Five Lehigh greats elected to Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following a thorough review and revision of its Athletics Hall of Fame process, the Lehigh Athletics Department is pleased to announce a distinguished class of elected candidates. The group includes athletics standouts Matt McBride '07 from baseball, CJ McCollum '13 from men's basketball and Lisa (Sweeney) Van Ackeren '09 from softball; along with former coaches Muffet McGraw (Women's Basketball) and Chris Marshall '88 (Swimming and Diving). McBride, Sweeney and Marshall will be inducted in ceremonies planned for Friday evening, September 27, while McCollum and McGraw will have their formal induction ceremonies deferred to a time when they are able to attend.

McBride was a three-year standout on the baseball diamond for the Mountain Hawks, earning All-Patriot League honors in all three years. He was named Patriot League Player of the Year in 2006 after winning the league's offensive Triple Crown and leading Lehigh to its first Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. McBride garnered several All-America honors after that season and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft in June 2006.

The Bethlehem native made his major league debut for the Colorado Rockies in 2012, and spent part of three seasons with the Rockies before appearing in 20 games for Oakland in 2016. McBride spent the last two seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies' organization, where he played locally for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

The most accomplished student-athlete to pass through Lehigh's men's basketball program, CJ McCollum graduated as the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer and ranks second on Lehigh's career scoring list. A two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, McCollum led the Mountain Hawks to Patriot League titles in 2009-10 and 2011-12, and scored a game-high 30 points as No. 15 seed Lehigh beat Duke 75-70 in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. McCollum was a three-time first team All-Patriot League honoree and was the league's Rookie of the Year in 2010 in addition to his Player of the Year honor.

In June 2013, McCollum became Lehigh's first-ever NBA draft pick after being selected 10th overall by the Portland Trailblazers. McCollum is entering his seventh season with Portland. He was named the NBA's Most Improved Player in the 2015-16 season and has averaged more than 20 points per game in each of the last four seasons. McCollum led Portland to the NBA's Western Conference Finals in 2018-19.

Sweeney enjoyed a record-setting career for the Mountain Hawks from 2006-09. She is the only student-athlete to garner Patriot League Pitcher of the Year honors four times, and also was the league's Player of the Year in 2008. Sweeney owns Lehigh and Patriot League career records for games pitched (141), complete games (91), victories (94), innings pitched (774.2), shutouts (31) and strikeouts (928). She also owns school records for single season wins, strikeouts and ERA. Sweeney also hit 23 career home runs and played in five of Lehigh's seven all-time NCAA Tournament wins, including all three versus Texas A&M in 2006 and 2009. She was a four-time NFCA All-Region selection, the 2009 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year and an Academic All-American.

Sweeney is entering her eighth season as the head softball coach at Princeton University, where she has led the Tigers to a pair of Ivy League titles and NCAA Regional appearances.

Marshall was a four-year swimmer for the Brown and White and then spent 12 seasons at the helm of Lehigh's swimming and diving program. His Lehigh teams won four Patriot League team championships, with the women winning in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and then men winning in 2000. Marshall posted a combined .642 winning percentage between the men and women in dual competition and was an eight time Patriot League Coach of the Year, winning the men's award five times (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1999) and the women's award three times (1998, 2000, 2001). He mentored 41 individuals and 15 relay teams to conference titles during his time as head coach.

As a student-athlete Marshall won an East Coast Conference title in the 100 yard backstroke as a senior and held school records in the 100 and 200 back events. Marshall went on to spend nearly seven years as Executive Director of the Lehigh University Alumni Association. He is the founder of Chris Marshall Advancement Consulting, a full-service advancement consulting firm, focusing on the education sector.

Before turning the University of Notre Dame into a women's basketball power, Muffet McGraw spent five seasons on the Lehigh sidelines, collecting 88 victories and a .682 winning percentage, which remains the highest in program history. McGraw was a two-time East Coast Conference Coach of the Year and led Lehigh to an ECC title in 1985-86. She coached three women's basketball players who have already been inducted into Lehigh's Hall of Fame: Shawn Steward, Liz Feeley and Sherie Androlewicz; and five players who earned All-ECC honors, a group that includes current WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert '86.

A member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, McGraw has also been inducted into Halls of Fame by Saint Joseph's University and the Philadelphia Big 5, She has also been enshrined in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. During her time at Lehigh, McGraw also spent three seasons as head softball coach. She moved on to Notre Dame in 1987 and has led the Fighting Irish to a pair of NCAA Championships (2000-01 and 2017-18). In December 2018, McGraw picked up her 900th career victory, notching the milestone against the same Lehigh program in which she started her coaching career.

The Lehigh Athletics Department has been working on a renewed Athletics Hall of Fame election process after suspending for several years Athletics Hall of Fame elections in order to enhance the internal systems associated with the process. Among the improvements are a more comprehensive archiving system, a refined process for determining candidates to be presented on the annual election ballot, an election process that ensures the consideration of a broader distribution of candidates with qualifications worthy of the Athletics Hall of Fame, and a web-based system for accessing and sharing information about candidates with the nominating committee and electorate.

The Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame currently includes 100 members across 25 sports and nearly 140 years of intercollegiate athletics competition.

A limited number of tickets for the September 27 Hall of Fame Ceremony may be purchased by visiting the link HERE.

Lehigh University Athletics

Five Lehigh greats elected to Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame

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