(Tempe, AZ) The Sun Devil 2024 Hall of Fame class has been announced, highlighting seven individuals whose storied ASU careers have had a long-lasting impact on the department. Within the class are five student-athletes from men’s diving, women’s track and field, softball, women’s golf and football, plus one former three-sport athlete and one head coach who is headed to the school’s Hall of Distinction.
The luncheon will be held on Friday, Oct. 4, at ASU’s Old Main, while honorees will be introduced at the Sun Devil football game on Saturday, Oct. 5, against Kansas. Prior to kickoff, all inductees will be signing autographs at Sparky’s Touchdown Tailgate hosted by the ASU Alumni Association on College Avenue from 3:00-3:30 p.m. AZT.
“We look forward to this October’s Hall of Fame weekend as we celebrate some of the greatest Sun Devils of all time,” Athletic Director Graham Rossini said. “The excellence and history of this class spans many eras and we are excited to honor their remarkable contributions to ASU through sport.”
The SDA Hall of Fame was established in 1975 to honor the school’s most distinguished student-athletes in all sports. Student-athletes become eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame 10 years after their senior class has graduated. The Hall of Distinction, recognizing outstanding contributions from coaches and administrators, was inaugurated in 1982.
2024 Inductees
Micky Benedetti, diving
Valerye Boyer-Wells, women’s track and field
Katelyn Boyd, softball
Roger Detter, baseball, men’s basketball and track & field
Azahara Munoz, women’s golf
John Spini, Hall of Distinction, gymnastics
Will Sutton, football
Micky Benedetti/men’s diving (2006-09)
Micky Benedetti comes from Rome, Italy, and he’s an 8-time All-American and a 6-time Pac-10 champion. In 2008, he became the first Sun Devil and the eighth diver in Pac-10 history to sweep the diving events (1m Springboard, 3m Springboard & Platform), and he remains the only Sun Devil to do so to this day. He was named Pac-10 Diver of the Year in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008 and finished runner-up at NCAA Championships. In 2008, he set the then-school record and Pac-10 in platform diving (434.17). In 2009, he set another school record in 3-meter springboard diving with a score of 455.50, a record that still stands today. After graduating from ASU, he was selected to represent Italy at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics in 3m Springboard diving.
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Valerye Boyer-Wells/women’s track and field (1978-81)
A four-year track star Val Boyer embarked on a remarkable Sun Devil career as a six-time All-American in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 4×100-meter relay and the 4×220-Yard relay throughout her tenure. The New Mexico native became one of nine Sun Devils to receive three All-American honors in the same year. Boyer was a part of two national championship 4×110-yard relay teams in 1978 and 1979 which also were Intermountain Conference Champions (ICC) both years. Following her sophomore season, she was selected to compete with the United States on the 1979 World Cup team at the IAAF World Cup. In her junior season in 1980, Boyer won three individual events to claim three conference titles in the WCAA (Western Collegiate Athletic Association), emerging victorious in the 100-meter, 200-meter dash and the 4×100 meter relay. At the end of Boyer’s tenure, she held four school records in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 4×100 meter relay and the 4×440-yard relay and graduated from Arizona State with a degree in criminal justice in 1981. After her collegiate career, she returned to ASU to pursue a degree in law. Boyer would graduate from the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law in 1985 and pass the bar in 1986 and started her career as a judge in 1988 at the Mesa Municipal Court.
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Katelyn Boyd/softball (2009-12)
Katelyn Boyd is one of the best hitters in Sun Devil Softball history. Boyd finished her career second in ASU history with a .391 batting average while also placing second in slugging (.728) and on-base percentage (.505). She became the second Sun Devil to hit .400 or better in a season three times. Boyd hit 10-plus home runs in each of her four seasons at ASU, including 19 as a senior and 18 as a junior, which ranked as the second and third most in team history at the time. Boyd left ASU as the program leader with 60 doubles and 236 runs batted in, and she was second in runs (271), total bases (549), walks (167), and stolen bases (82). In helping the 2011 team with the National Championship, Boyd batted .429 with 18 home runs, 14 doubles, 79 runs scored, and 66 RBIs. She tallied 22 multi-hit games, including seven 3-hit performances and added 16 multi-RBI games. Boyd hit .353 with six RBIs during that season’s Women’s College World Series, including a 2-run single that gave the Sun Devils a 3-1 lead in the second inning of the final game. Boyd hit .419 with 19 home runs, 17 doubles, 78 runs, and 62 RBIs during her senior campaign that included a run to the 2012 Women’s College World Series. She is one of five Sun Devils to be a three-time NFCA All-America selection while also earning All-Region and All-Pac-12 honors three times. Boyd is a two-time Academic All-American (2011, 2012) and one of six Sun Devils to achieve the mark multiple times.
