Heartland Conference

WACO, Texas -- The Heartland Conference is proud to announce an elite group of 10 administrators, coaches and student-athletes who have been selected as inductees to the Heartland Hall of Fame, Class of 2019.
 
A total of two former student-athletes, one former administrator and seven coaches will be inducted into the 2019 Heartland Hall of Fame Class. Inductees will be honored at a special halftime ceremony at the 2019 Heartland Conference Basketball Championship games on March 10 in Tulsa, Okla.
 
Below is a list of the 2019 Heartland Hall of Fame Inductees in alphabetical order.
 
Kelsey Bruce, Dallas Baptist University
Cross Country, 2011-2015
Kelsey Bruce was one of the top cross country athletes in conference history earning the Heartland Conference Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year and Runner of the Year honors in 2011. Bruce would go on to win four Heartland Runner of the Year awards and earn four All-America awards. Her final collegiate meet was a fourth-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championship. Following her college career, Bruce qualified and competed in the 2016 US Olympic Trials in the Marathon and later clocked one of the top 25 times in the marathon in the country. She also finished in the top 10 in three other US championships including the 20k, 25k and half marathon. Bruce has been the assistant cross country and track and field coach since graduating from DBU.
 
Nick Cowell, St. Edward’s
Coach, Women’s Soccer, 2006-Present
Nick Cowell joined the Hilltoppers in 2006 and has gone on to become the winningest coach in program and conference history. Cowell is the second-winningest head coach by total wins in Division II history with 186 wins, all of which have come at St. Edward’s in his 14 seasons. His winning percentage since joining the Heartland Conference of .805 ranks seventh among active coaches in DII. Cowell has never had a losing season since arriving on the hilltop and has advanced to the Elite Eight twice and the Sweet 16 five times. He has won seven conference regular-season titles with St. Edward’s and three conference tournament titles since the postseason tournament was brought back in 2011. Cowell has coached 16 All-Americans, nine conference players of the year, and over 75 All-Heartland players. Cowell has also been named the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year seven times which is the most by a coach in conference history.
 
 
Ryan Erwin, Rogers State
Director of Athletics DBU/Rogers State, 2006-2016
Ryan Erwin served as a Director of Athletics in the Heartland Conference for a decade between Rogers State (2013-16) and Dallas Baptist University (2006-13). In his time as AD, Erwin made a significant impact both on campus and at the conference level serving as the chair of the Heartland Conference Leadership Council, and as a member of the Division II Mentoring Institute. In 2015-16 Erwin and the Rogers State athletic department spearheaded the hosting of the first neutral site basketball championships since 2008 in Tulsa, Okla. where the conference tournament has been held since. In his time at Rogers State, Erwin helped the Athletic Department transition from NAIA to full NCAA Division II members. He was instrumental in the addition of men’s and women’s track and field and dance on College Hill. Erwin also oversaw the Hillcats’ first Heartland Conference title with men’s basketball earning the distinction in 2015-16. While serving at DBU, the Patriots earned their first NCAA regional appearances in seven sports; earned a super-regional appearance in baseball; and national appearances in cross country, golf, and track.
 
Donna Fields, St. Mary’s
Coach, Softball, 1998-Present
Rattler Softball Coach Donna Fields is not only one of the most accomplished coaches in conference history, but in all of Division II. She is a 12-time Heartland Conference Softball Coach of the Year, and has led her team to the Heartland Conference regular-season or postseason championship in 17 of the past 18 seasons. She led the Rattlers to the 2002 NCAA Division II national championship and to NCAA South Central Region championships in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2015. During her tenure, Fields has coached 20 All-Americans, and over 100 All-Heartland Team members since the Heartland’s founding in 1999. All totaled, the legendary coach has won 908 games in her illustrious career, the 19^th-most victories in the history of Division II softball. Off the field, Fields has also served on the Division II Management Council and the Committee on Women’s Athletics from 2004-2009, and served on the South Central Regional Advisory Committee from 2002-2005 and 2012-2016. Fields is also currently serving on the Softball National RAC Committee.
 
 
Kevin Kotzur, St. Mary’s
Men’s Basketball, 2009-2013
Kevin Kotzur retired from St. Mary’s University as the most decorated men's basketball player in the history of the Heartland Conference. He stands as the league's all-time leader in points (2004), rebounds (1039), field goals (854) and field-goal percentage (.662). Kotzur is one of just three men’s basketball student-athletes in conference history to earn first-team All-America honors accomplishing the feat in his final season. In 2012-13 Kotzur was named the Heartland Conference Player of the Year and the South Central Region Player of the Year as a senior. During his time in San Antonio, Kotzur lead the Rattlers to three Heartland Conference title games winning the tournament title twice. He also led StMU to two NCAA Tournament appearances, helping the Rattlers all the way to the Sweet 16 as a senior which is still the furthest any men’s basketball team from the conference has advanced. Off the court, Kotzur was named to the NABC All-State Good Works Team for his work in the community, in the classroom and on the court. Kotzur has gone on to enjoy a stellar professional career which began with a stint in the then D-League with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
 
