2024 College Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees

34-9 career W-L record/threw 35 consecutive scoreless postseason innings in 1982

One of the most dominant pitchers in the history of the game, Roger Clemens began his collegiate baseball journey at San Jacinto College. In his one year at junior college, Clemens recorded a 9-2 record before heading to Texas. Clemens was a two-time All-American with the Longhorns racking up 25 victories, 20 career complete games, six shutouts and 241 strikeouts on the mound. Clemens helped Texas to back-to-back Southwest Conference titles in 1982 and 1983. In 1982, he paced the Texas pitching staff in shutouts (4), complete games (8), innings pitched (108 2/3) and strikeouts (90). He threw 35 consecutive scoreless innings during 1982 postseason competition as the Horns finished tied for third nationally. In 1983, Clemens helped the Longhorns capture the 1983 National Championship, which was the program's fourth national crown, while setting the school single-season record for team wins (66) and innings pitched (669). He pitched Texas to a 4-3 victory over Alabama in the 1983 national title game as he tossed a complete game, allowing only three earned runs on seven hits while walking none and striking out nine. Clemens led the 1983 pitching staff in innings pitched (166) and strikeouts (151) while ranking among the nation's top 10 in victories (13). He earned NCAA Central Regional All-Tournament team honors in 1982 and 1983, SWC All-Tournament accolades in 1982 and Collegiate Baseball pre-season All-America honors in 1983.

Clemens was a first-round draft pick (19th overall) of the Boston Red Sox in 1983. In his stellar 24-season MLB career, he played for the Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and New York Yankees. He was a 10-time MLB All-Star selection, won a record seven Cy Young Awards, one American League MVP (1986) and one MLB All-Star Game MVP award. Clemens pitched in five World Series and was part of two World Series championship teams, both with the Yankees in 1999 and 2000. Clemens earned 354 career wins and 4,672 strikeouts in his MLB career. Clemens was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 1994, the Texas Sports and Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 and became the first Longhorn to have his jersey retired in 1993.

43 years as Grambling State head coach, Three SWAC Championships

A Grambling State legend, Wilbert Ellis spent 43 years coaching the Tigers, assuming the head coaching role in 1977 upon the retirement of R.W.E. Jones. Ellis amassed a 701-478-2 career record in 26 seasons as head coach, retiring following the 2003 season. Ellis, who had his No. 31 jersey retired, led GSU to three SWAC Championships (1983, 1984, 1985) and guided the Tigers to three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Ellis is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, the SWAC Hall of Fame, the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Ellis also received the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, created by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s parent organization, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, for long-term exemplary contributions to the perception of Louisiana by an individual who has ties to the state's sports landscape. He has been a trusted advisor for generations of presidents, athletic directors and coaches at Grambling, and in community and governmental affairs. Ellis was instrumental in the establishment of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum in Grambling, and the university's Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

1,487 wins, ’89 D-III national champs, eight D-III CWS appearances and seven D-I CWS appearances

By the time Mike Fox retired from college baseball in 2020, he had already secured his place among the most successful coaches in the game. Fox concluded his 37-year head coaching career with a 1,487-547-5 record, a winning percentage of .731. Fox spent 15 seasons as the head coach at North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount, where he led the Battling Bishops to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, eight trips to the Division III College World Series and the 1989 national championship. His teams posted 15 consecutive top-20 finishes and won 11 Dixie Conference championships. His record of 539-141-4 at Wesleyan ranked second in winning percentage (.791) among all active Division III head coaches.

Fox became the head coach at North Carolina, his alma mater, prior to the 1999 season. His Tar Heel teams went 948-406-1, won ACC championships in 2007, 2013 and 2018, and advanced to the College World Series seven times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2018). The 2006 and 2007 teams reached the championship round in Omaha. He is the winningest coach in Carolina baseball history and led UNC to seven of its 11 CWS appearances. Carolina averaged almost 45 wins per season (prior to the COVID-19 shortened season of 2020) and posted five 50-win seasons under Fox, setting a school-record 59 wins in 2013. Major League Baseball teams drafted 111 of his Tar Heel players, including 15 first-round or supplemental round picks. A total of 51 of his players who signed professional contracts prior to graduating returned to UNC to earn their degrees. Twenty-seven Tar Heels under his tutelage have played in the Major Leagues. He coached 37 first-team All-ACC selections and his players earned 32 All-America honors. Andrew Miller (2006) and Dustin Ackley (2009) won National Player of the Year honors. Three players -- Ackley (2006), Colin Moran (2011) and Aaron Sabato (2019) -- were named National Freshman of the Year. His players also won two ACC Player of the Year awards, four ACC Pitcher of the Year honors and six ACC Freshman of the Year awards. Baseball America's 2008 National Coach of the Year, Fox was ACC Coach of the Year in 2018 and his peers selected him Atlantic Region Coach of the Year three times. The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame inducted him as a member in 2017.

