(San Francisco, CA) The Pac-12 Conference announced today the 2023 class to be inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor, the Conference’s most prestigious recognition of on-field and off-field contributors to Pac-12 athletics. The 2023 class will be the first ever all-female class inducted into the Hall of Honor in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, which the Pac-12 continues to celebrate through its powHER of the Pac campaign since its launch on the milestone anniversary in June 2022.
Formal induction will take place on Friday, March 3 during a private ceremony, as part of the week-long Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament celebrations in Las Vegas, prior to that day’s semifinal matchups. The class will also be celebrated during a special recognition at halftime of the day’s first semifinal matchup at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Tickets for the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament (March 1-5) and Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament (March 8-11) are available at Pac-12.com/Tickets.
2023 Pac-12 Hall of Honor Class
The 2023 class is the 21st all-time to be assembled since the Hall’s creation in 2002, and fifth since it expanded to include Pac-12 alumni from all sponsored sport programs to align with the Conference’s historic, broad-based athletic excellence. The Hall of Honor illustrates the rich history of the Conference of Champions, as the Pac-12 leads all conferences with 546 national titles across 29 sports, over 200 more than the nearest league.
“The Pac-12 is honored to induct this class of legendary athletes, coaches and administrators into the Hall of Honor,” said Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff.“The 12 inductees represented their respective universities at the highest levels of athletic excellence, and we are especially proud to recognize this first-ever all-female class as we continue to honor the historic legacy of Title IX.”
The star-studded 2023 class features the following inductees:
| Susie Parra (Arizona) | Jessica Mendoza (Stanford) |
| Jackie Johnson-Powell (Arizona State) | Natalie Williams (UCLA) |
| Dr. Luella Lilly (California) | Barbara Hallquist DeGroot (USC) |
| Ceal Barry (Colorado) | Kim Gaucher (Utah) |
| Janie Takeda Reed (Oregon) | Danielle Lawrie (Washington) |
| Dr. Mary Budke (Oregon State) | Sarah Silvernail (Washington State) |
Among the extensive collection of combined accolades and milestones for the 2023 class includes:
33 All-America accolades
32 years of service as athletic department administrators
19 national titles won as student-athlete or administrator (individual & team combined)
Six annual recognitions as top collegiate athlete in a sport
Five Olympic medals
One Pac-12 Player of the Decade
One WNBA championship as a General Manager
Pac-12 Hall of Honor Inductees – Class of 20
Susie Parra – (Arizona) Softball
As a cornerstone of the legendary Arizona softball program, Susie Parra guided the Wildcats to three national championships and two conference titles across her career. She was a three-time All-American and the National and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1994, a season that saw her go 33-1 in the circle en route to a national title. She holds the Arizona program record for lowest ERA in a season at 0.30 in 1992 and maintains the third-highest career winning percentage in NCAA history at .918. Parra was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
Jackie Johnson-Powell (Arizona State) Women’s Track & Field
Jackie Johnson-Powell dominated competition en route to becoming one of the greatest athletes in the history of collegiate track and field. An elite multis competitor, Johnson-Powell won three NCAA pentathlon titles (2006-08) and four NCAA heptathlon crowns (2004, 2006-08); her scores of 4,496 points in the pentathlon and 6,307 points in the heptathlon still stand as program records. The eight-time All-American guided Arizona State to three national titles and a pair of Pac-10 titles across her career in Tempe. Johnson-Powell went on to represent Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and was one of 30 inductees into the inaugural 2022 class of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame.
Dr. Luella Lilly (California)
Athletic Administration
Dr. Luella Lilly took the helm as the Golden Bears’ women’s athletic director in 1976. Over the course of her 17-year tenure, Lilly oversaw a women’s athletics program that won 28 conference championships in eight of 11 sports, in addition to national titles in crew in 1980 and 1984. She established the Cal Women’s Hall of Fame during the 1977-78 academic year, whose inductees are now part of the California Athletics Hall of Fame of which Lilly became a member in 2005. In 1999, Lilly was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Association of Collegiate Women’s Athletic Administrators for her trailblazing contribution to women’s athletics.
Ceal Barry (Colorado)
Coach – Women’s Basketball, Athletic Administration
An iconic coach and administrator, Ceal Barry built the University of Colorado women’s basketball program into a national powerhouse. Barry became head coach in 1983 and compiled an historic 22-year run at the helm that included 13 20-win seasons, four conference titles, and 12 NCAA Tournament berths, including six Sweet 16 and three Elite 8 appearances. She is Colorado’s all-time winningest head coach in any sport with 427 victories, earning induction into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, CU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. She served as an administrator in the Colorado athletic department for 15 years before retiring in 2020, a tenure that included a stint as the university’s first-ever Deputy Athletic Director.
