Bradley Announces 2016-17 Hall of Fame Class

Marcellus Sommerville and Lindsay Stalzer to be enshrined Dec. 29 with Chris Dunsheath, Meaghan LeBlanc and the 1995-96 men's basketball team to follow Feb. 4

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Men's Basketball 11/30/2016 4:00:00 PM

PEORIA, IL – Four of the all-time greats in their respective program's history and Bradley Basketball's last Missouri Valley Conference championship team make up the 2016-17 Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame Class, which will be enshrined in split ceremonies this winter.

This year's induction class includes record-setting soccer goalkeeper Chris Dunsheath, two-time MVC women's golf individual champion Meaghan LeBlanc, three-time All-MVC men's basketball forward Marcellus Sommerville, MVC volleyball career kills record-holder Lindsay Stalzer and the 1995-96 Valley champion men's basketball team.

With both playing professionally overseas but soon to be on break during the holiday season, Sommerville and Stalzer will be honored during the Braves Club Pre-Game Party, presented by Alexander's Steakhouse and Famous Dave's, Dec. 29 at the Peoria Civic Center and officially inducted into the Hall of Fame during halftime of that night's men's basketball game against Southern Illinois at Carver Arena. Dunsheath, LeBlanc and the 1995-96 basketball team will be the featured guests at the Braves Club Game Day Luncheon, presented by Busey Bank, Feb. 3 at Renaissance Coliseum and officially inducted into the Hall of Fame during halftime of the Feb. 4 men's basketball game versus Drake at Carver Arena.
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Chris Dunsheath, Soccer (2001-05) | Rockford, IL (Boylan H.S.)
A member of the Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer All-Centennial Team, Dunsheath remains one of the top goalkeepers in Bradley and Missouri Valley Conference history. The 6-foot-3 keeper is the only NSCAA first-team All-American in program history, earning the distinction as a senior in 2005 when he earned All-America honors from three different organizations. A Freshman All-American in 2002 when he helped the Braves to a program-record, 15-game unbeaten streak (11-0-4) to start the season and an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, Dunsheath also earned NSCAA All-Midwest Region and All-Missouri Valley Conference honors during each of his four seasons and was selected The Valley's Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2005.

Leading the Braves to two NCAA Tournament appearances (2002, 2005) and the first MVC regular-season championship in program history in 2005, Dunsheath set Valley career records with 27.5 shutouts and 8197 minutes played - the latter remains the sixth-best total in NCAA Division I history. He still owns the Bradley record with 50 career goalkeeping victories and his undefeated (6-0-12) record in overtime represents the majority of the results in what remains the NCAA men's soccer all-time record for consecutive overtime games without a defeat (24 games, 11-0-13). He was selected in the third round, 36th overall, by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2006 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

Dunsheath also excelled in the classroom at Bradley: twice named a NSCAA Scholar All-American (2003, 3005), he was selected to receive a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 2006.
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Meaghan LeBlanc, Women's Golf (2002-06) | Calgary, Alberta (Western Canada H.S.)
LeBlanc was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference individual champion, earning medalist honors at the 2005 and 2006 MVC Women's Golf Championships, and she remains one of nine players in the history of Valley women's golf to earn all-conference honors in all four seasons. LeBlanc also led the Braves to two MVC team championships (2003 and 2006), along with a pair of NCAA Regional appearances.

Among the records LeBlanc set during her Bradley career, she matched the MVC Championship mark with a 54-hole score of 215 as the 2005 medalist and she owned the top three single-season stroke averages in program history at the time of her graduation, capped by the then-record 76.62 during her senior campaign in 2005-06. She also set the program's career stroke average record (78.22) and she graduated with Bradley records for individual tournament titles (4), rounds played (103) and sub-80 rounds (66).

Selected to the MVC's All-Centennial Team, LeBlanc also was a three-time Valley Scholar-Athlete and was the first women's golfer in Bradley Athletics history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.
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Marcellus Sommerville, Men's Basketball (2003-06) | Peoria, IL (Peoria H.S.)
Sommerville was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection during his three-year Braves career. The 6-foot-7 forward earned first-team recognition in 2004 and 2005, making him the 12th player (all Hall-of-Famers) in program history to land on the All-MVC first team in multiple years. Still 14th on Bradley's all-time scoring list with 1,493 career points, the fourth-best total among three-year players, Sommerville led the Braves in scoring during each of his three seasons on The Hilltop. He averaged 15.6 points per game in 2003-04, when he was named the MVC Newcomer of the Year after transferring from Southwestern Illinois College. He added a career-best 17.5 points per game as a junior in 2004-05, then 15.6 points per game as a senior, leading the Braves to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. He also recorded 14 points-rebounds double-doubles during his career, the most by any Bradley player during the last 25 years.