1,630 wins, three national championships, 12 NAIA World Series

Woody Hunt led the Cumberland University baseball team to three NAIA national championships (2004, 2010, 2014) and two runner-up finishes (1995, 2006) during his 41-year head coaching career. He amassed a 1,630-774-5 overall record, including a 1,569-748-5 record as a four-year institution. The Phoenix appeared in 12 NAIA World Series, including six in 11 seasons from 2004-14. Cumberland won 20 regular season conference championships during Hunt's tenure, including 10 in the Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference (TCAC), six in the Mid-South Conference (MSC) and four in the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TSAC). He led Cumberland to four district championships, 12 NAIA regional titles and five super regionals. The program posted 24 seasons with 40 or more victories, including 20 of the last 27 years, while registering 50 or more wins eight times. The 2004 squad set the school-record for victories with 59, followed closely behind by the 2010 club with a 58-9 mark.

Under Hunt, the Phoenix produced 69 NAIA All-Americans, including 2010 National Player of the Year Matt Greener and Steve Green, the only three-time All-American in program history. A total of 99 former players who played for Hunt signed professional contracts. Hunt claimed 17 Coach of the Year honors, including the 2006 and 2010 Rawlings National Coach of the Year awards. He is a seven-time Southeast Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the National Coach of the Year Award four times. He has been elected to six halls of fame, including the Cumberland’s Sports Hall of Fame, the Boyle County (Ky.) Baseball Sports Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Three-time All-American, Two-time All-SWC selection, 1986 No. 1 MLB Draft Pick

A three-time All-American and MLB first overall draft pick, Jeff King starred for Arkansas from 1984 to 1986. The native of Marion, Indiana helped catapult Arkansas baseball back to the national stage, including a trip to the College World Series in 1985. King was an All-America selection in all three of his seasons in a Hog uniform. He still holds the third-highest batting average over an Arkansas career, hitting .372. King was an All-Southwest Conference (SWC) selection in 1985 and 1986. He made the SWC All-Tournament Team as both a freshman (1984) and a sophomore (1985). He was a key part of Arkansas’ run to the 1985 CWS, in a season where he tallied 93 hits, 26 doubles, 17 home runs and 82 RBI. The RBI total still stands as the single-season school record. King went on to be named to the 1985 CWS All-Tournament Team where Arkansas reached the semifinals for the second time in program history after wins over South Carolina and Stanford.

After his junior year, King entered the MLB Draft and was taken as the No. 1 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates. King played 11 years at the pro level from 1989-99, spending eight years in Pittsburgh and three years in Kansas City. He reached the playoffs with the Pirates in 1990 and 1992, playing in the National League Championship Series both times and 100 or more games in a season seven times. King finished his career with 1,091 hits and 154 home runs. His best seasons came in his final year in Pittsburgh (1996) where he hit .271 with 30 home runs and 111 RBI. That led to his signing with Kansas City in 1997, where he drove in 112 runs and hit 28 home runs. King was inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 2000. In 2019, King was selected to the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame.

12 years as NCAA Baseball Rules Secretary, Umpired 15 Juco World Series & five Connie Mack World Series

For more than five decades, Jim Paronto served the game of baseball as an umpire, coach, administrator and one of the nation’s foremost baseball rules experts. Paronto was a longtime baseball umpire serving the Pac-12, WAC, Mountain West and Junior College World Series. He worked the JUCO World Series 15 times and the Connie Mack World Series five times. He served as the coordinator of umpires for the Mountain West (2003-21), Scenic West and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (2015-22). He became the NCAA Baseball Rules Secretary in 2003 and served in that role until 2015. In addition, Paronto served as a teacher, coach and administrator his entire adult life. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Adams State College and a Doctorate of Education in Athletic Administration from Brigham Young.

Paronto taught and coached high school football and baseball in El Centro, Calif., and Monte Vista, Colo. Paronto served as head coach of the Adams State baseball program in addition to serving as an associate athletic director (1973-76) and eventually athletic director (1977-80) for the institution. He became head baseball coach at Adams State in 1972. In 1981, he left his alma mater for BYU where he served on the Sport and Physical Education staff as well as being the assistant football coach. From 1985-87, he served as assistant football coach at Oregon State. In 1987, he coached and taught at Grand Junction Central High School. In 1990, he became the head football coach and assistant athletic director at Colorado Mesa (then Mesa State College) and eventually its athletic director from 1994-98.

Three-time Division III First team All-American/led nation in hitting in ’83

One of the most accomplished Division III baseball players in history, Randy Ross was a star for North Park University from 1981 to 1984. The shortstop was a three-time first-team ABCA All-America selection (1982-84) and a four time All-CCIW selection (1981-84) for the Vikings. In fact, Ross was the first Division III player to be selected three times as a first-team All-American and only one of seven in the history of the division to do so. When he finished his career, his lifetime .469 batting average was the highest in the history of NCAA Division III. He slugged an astonishing .767 in his collegiate career. When Ross finished his collegiate career in 1984, he owned the top career batting average in D-III history as well as the most career hits. Ross led the national in batting average in 1983 and helped lead his team to CCIW team championships in 1983 and 1984. After splitting time at third base and left field as a freshman, Ross was a three-year fixture in the Viking middle infield.

