83 All-CAA selections with Lombardo at the helm, including 2008 CAA Player of the Year Corky Julien and 2016 CAA Player of the Year Ashley Herndon. To date, six of his student-athletes have been selected to the JMU Athletics Hall of Fame. Lombardo went 78-35-8 in seven seasons at the helm of Keene State and was later inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. Just prior to announcement of his JMU hall honor, he was also named to the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame.

Jake Lowery ('17) – Baseball (2009-2011)

2010 Baseball Head and Shoulders, Cropped & Sized

2010 Baseball Head and Shoulders, Cropped & Sized

Architect of one of the greatest single seasons in JMU history in any sport, Jake Lowery anchored a powerful lineup in 2011 to the program's second CAA Championship, an NCAA Regional runner-up finish (JMU's best since the field expanded to 64 teams) and the second-most wins in JMU baseball history (42). Lowery won the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's best catcher, was a First Team All-American, CollegeBaseballInsider's National Hitter of the Year, CAA Player of the Year and VaSID State Player of the Year. His 2011 season featured JMU records for games played (61), triples (8), home runs (24), extra-base hits (54), RBIs (91) and plate appearances (295). His season marks also included sixth with 90 hits, second with 80 runs scored, sixth with 22 doubles and second with a .797 slugging percentage. While playing in only three collegiate seasons, Lowery ranks fourth in career triples (13) and 10^th in home runs (33). Lowery was drafted in the fourth round of the MLB Draft by Cleveland after his junior campaign and played nine Minor League seasons with Cleveland and Washington, reaching as high as Triple-A Syracuse in 2018 with the Nationals. He has switched gears into managing and was recently named manager of the Fredericksburg Nationals for the 2022 Minor League campaign.

Anthony Wallace ('03) – Men's Track & Field (2000-2003)

Anthony Wallace 2022 Hall of Fame

Anthony Wallace earned the distinction of becoming an All-American in the sport of track & field with a fifth-place finish in the long jump at the 2001-2002 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. At the time of his graduation, he ranked second all-time in the indoor long jump (25' 4.5"), third in the outdoor long jump (25' 4.75"), third in the outdoor 100-meter dash (10.57 seconds) and seventh as a member of the outdoor 400-meter relay (40.56 seconds). In addition to the 2001-02 NCAA appearance, he was also a NCAA provisional qualifier in 2002-03 as the IC4A long jump indoor champion, his third IC4A title in the event. He also earned All-East distinction in the event. He was the CAA Champion in both the long jump and 100-meter at the 2002 league meet and went on to win the long jump and also won the long jump and placed fourth in the 60-meter at the IC4A indoor meet. He earned a pair of All-East honors in the 2000-01 season with a fifth-place outdoor showing in the 100-meter and a third-place indoor finish in the 4x100.

Jay Woodson ('04) – Men's Golf (2000-2004)

Jay Woodson 2022 Hall of Fame

An accomplished golfer on both the collegiate and professional levels, Jay Woodson was a three-time All-CAA honoree and two-time All-State while also being named to the CAA 25^th Anniversary Team, recognizing the top 25 men's golfers in the first 25 years of the league's existence. He was the CAA Player of the Year in 2004, a member of the NCAA East Regional Team and the JMU Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was the Virginia State Amateur Champion in 2002 and 2003. After JMU, Woodson turned pro and captured three consecutive Virginia State Open Championships from 2012 to 2014 and won for a fourth time in 2016. He became the seventh player to win both the amateur and open championships in Virginia. In 2014 he competed in a reality show on the Golf Channel called Big Break Mexico, winning the show's competition. Woodson has competed in two PGA Tour events and spent different parts of his pro career on the NGA, Web.com and Canadian tours.

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