Janie Takeda Reed (Oregon)
Softball
Janie Takeda Reed was a three-time All-American and three-time All-Pac-12 First Team honoree across her career with Oregon softball, helping lead the Ducks to three-straight Pac-12 titles from 2013-15 and appearances at the Women’s College World Series in 2012, 2014, and 2015. The outfielder remains Oregon’s all-time leader in stolen bases (102), runs (204), hits (309), and at-bats (788), also owning a .392 career batting average for the second-best mark in program history. Takeda Reed twice won gold with Team USA at the WBSC World Championships (2016, 2018) and the Pan American Games (2017, 2019) before earning silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Dr. Mary Budke (Oregon State)
Women’s Golf
An eight-time Oregon Amateur champion while competing for the Beavers, Dr. Mary Budke received the Bill Hayward Award as Oregon’s top amateur athlete in 1972, becoming the first woman and one of only two golfers to be honored by that time. She won the 1974 AIAW national title and was a member of Team USA’s winning Curtis Cup squad the same year, later going on to captain the Americans to victory in the event in 2002. Budke was inducted into the OSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992. She received her medical degree from the University of Oregon and worked in emergency rooms until she retired in 2011.
Jessica Mendoza (Stanford)
Softball
One of the most decorated players in the history of softball, Stanford’s Jessica Mendoza left her mark as one of the sport’s all-time greats. A four-time first-team All-American, Mendoza was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2000 and led Stanford to its first Women’s College World Series appearance in 2001. She maintains all-time Stanford records in a host of statistical categories, including career batting average (.416), hits (327), and home runs (327). She was also a two-time Olympian for Team USA, earning gold in Athens in 2004 and silver in Beijing in 2008. Mendoza was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012 and the National Softball of Fame in 2019. She went on to work in baseball operations for the New York Mets and also embarked on a career in broadcasting, serving in commentary roles for ESPN’s coverage of the Men’s College World Series and Major League Baseball before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers’ broadcast team in 2022.
Natalie Williams (UCLA)
Women’s Basketball, Volleyball
Natalie Williams became the first-ever woman to earn first-team All-America honors in both volleyball and basketball in the same year and achieved legendary collegiate careers in both sports. In volleyball, Williams was a three-time first-team All-American and two-time Honda Award winner as the National Player of the Year. She was twice named NCAA Tournament MVP while leading the Bruins to consecutive NCAA Championships in 1990 and 1991. Williams was a two-time first-team All-American in basketball and the Pac-10 Player of the Year as a senior in 1994. She was named Pac-10 Female Athlete of the Decade for the years of 1987-1996, going on to play professionally in the American Basketball League (ABL) and WNBA and winning gold with Team USA at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Williams was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004 and currently serves as the General Manager for the defending WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces.
Barbara Hallquist DeGroot (USC)
Women’s Tennis
One of the USC women’s tennis program’s most decorated alumni, Barbara Hallquist DeGroot was the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship at USC after the passage of Title IX. Hallquist DeGroot was a four-time All-American during her time at USC, leading the Trojans to four national team championships while capturing back-to-back singles titles in 1976 and 1977. She turned pro after college and ultimately competed in all four Grand Slam events, reaching the quarterfinals in singles at the U.S. Open in 1980. She served as an assistant coach at USC from 1985-88, helping guide the women’s tennis team to an NCAA title in 1985. Hallquist DeGroot was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women’s Collegiate Hall of Fame in 2010 and the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
Kim Gaucher (Utah)
Women’s Basketball
Kim Gaucher starred at Utah from 2002-06, earning Player of the Year accolades in the Mountain West Conference all four years and notching AP Third-Team All-America honors as a senior. She’s the Utes’ all-time leading scorer with 2,281 points and led the program to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003, 2005, and 2006, becoming the first female student-athlete at Utah to have her jersey retired in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Formerly Kim Smith, Gaucher was a first-round selection in the 2006 WNBA draft, going to the Sacramento Monarchs with the 13th overall pick. She was later acquired by the Phoenix Mercury in 2009 and also enjoyed a professional career overseas. Gaucher was a nine-year captain of the Canadian National Team and played in the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic Games. She was inducted into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
Danielle Lawrie (Washington)
Softball
A three-time NFCA first-team All-American, Danielle Lawrie led the Huskies to their first ever national championship in 2009, a season where she was the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year, NFCA Player of the Year, and Most Outstanding Player of the Women’s College World Series. She went 42-8 during the Huskies’ historic 2009 campaign, compiling 521 strikeouts while allowing just 76 walks in 352.2 innings. She was also a three-time All-Conference First Team honoree and maintains Pac-12 records in strikeouts (1,860) and wins (136). Lawrie played professionally for the USSSA Pride in the National Pro Fastpitch league and was a two-time Olympian (2008, 2020) for Team Canada, most recently earning the win in the circle in the Bronze medal game in Tokyo. She was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 2018.
Sarah Silvernail (Washington State)
Women’s Volleyball
Sarah Silvernail, one of the most decorated volleyball players in Washington State history, dominated on the court during her illustrious career. The two-time AVCA First-Team All-American led the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons, including a run to the Regional Final in 1996 that saw her earn Pac-10 Player of the Year honors. She was three-time All-Pac-10 honoree and maintains Washington State program records in career kills with 1,848 and single-season kills with 649 during the 1996 campaign. Silvernail went on to train with Team USA ahead of the 2000 Olympic Games and enjoyed a professional career in the United States Professional Volleyball League and overseas. She was inducted into the Washington State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
Press Release courtesy of the PAC-12 Conference
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