As a freshman, Ross hit .429, slugged .664, and was on base at a .485 clip. In his sophomore campaign, he posted a .511 batting average, .901 slugging percentage and .558 on-base percentage while earning 12 home runs and 74 RBI. His 83 hits as a sophomore led the NCAA. Ross capped his collegiate career by hitting .416 in his senior year while racking up 32 stolen bases. Remarkably, he put up those prolific career numbers while striking out only 20 times in four years. In addition to leading the nation in hits in 1983, he also led the CCIW in batting and hits twice (.492, 29 in 1981, .544, 23 in 1983), in home runs and RBI in 1983 (5, 28) and in stolen bases with in 1982 (13). He was awarded the CCIW's Jack Horenberger Most Outstanding Player award in 1983.

First Team ABCA All-American ’70 / First Team The Sporting News All-American, Second Team ABCA All-American ’71

Mike Schmidt lettered in baseball for four years at Ohio from 1967-71. He was listed in 16 different places in the university's baseball record book during his time and still holds numerous records. He was an All-American twice, in 1970 and 1971, and also earned All-District IV/All Mideast Region honors in both years. He was the shortstop and a three-time All-MAC selection on three straight conference championship teams. He led Ohio to its only College World Series in 1970. Schmidt amassed 27 home runs and a slugging percentage of .640 in his collegiate career.

Schmidt was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round (30th overall pick) in 1971. He racked up 2,234 career hits, 548 home runs and 1,595 RBI in his MLB career. He held or shared 14 MLB records, 18 National League records, 24 Phillies career records and 11 Phillies season records. Schmidt went on to play 18 years for the Phillies (1972-89) and was named to 12 All-Star Teams, earned 10 Gold Glove Awards at third base and was named National League MVP three times (1980, 81, 86). Schmidt was a member of the 1980 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies and received the ultimate honor as he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1995. Schmidt was inducted into the Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame in 1977 and the MAC Hall of Fame in 2012. His jersey was retired by Ohio in October 2014.

2000 National Player of the Year/Freshman of the Year 1999/.409 career batting average

One of the top performers in Yellow Jacket history, Teixeira earned a long list of honors, including the 2000 Dick Howser Trophy (National Player of the Year), 2000 ACC Player of the Year, 2000 consensus first-team All-American, 1999 National Freshman of the Year, 1999 ACC Rookie of the Year and 1999 second-team All-American. He was also named to the All-ACC first team twice (1999, 2000). The third baseman from Baltimore, Md., batted .409 during his three-year college career while slugging 36 home runs and 165 RBI. He ranks fourth in school history in career batting average (.409) and second in slugging percentage (.712), and holds the school record for most runs scored in a season with 104. As a sophomore in 2000, Teixeira batted .427 with 18 home runs and 80 RBI, posting the seventh-best batting average for a single-season in school history. That performance helped Georgia Tech win the 2000 ACC regular season and tournament championships as well as the NCAA Atlanta Regional title.

Teixeira was drafted in the first round (fifth overall) by the Texas Rangers in 2001. He played 14 MLB seasons for the Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees. Teixeira won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009. He was a three-time MLB All-Star selection, three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a five-time Gold Glove winner. In his MLB tenure, Teixeira hit 409 home runs and collected 1,298 RBI. In 2023, Georgia Tech retired his No. 23 jersey.

All-American pitcher in ‘59/CWS Most Outstanding Player in ’58

Bill Thom starred for the USC Trojans on the mound from 1957 to 1959. He finished his three years of varsity play with a 23-5 record and 165 strikeouts. He earned First Team All-America honors in 1959 when he won 10 games with a 1.44 ERA and 58 strikeouts. Thom was USC's first-ever College World Series Most Outstanding Player when he led Troy to the 1958 national championship. In the semifinal game vs Missouri, he tossed a three-hit shutout to force the decisive game. The next night, he returned to the mound in the eighth inning of a 7-7 tie and threw another 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Thom earned a career-high 76 strikeouts in 1958. He received first team All-CIBA honors in 1958 and 1959 and made All-District VIII in 1958. Thom was inducted into the USC Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

Two-time All-American/pitched on ’49 & ’50 national champs at Texas

One of the best hurlers in school history, Murray Wall competed for the Texas Longhorns from 1947-50. The Dallas, Texas native, earned both ABCA All-America and All-Southwest Conference honors in 1949 and 1950. In his collegiate career, Wall led the Longhorns to national championships in 1949 and 1950 and four SWC titles (1947, 1948, 1949, 1950). Wall compiled a career 28-7 record on the mound, including a 20-3 record in conference play. As a junior in 1949, he sported a 9-2 record with a 2.10 ERA and 59 strikeouts. As a senior in 1950, he was 8-2 with a 2.03 ERA and 66 strikeouts. Wall spent four years in the Major Leagues with the Boston Braves, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators. He combined for 13 victories and 82 strikeouts as a pitcher in the pros. He also tallied five hits at the plate. In 1978, Wall was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor.