MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will be formally inducted on Friday, Oct. 2, in the CSU Ballroom.

The new Hall of Fame members in the student-athlete category include Ruth Hofmeister (athletics), Korey Kronforst (soccer), Emmanuel Matadi (men's track & field), Adam Thielen (football) and Brady Wilson (wrestling). Jim Makovsky and Tim Marshall will be inducted into the Builders Category, while Don Westphal will be inducted as the Jim Schaffer Service Award winner. The 1986 Minnesota State baseball team will also be inducted.

Biographies for this year's Hall of Fame Inductees are listed below.
 
Ruth Hofmeister (MSU, 1964, Pre athletics): Competed in softball, bowling, badminton and skiing...Placed third amongst women's bowlers at the Division of College Unions Tournament...Competed at the ACU International Women's Championships...Teacher and coaching girls in California...Played first base and pitched for several years for highly ranked Bloomington fastpitch teams...All-state and All-league in high school.
 
Korey Kronforst (MSU, 2012-15, soccer): Played in 85 games, including 64 starts during her four season (2012-15) with the Mavericks…Recorded 59 goals and 22 assists for 140 career points…Finished her career second all-time in career goals at Minnesota State with 59 and second all-time in career points 140…Set a team record with 19 game winning goals in her career…Was named to the All-NSIC First Team three times…Named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Year in 2013 and 2015…Claimed Daktronics All-American First Team honors during her sophomore season as she tallied 17 goals and seven assists for 41 points…Named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team in 2014 and 2015…Named to the NSIC All-Academic Team three times…Helped her team win four NSIC Regular Season Championships and two NSIC Tournament Championships…Helped her team reach the NCAA Tournament four times, including two trips to the Sweet 16 in 2014 and 2015 and one trip to the Elite Eight in 2012. 
 
Emmanuel Matadi (MSU, 2014-15, men's track & field): Set two Minnesota State indoor records in the 60m (6.66) and the 200m (21.10)...Also set two MSU outdoor records in the 100m (10.19) and the 4x100 relay (40.15)...Competed for his home country of Liberia in three Olympics...At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro he finished 43rd in the 100m (10.31) and 30th in the 200m (20.49)...At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics he finished 35th in the 100m (10.25)...Took 26th place in the 100m (10.18) at the 2024 Paris Olympics...Also competed in the 4x100m relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics...Was named the NSIC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2015...Won the NSIC Championship in the indoor 200m (21.42) in 2015...Won the NSIC Championship in the outdoor 100m (10.19) and 200m (20.84) in 2015...Won a pair of NCAA outdoor national championships in the 100m (10.21) and the 200m (20.54)...Earned All-American honors in the 2015 indoor 60m as he finished fourth.
 
Adam Thielen (MSU, 2008-12, football): Played in 46 games during his four seasons with the Minnesota State football team, primarily as a wide receiver...Started in all 11 games as a sophomore and was named to the All-NSIC Second Team as he caught 41 passes for 686 yards and six touchdowns...Started in all 12 games during his junior season as he caught 62 passes for 715 yards and five touchdowns, before garnering his second All-NSIC Second Team honor...As a senior, he led the Mavericks in catches (74) receiving yards (1,176) and touchdown catches (8)...His 1,176 receiving yards were the fourth-most in a season at that time as he would go on to claim All-NSIC First Team honors and Daktronics All-Central Region Second Team accolades...Named MSU's Senior Male Athlete of the Year for the 2012-13 season...Went on to play in 178 games during his 12 seasons in the NFL...Finished his NFL career with 704 catches for 8,497 yards and 64 touchdown catches and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
 
Brady Wilson (MSU, 2006-10, wrestling): A four-time All-American as a heavyweight with the Minnesota State wrestling team (2007-10)…Advanced to the NCAA Championships four times behind four regional championship finishes…Went 41-10 as a freshman as he finished fifth at the NCAA Championships…Boasted a 36-6 record as a sophomore as he took fourth place at the NCAA Championships to claim All-American honors…Took third place at the NCAA Championships in 2009 as he finished his season with a 33-4 record…As a senior, he finished second at the NCAA Championships as he put together a 32-5 record…His 142 career victories are the most by a Maverick…He is one of eight Mavericks to earn four All-American honors…Named the North Central Conference individual championship at 285 lbs. in 2007 and 2008…Helped the Mavericks win two NCC Team Championships in 2007 and 2008, to go along with an NSIC Championship in 2009…Helped MSU finish fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2007, second in 2008, third in 2009 and sixth in 2010.
 
Jim Makovsky (Builder's Category, Wrestling Coach): Served as the Minnesota State wrestling coach for 33 seasons...Put together a 328-149-3 record at Minnesota State and was just the third head coach in the program's history...Including his four seasons at Valley City State, he amassed a career record of 351-169-4...Makovsky's 351 career wins were the eighth-most in Division II...Makovsky mentored 12 national champions and 99 NCAA Division II All-Americans...Earned three conference coach of the year honors (2007-09) and won a pair of conference championships in the North Central Conference in 2007 and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2009...In 2019 he was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year...Nineteen of his teams have finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships, including a pair of national runner-up finishes in 1992-93 and 2007-08...Inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013.
 
Tim Marshall (Builder's Category, Athletics Administrator): Mainstay in the Minnesota State Athletic Department for 27 years...Finished his tenure at Minnesota State as the Senior Deputy Director for Internal Operations...  Facilitated hosting numerous NCAA Regional and National Championships... Played an integral role in the game day operations of Maverick men's and women's hockey... Oversaw the department's business and ticket operations.
 
1986 Baseball Team: Went 35-15 during the season as the team won the NCC Regular Season and Tournament Championships...Finished fourth at the College World Series...Had a 16-game winning streak...Went 11-3 in a trip to Texas with two of the losses coming against the University of Texas...MSU averaged more than 10 hits a game compared to its opponents seven hits a game...The Mavericks also averaged more than seven runs a game...Set 10 team records, including batting average (.339), home runs (43), RBI (365), runs scored (426), ERA (4.24), strikeouts (275), walks (229), opponent batting average (.248) and opponent ERA (6.42)...Five players received All-NCC honors, including Dan Willette, Steve Turnquist, Dave Whiteford, Wes Weber and Mike Kanter...Weber was named MVP Pitcher and All-American...Fritz Polka would earn All-American honors also...Three players drafted to the majors, including Fritz Polka to the New York Mets, Wes Weber to the Oakland A's and Joe Marchese to the Boston Red Sox...Nine of the players returned for the 1987 season that saw the Mavericks repeat as NCC Championships, behind a 13-game winning streak at the end of the regular season, as they once again made their way the NCAA Tournament.
 
Don Westphal (Jim Schaffer Service Award): If you have ever watched a Minnesota State men's hockey game, you've heard the baritone tones of tonight's Jim Schaeffer award winner, Don Westphal.  Westphal has been a part of Maverick hockey since its inception as an NCAA Division I program, starting first as a public address announcer, then working as a radio broadcaster before transitioning to the television broadcast where he has spent his last 25 years. During the day, Don serves as the Director of the Advancement Fund at Bethany Lutheran College - but on Friday and Saturday nights, he's all purple and gold as he sits behind the microphone describing the action at home for Maverick fans. He's called some of the greatest games in Maverick history including a six-goal come back victory over Denver, a thrilling overtime win over Bowling Green in the WCHA Championship - and who can forget calling the CCHA Championship victory over Bemidji State twice in 2023.