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Roger Detter/men’s basketball, baseball, men’s track (1965-69)
A three-sport athlete at ASU, Roger Detter cemented himself as one of the most decorated Sun Devils in school history for the leadership and accolades he packed into a busy collegiate career. A member of two national championship teams for Sun Devil Baseball (1967, 1969), Detter is one of just four players in team history to win a pair of national titles. He captained the 1969 championship team and set the then College World Series record for stolen bases (7) that summer, while making the All-CWS team at shortstop. On the hardwood, Detter was the 1968 Most Valuable Player for Sun Devil Basketball as the team’s star point guard, serving as the captain in back-to-back seasons (1968-69). He remains the team’s record-holder for consecutive free throws made (36) and averaged 12.0 points per game in his final season. Later in the 1968 season, Detter competed in all home events for Sun Devil Track & Field, completing double-headers for baseball before racing to the track to throw the javelin. A true Sun Devil for life, the mark that Detter made on ASU is still felt to this day.
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Azahara Munoz/women’s golf (2005-09)
Azahara Munoz left Arizona State as one of the most decorated golfers in program history. Captured the 2008 NCAA Individual Title in dramatic fashion, winning in a playoff to become the ninth Sun Devil to win the National Championship. Buried a clutch 25-foot putt to defeat UCLA’s Tiffany Joh in the winner-take-all playoff. Helped lead Arizona State to the 2009 NCAA Championship, its seventh in school history and first since 1998. One of only four four-time All-Americans in the illustrious history of the Sun Devil Women’s Golf Program. The top-placing Sun Devil at the 2009 NCAA Championships, earning her second-career Top-5 National finish by finishing in fourth place. Landed on the Pac-10 First Team All-Conference in each of her four seasons in Tempe. Compiled an incredible 31 Top-10 finishes in 39 career appearances as a Sun Devil. The first two-time recipient of the prestigious Edith Cummings Munson Award, which is given to the top collegiate female golfers nationally who also excel in academics. Graduated summa cum laude with a 3.98 in psychology. 2009 Pac-10 Scholar Athlete of the Year. Four-time NGCA Academic All-American and two-time ESPN The Magazine First-Team Academic All-American. While attending Arizona State, she competed internationally as one of the top-ranked amateurs in the world. Finished as the runner-up at the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur, won the 2009 Ladies British Amateur Championship, and competed for Spain in the 2006 Women’s World Amateur. Immediately made the transition to the LPGA tour following the conclusion of her collegiate career, a rare feat for even the most talented amateur golfers. Is in the midst of an extremely successful professional career that has spanned over a decade. Made a name for herself early on the tour, earning 2010 LPGA Rookie of the Year Honors. Has six career professional wins, highlighted by the 2012 Sybase Match Play Championship, her first LPGA Title. Reached as high as No. 14 in the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings back in 2014. Four-time Solheim Cup winner with Team Europe (2011, ’13, ’15, & ’19). Three-time Olympic selection, representing her native country of Spain at the 2016 Rio Games, 2020 Tokyo Games, and 2024 Paris Games. Currently boasts over $7 million in career earnings (T-51st all-time) thanks to a long and consistent professional career.
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John Spini/gymnastics (1981-2014)/HALL OF DISTINCTION
John Spini coached Sun Devil Gymnastics for 34 seasons (1981-2014) and is one of the most successful head coaches in Sun Devil Athletics history. He led his teams to 21 NCAA Championship appearances and had at least one Sun Devil represent ASU at the NCAA Championships in 26 out of 34 seasons. Spini coached 27 All-Americans for a total of 81 All-America accolades, while six women won individual NCAA titles under Spini and nine of his Sun Devil squads finished in the top five at the NCAA Championships, including four teams (1983, 1985, 1986, 1997) who were runner-up. A four-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Spini’s athletes were awarded a total of 27 perfect 10.0s in his career. As ASU’s head coach, he carries a 359-235-2 record. A prominent coach on the national scale, Spini was a U.S. national team coach at the World University Games and a member of the NCAA Gymnastics Committee. In 2010, he was named to the USAG Arizona Hall of Fame. A Phoenix, Arizona native, Spini received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from ASU in 1976. Before attending ASU, he was a student at Odessa (Texas) Junior College, where he served as an assistant coach for the NJCAA Champion men’s gymnastics team. Spini and his wife Lisa have one daughter, Shilo.
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Will Sutton/football (2009-13)
Only the second two-time Pat Tillman Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in Pac-12 Conference history, Will Sutton was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive line for the Sun Devils. Sutton saw action in 51 games, including 34 starts, and posted 161 career tackles and 20.5 career sacks, the seventh-most in team history. Sutton and defensive end Carl Bradford formed one of the most dominant pass rushes in team history, as the duo became just the first in school history to post double-digit sacks in the same season since 1994. Establishing himself as one of the country’s top interior linemen, Sutton’s 2012 campaign saw him rack up a team-best 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss while on his way to Consensus All-American honors. The following season, he was named the Mike Haynes Defensive MVP and earned the Frank Kush Captains Award at the team banquet before embarking on a three-year professional career with the Chicago Bears (2014-16). Drafted in the third round with the 82nd overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, Sutton went on to play a trio of seasons for the Bears, appearing in 36 games and registering 60 career tackles.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Griffin Fabits
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