MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2023 will be formally inducted this Friday evening in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom on the campus.

Along with four individuals, a "team" inductee and this year's service and philanthropic award recipients will also be recognized.  

The new Hall of Fame members in the student-athlete category include All-American softball player Angie (Wagner) Dietel (MSU, '94), NCC Champion women's golfer Deanna (Brown) Dix (MSU, '92), All-American softball player Kendra (Huettl) Steffl (MSU, '12) and NCAA champion women's pole vaulter Lauren (Stelten) Svoboda (MSU, '11).  Former Maverick women's basketball player Tiffany Moe (MSU '10) was also to be inducted, but due to work obligations, will defer her recognition until next year.

"In celebrating gender equity and our ongoing commitment to Title IX, this year's event is branded as 'Here's to the Next 50 Years'. We have an amazing group of female inductees that reflect well on that theme," said Director of Athletics, Kevin Buisman.  "We are honoring others that have served admirably and supported Maverick athletics with gifts of time, talent, and treasure.  It's going to be a great night to enjoy recognizing who we are and what we have become." 

This year's ceremony will include keynote remarks from Dr. Rayla Allison, a former Minnesota State professor and former executive director of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and an NFCA Hall of Famer.  Allison has worked tirelessly as an advocate for women's athletics and is nationally recognized as a consultant in that capacity. 

Slated for induction in the Builders category is longtime Minnesota State administrator Paul Allan who retired last December after more than 37 years of service.

The 2011 Minnesota State softball team will be inducted in the team category, highlighting its accomplishment in advancing to the NCAA Championships for only the second time in program history behind a 54-16 record.

The Jim Schaffer Service Award will be presented to Kath Bill, Cindy Hobbs, Donna Nelson, and Pat Kruger, each of which accumulated many years of distinguished service in various administrative support roles for Minnesota State athletics.

This year's MSU Athletics Philanthropic Award recipients are Michelle and David Schooff.

Biographies of this year's Hall of Fame Inductees are listed below.

Angie (Wagner) Dietel
('94, Softball) --- 1993 NFCA First Team All-American; Two-time All-NCC selection (1992, 1993)…Led MSU in batting average with .423 in 1993, a mark that stood as the school record for 17 years…Also led MSU during the 1993 season in hits (69), doubles (15), triples (9), home runs (9), and RBI's (49), with the 49 RBI's lasting as the school record for 14 years…Was selected to attend the Pan American Softball tryouts.

Deanna (Brown) Dix
('92, Women's Golf) --- Four-time varsity letterwinner won seven tournaments during course of career (1987-91)...Team captain as junior and senior...Member of two teams that finished third at National Collegiate Golf Coaches Association tournament (1990 and 1991)...Finished 18th at nationals as a junior...Helped lead Mavericks to North Central Conference title as a sophomore in fall of 1988...Led MSU with an 86.7 stroke average as a senior and ranked second with a 85.5 mark as a junior...1992 team MVP...Four-time member of MSU Dean's List...Maverick Achievement Award recipient as a senior scholar-athlete.
 
Kendra (Huettl) Steffl
('12, Softball) --- Appeared in 153 games as a member of the Minnesota State softball team, including 125 starts…As a pitcher she put together a 92-32 record to go with a 2.30 ERA and 772 strikeouts in 789.2 innings pitched…Held opposing batters to a .236 batting average…Named an NFCA Scholar Athlete five times and to the NSIC All-Academic Team three times…Named to Daktronics All-Region Second Team as a freshman…Earned CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team honors in 2011 and was named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in 2012 (First Team honors also)…Named to the NFCA All-American Third Team in 2011…Received the NCAA Elite 88 Award for boasting the highest GPA at the 2011 NCAA Championships…When she finished her career in 2012 she was MSU's all-time leader in appearances (153), and strikeouts (772)…She also ranked second in career starts (125), wins (92), innings pitched (789.2) and shutouts (25) when her career finished after the 2012 season…Helped the tem reach the NCAA Tournament all four years she played for the Mavericks, including the team's second trip to the NCAA Championships in programs history during the 2011 season…Helped the Mavericks claim their first regular season NSIC Championship in 2012.
 
Lauren (Stelten) Svoboda
('11, TF) --- Named Minnesota State's top senior female athlete in 2011, Stelten won the 2011 NCAA Division II Indoor championship in the pole vault, becoming MSU's third female pole vault national champion…She finished her indoor career as a four-time All-American having earned first (2011), second (2008 and 2010) and sixth (2009)…She won the NSIC Indoor Championship in the pole vault in 2011 and 2010 and finished second in 2009 and had as much success outdoors where she was four-time outdoor All-American in the pole vault, finishing first in 2011, second in 2010, fourth in 2009 and 2008…Stelten won the 2010 NSIC Outdoor TF pole vault title after finishing second in 2009.
 
2011 Softball Team
Finished 2011 season with a 54-16 record…Advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second time in program history (first since 1987)…Captured NCAA Central Region Championship…Set single-season records in games played (70), wins (54), at bats (1,874), runs scored (370), batting average (.320), hits (600), doubles (103), home runs (57, tied with 2010 team also), RBI (336), stolen bases (108) and total bases (900)…Featured six All-NSIC players including Melanie Upchurch (1st), Julie O'Neal (1st), Natalie Spicer (1st), Lindsay Erickson (1st), Kendra Huettl (2nd) and Kelly Wood (2nd)…Nine players named to NSIC All-Academic Team and 12 NFCA Scholar Athletes…Four players combined for five All-Region honors including Kendra Huettl, Lindsay Erickson, Melanie Upchurch and Julie O'Neal…Two Mavericks received All-American honors including Lindsay Erickson (NFCA 2nd Team and Daktronics 2nd Team) and Kendra Huettl (CoSIDA 3rd Team and NFCA 3rd Team).

Paul Allan (Builder's Category)
Allan came to Minnesota State in 1985 as the Sports Information Director and was named Assistant Director of Athletics in 2009 and Senior Deputy Director in 2022...Oversaw the media relations and external operations aspect of all 20 of Minnesota State's teams... During his tenure, Minnesota State won four team national championships...Publicized 100s conference champions, NCAA postseason qualifiers (teams and individuals) as well as academic awards at the university, conference, regional and national levels...Played a key role in Minnesota State's transition to Division I hockey...2007 CoSIDA Warren Berg Award Winner...2008 North Central Conference Legacy Award winner, 2009 CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductee and 2023 College Sports Communicators Lifetime Achievement Award winner...Worked two Winter Olympic games.