SHSU announces 2026 Hall of Honor class

HUNTSVILLE - The Sam Houston Letterwinners Association will recognize eight student-athletes who left their footprints on Bearkat Athletics when these individuals are inducted into the Hall of Honor this fall.

The 2026 class —consisting of Tofi Chavez (soccer), Darryl Hayes (men's track and field), Phillip Karasek (football), Jim Phenicie (men's golf), Paul Ridings (Associate Athletic Director of Communications), Corey Roberts (football), Tiffany Singleton (women's track and field), Carol Sullivan (softball), Senneca Wall (men's basketball) and Nick Zaleski (baseball) — will be publicly recognized at the Nov. 21 home football game against Middle Tennessee at Bowers Stadium.

The class will also be recognized at the Hall of Honor Reception on campus in the Orange Ballroom of the Lowman Student Center before the game. The event will begin with a social welcome brunch for attendees beginning at 9:15 a.m. with the official program honoring the inductees scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Tickets for the event are $35 and may be purchased by contacting the Sam Houston Ticket Office at (936) 294-1729.

2026 Sam Houston Letterwinners Association Hall of Honor Induction Class

Tofi Chavez
Soccer (2004-07)
Tofi Chavez anchored the Bearkat back line as a three-year starter and one of the program's premier defenders. A two-time All-Southland Conference selection, she earned second team honors in 2006 after receiving honorable mention recognition in 2005. Chavez also was named to the Southland Conference All-Tournament Team following the 2005 postseason, recognizing her key role in Sam Houston's defensive success.

Despite playing primarily in the back, Chavez contributed offensively throughout her career, appearing in 64 matches with 56 starts while recording six goals, seven assists and 19 points.

Darryl Hayes
Men's Track & Field (2008-12)
Darryl Hayes established himself as one of the most accomplished sprinters in Sam Houston history, earning eight All-Southland Conference honors during his career. A five-time Southland Conference champion, Hayes captured individual conference titles in the 400-meter dash in 2009 and 2011 while also helping the Bearkats claim 4x400-meter relay championships in 2008, 2011 and the 2011 indoor season.

He added runner-up finishes in the 400 meters at the 2008 outdoor championships and the 2011 indoor championships, while also contributing to a third-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay in 2008.

Hayes competed on the national stage throughout his career, qualifying for both the NCAA Regional and NCAA Outdoor Championships. His standout 2009 campaign included a Southland title in the 400 meters with a personal-best conference-winning time of 45.93 before finishing 16th nationally in the event. Prior to his collegiate career, he was a member of a state championship-winning 4x400-meter relay team in high school, laying the foundation for a career that helped establish Sam Houston as one of the Southland Conference's premier sprint programs.

Phillip Karasek
Football (1985-86)
A native of East Bernard, Karasek transferred to Sam Houston for the 1985 season after earning all-conference honors at Blinn College in 1984. He became an immediate starter on the offensive line, known for his run blocking and went on to help the Bearkats to a share of the Gulf Star Conference title in his first year on the team.

That season put him on the map in Huntsville, and he backed it up with a stellar 1986 season in which he helped lead the Kats to an outright Gulf Star title and the program's first-ever berth in the Division 1-AA playoffs.

Behind Karasek the Bearkats led the GSC with 411.7 yards per game of total offense and 27.2 points per contest. He started 11 of 12 games at center that year and was named to both the All-Gulf Star Conference first team and to the AP all-America first team.

Jim Phencie
Men's Golf (1982-85)
Phencie spent three seasons leading the Bearkat Men's Golf squad in the Lone Star and Gulf Star Conferences, winning three tournaments and turning in a 75.9 stroke average over 75 rounds in his career.

He picked up a pair of individual wins in the fall of 1982 at both Elkins Lake and Waterwood and defended his crown at Waterwood a year later in 1983. The following spring, Phencie finished sixth at the LSC Championship, qualifying for the NCAA Division II national tournament where he finished fourth with rounds of 77-73-73-76 in Erie, Pa.

Phencie went on to close his career in 1985 by posting a career-best stroke average of 75.2, finishing fifth at the GSC Championship with rounds of 74-73-79 and ultimately earning All-GSC first team honors.

Paul Ridings
Associated Director of Communications (1989 to 2016)
Ridings served Sam Houston as its primary Sports Information Director from 1989 until his retirement in 2016. During his 27 years at Sam Houston, Ridings oversaw all athletics' public relations activities, including coordinating athletic publications, publicity, the athletic department web site and statistical reporting to the Southland Conference and the NCAA.

He was the primary publicist for several departmental highlights throughout his career, including Bearkat Football's run to back-to-back FCS Championship Games, numerous berths in the NCAA Tournament and the claiming of multiple Southland Conference Commissioner's Cups, signifying the department's overall success within the SLC at the conclusion of each year.

Before joining the Bearkat staff in 1989, Ridings served as assistant athletic director at Southern Utah (1988-89), associate sports information director at SMU (1980-88), public relations director for the Dallas Tornado Soccer Team (1976-79) and sports information director at Trinity (1971-75).

A third-generation public relations practitioner, his grandfather, J. Willard Ridings, founded the TCU journalism department, and his father, Paul Ridings, Sr., operated his own public relations firm in Fort Worth for 38 years.

Ridings passed away unexpectedly in March of 2026, leaving behind his wife of nearly 40 years, Mary, and their son, Nathan.

Corey Roberts
Football (2002-05)
Roberts spent two seasons at wide receiver after joining the Bearkat program ahead of the 2001 season but found a home at tight end prior to the start of Southland Conference play in 2003. He started four of the final five games of that season at tight end and went on to catch 89 passes for 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns over 37 games in a four-year Bearkat career.

He turned in a breakout season in 2004 as a tight end, earning first team all-Southand Conference honors after racking up 282 yards and five touchdowns on 22 grabs on a Bearkat team which advanced all the way to the semifinals of the Division 1-AA playoffs. Roberts showed a propensity for the dramatic that year, hauling in the game-winning touchdown against McNeese and keeping the game-winning scoring drive alive with a catch in the win over Eastern Washington in the playoff quarterfinals.

He followed that season up with an even better statistical year in 2005, capping his Bearkat carer with another all-Southland Conference first team selection and an honorable mention AP all-American nod. He had a pair of 100-yard games that year and, in total, pulled in 42 catches for 485 yards and five touchdowns.

Tiffany Singleton
Women's Track and Field (2006-08)
Tiffany Singleton was one of the nation's premier sprinters and hurdlers during Sam Houston's historic 2008 season, helping lead the Bearkats to Southland Conference indoor and outdoor championships while earning NCAA All-America honors. She captured the Southland Conference title in the 400-meter hurdles with a winning time of 53.86 and earlier in the season posted an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 54.51 to win the 400-meter hurdles at the Michael Johnson Invitational. A versatile performer, Singleton excelled individually while serving as the anchor on one of the top 4x400-meter relay teams in the nation.

Singleton helped guide the Bearkats to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, anchoring the 4x400-meter relay through the national semifinals before the quartet of Jessica Fisher, Monika May, Desiree Taylor and Singleton earned All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in the NCAA final. The relay also established a school record of 3:31.03, cementing its place among the greatest relay teams in program history. Her performances throughout the season were instrumental in one of the most successful years in Sam Houston track & field history.

Carol Sullivan
Softball (1980-83)
Sullivan was one of the pioneers of Sam Houston softball, helping establish the Bearkats as one of the nation's top programs during the program's formative years. A standout third baseman, Sullivan helped lead Sam Houston to a 32-11 record in 1981, leading the team with a .303 batting average and three triples, and earning a berth in the NAIA World Series as an independent. She was named to the NAIA All-Tournament team which came during one of the most successful seasons in school history, as the Bearkats continued their rapid rise on the national stage.

Sullivan was a member of four outstanding Sam Houston teams from 1980–83 that combined to post a 134-39 overall record and reached postseason play in three consecutive seasons. After helping the Bearkats finish 19-5 in 1980, she was part of the 1981 squad that advanced to the NAIA World Series before Sam Houston transitioned to NCAA Division II. The Bearkats continued their national success with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II World Series, posting records of 40-6 in 1982 and 43-17 in 1983.

Recognized as an NCAA Division II All-American third baseman in 1982 while leading the team in both batting average (.319) and triples (4), Sullivan topped the Bearkats in triples for three straight seasons—capping her career with a team-high six triples in 1983. Her contributions during this era helped lay the foundation for one of the most successful softball programs in the country.

Senecca Wall
Men's Basketball (1999-2001)
Wall was one of the most explosive and versatile playmakers in Sam Houston men's basketball history. Playing forward and guard for the Bearkats from 1999 to 2001, the Fort Worth native left an indelible mark on the program in just two seasons, culminating in first-team All-Southland Conference honors as a senior in 2001 after helping the team win the league's regular season championship in his first season as a junior in the orange and white in 2000.

During his senior campaign, Wall delivered one of the most prolific individual single-season performances in school history. He led the Bearkats with 19.1 points per game and scored 555 total points (10th most in a season in school history), highlighted by a historic 45-point performance against UT Arlington in double overtime during the 2001 Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinals. That 45-point output set a modern Sam Houston Division I single-game scoring record and tied for the second-highest single-game mark in program history.

In addition to his scoring output, Wall stuffed the stat sheet as a senior, averaging 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and over 3.5 steals per contest while earning Southland All-Tournament Team accolades.

Across his two-year career in Huntsville, Wall played in 58 games (starting 54) and amassed 909 points (15.7 PPG), 374 rebounds (6.4 RPG), 186 assists, and 167 steals while shooting 51.3 percent from the field.

Nick Zaleski
Baseball (2006-09)
A four-year standout first baseman for the Bearkats, Zaleski played in 200 games as a Bearkat and helped head coach Mark Johnson's squads to three straight Southland Conference tournament titles and NCAA Regional berths in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

A native of Sugar Land, Zaleski ranks among the greats in Bearkat baseball after hitting .337 in his career with a .499 slugging percentage, .408 on-base percentage, 238 hits, 50 doubles, 21 homers and 153 RBI. He currently ranks sixth all-time at Sam Houston in career hits (238) and runs (147) and is third in career doubles (50).

He turned in his best season as a senior when he hit .419 with nine homers, 56 RBI and 22 doubles as part of a Bearkat squad which closed the year at the NCAA Houston Regional. His 99 total hits that season still ranks fifth all-time in a single-season at Sam Houston, while his .419 batting average still holds as the second-highest in a season in program history.

Those numbers pushed him to a PING! Baseball All-America selection and to a spot on the All-Southland Conference second team, bettered only by at first base by Paul Goldschmidt of Texas State, an eventual MVP of the National League.

Zaleski went on to play two years professionally in the Toronto Blue Jays organization before joining the college baseball coaching ranks. He spent the next decade as an assistant coach with stops at UTSA, McNeese and Tarleton before being named the head coach at UIW ahead of the 2026 season.

SHSU announces 2026 Hall of Honor class

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