 
Jennifer McNeil, St. Edward’s
Women’s Golf, 2003-Present
Jennifer McNeil began at the helm of the St. Edward’s women’s golf program prior to the 2003-04 season. Since that time, she has built one of the top golf programs in the Heartland Conference and in all of Division II. In addition to seven Heartland Conference titles and a 2013 NCAA West Region Championship, McNeil has helped the Hilltoppers make 14 consecutive appearances in the NCAA West Regional Championship and four NCAA National Tournament appearances, with program-best fourth-place national finishes in 2012 and 2013. During McNeil’s tenure, she has coached six players to 10 all-America honors, 25 players to 44 all-conference honors, nine times the conference Player of the Year, and seven players to 20 WGCA Academic All-Scholar awards. Individually, McNeil was the NCGA DII National Coach of the Year in 2011, the first National Coach of the Year in any sport at St. Edward’s. McNeil earned Heartland Conference Coach of the Year eight times and was named NCAA West Region Coach of the Year in six times. In addition, as the men's head golf coach in 2004-05; she was named the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year.
 
Charlie Migl, St. Mary's
Baseball, 1987-Present
Charlie Migl stands among the titans of the game of college baseball. The longtime Rattler skipper has racked up 1,180 victories over his 32 years at St. Mary’s University, ranking No. 4 all-time among baseball coaches in the Division II baseball history. He has recorded winning seasons in 30 of his 32 seasons at the helm, reaching the top of the mountain in 2001 when the Rattlers won the Division II national championship. He has twice led St. Mary’s to the College World Series, having also achieved the feat in 2012, and has led his squads to 15 conference championships dating back to 1987, including seven in the Heartland Conference. He is a seven-time Heartland Conference Coach of the Year honoree, and has twice been named the NCAA National Coach of the Year. Migl has also served as the St. Mary’s Athletics Director from 2001-2013, and again as the University’s Interim Athletics Director in 2018. Migl’s 12-year tenure as AD was one of the most successful in the school’s history, with the Rattlers winning four of the program’s six national championships and all four of their NCAA national championships.
 
Jacob Phillips, Dallas Baptist University
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, 2006-Present
DBU Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Head Coach Jacob Phillips has led the Patriots to a combined 18 conference titles including 12 straight women’s cross country crowns. Since 2009, Phillips has guided the Lady Patriots to four trips to the NCAA National Championships (2009, 2015, 2017, & 2018), where they finished the season in the Top 25 all four years.  On the men’s side, Phillips led a Patriots team comprised of non-scholarship runners to a school-best 18th place finish in 2017. Phillips coached fellow 2019 Hall of fame inductee Kelsey Bruce. Since Phillips was named head coach, 12 runners have taken home Runner of the Year honors with nine coming from the women’s team. In Track& Field, Phillips has produced standouts such as two-time All-American Kelsey Bruce, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in the Women’s Outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2013, 2014, and 2015.  She also reached the National Championships in both 2014 and 2015 in the Indoor 5,000-meter steeplechase. In his 13 years, Phillips has coached over 75 NCCAA and DII All-Americans and over 25 National Champions among cross country and track and field.
 
Kenny Trapp, Dallas Baptist University
Men’s and Women’s Golf, 2005-Present
DBU Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach Kenny Trapp is in his 14th year at the helm of one of the Heartland’s, and the nation’s, best golf programs. Over the past five seasons, Trapp has guided the DBU Women’s Golf Team to four trips to the NCAA National Championships, with their top finish coming in 2017, when the Lady Patriots placed second. On the men's side, DBU has advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals seven times since 2009. Over a 14-year span, Trapp has led the women's program to 36 wins and 36 individual titles, while the men's team has accounted for nine team wins and 10 individual titles.  Trapp has also helped guide the women's team to Heartland Conference titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018 and the men's squad to titles in 2013, 2015, and 2016. During his tenure at DBU, Trapp has produced 13 All-Americans, 52 All-Heartland Conference selections and nine players on the men’s and women’s side have been named Freshman of the Year in the Heartland Conference.
 
Brian Young, St. Edward’s
Men’s Soccer, 2004-Present
Brian Young has been one of the most successful Heartland Conference coaches regardless of sport since joining St. Edward’s in 2004 as the program’s third head coach. Young has accumulated five regular-season conference championships and led the Hilltoppers to the NCAA Tournament on four occasions including the program’s first home playoff match in 2016. SEU was the first team to record back-to-back undefeated seasons in the Heartland Conference in 2014 and 2015, and won 21 consecutive regular-season conference matches from 2013-2016 which is a feat no other coach has accomplished. Young has coached 14 All-Americans, 64 All-Region players and 83 All-Heartland honorees over his 14-year career on the hilltop. Under his direction, eight players have been named the Heartland Conference Player of the Year and Young has been named the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year six times. Off the pitch, Coach Young has served on the United Soccer Coaches Division II Men’s Soccer National Ranking Committee. He was also awarded the Austin Soccer Foundation Lifetime Achievement award in 2016.