After averaging 19.5 points in Bradley's two wins versus fourth-seeded Kansas and fifth-seeded Pittsburgh in the opening two rounds of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Sommerville was featured on the front cover of Sports Illustrated.

Sommerville is now is in his 11th year playing professionally overseas, including his ninth season in France's ProA division. Currently the sixth-leading scorer in his league at 15.5 points per game through 10 games this year, Sommerville set the Entente Orleans single-season scoring record last season with 513 points in 34 games (15.1 ppg). He went on to lead Bradley's Always A Brave alumni team to the Midwest Region championship in the 2016 The Basketball Tournament, earning a spot on the five-player TBT all-tournament team by averaging 21.2 points and 7.0 rebounds in five games.
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Lindsay Stalzer, Volleyball (2002-05) | Kewanee, IL (Kewanee H.S.)
The 2005 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Stalzer led the nation with 720 kills during her senior season and the total still stands as the Bradley and MVC single-season records. A 6-foot-1 middle blocker, Stalzer is the only three-time, first-team All-MVC selection in Bradley volleyball history and she remains one of two players in program history to boast at least 1,000 kills, 500 digs, 100 aces and 300 blocks. In addition to her success on the court, Stalzer also was a three-time, first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete and she was a third-team CoSIDA Academic All-District V honoree in 2005.

In addition to the single-season kills records, Stalzer still owns the Bradley and MVC marks with 1,928 career kills. While leading The Valley in kills as both a junior and senior, Stalzer also paced the league in aces during her senior season in 2005.

Stalzer is in her 11th season playing professionally on the international level. Currently with Foton in the Phillipine SuperLiga, Stalzer was named the league MVP in 2015 after helping her squad to the league title. Last season, she was named the finals MVP after leading HPK to Finland's league championship, then returned to Foton for another PSL title and participation in the 2016 Asian Club Championships and 2016 World Club Championships.
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1995-96 Men's Basketball
The 1995-96 men's basketball team remains the last Bradley Basketball squad to win a Missouri Valley Conference championship, taking the regular-season crown with a 15-3 league record. Finishing 22-8 overall, the 1995-96 Braves advanced to the MVC Tournament championship game and earned an at-large selection to the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

Among the team's season highlights, the 1995-96 Braves downed Georgia Tech in the opening round of the 1995 Cable Car Classic in San Jose, CA, then closed the regular-season on a four-game winning streak that began with an overtime win at Tulsa and included a 65-64 victory against I-74 rival Illinois State in an ESPN-televised game from Carver Arena to clinch at least a share of the Valley title. The MVC Tournament semifinal win against Missouri State on Deon Jackson's buzzer-beating heave remains a signature moment in Arch Madness history and was nominated for an ESPY Award.

Bradley Basketball's 1995-96 team members include: Adebayo Akinkunle, James Baptist, Kerry Burrell, Ben Coupet, Dwayne Funches, Deon Jackson, Chad Kleine, Mbaukwu Nwaogwugwu, Anthony Parker, Eric Roberson, Marcus Samuels, Gavin Schairer, Billy Wright and Aaron Zobrist. Head coach Jim Molinari was the 1996 MVC Coach of the Year and his assistants included Duane Broussard, Pat Donahue and Rob Judson.
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Ticket Information
Tickets for each of Bradley's four Braves Club Game Day Luncheons are $20 for Braves Club members, $25 for the general public, and may be reserved by contacting the Braves Club Office at (309) 677-2667. Braves Club Pre-Game Parties are open to all Braves Club members (membership card required at entrance and one entrant per membership card) and guest entry is $10 when accompanied by a Braves Club member. Single-game Bradley Basketball tickets begin at $8, while both the Southern Illinois and Drake games also may be included in The Valley Half or Pick 5 mini-season ticket packages. Bradley Basketball game tickets may be purchased in advance at the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office at Renaissance Coliseum, online at BradleyBraves.com or by calling (309) 677-2625.

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