Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame to induct eight

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BROOKINGS – Three football players who went on to professional careers, record setters in baseball and basketball, two volleyball All-Americans and a three-sport trail blazer make up the 2020 class of the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame at South Dakota State University.

The eight inductees represent the largest class in the 54-year history of the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame and bring the roster of honorees to 103. On-campus recognition of the class is tentatively scheduled for April 10, 2021.

The eight inductees are:

• Lynn Boden, football

• Rose (Ebnet) Henderson, volleyball

• Steve Heiden, football

• Billy McMacken, baseball

• Kris Nelson, basketball/volleyball/softball

• Shannon (Schlagel) Huber, basketball

• Shauna (Sturm) Brockman, volleyball

• Zach Zenner, football

LYNN BODEN

Lynn Boden holds the distinction of being the only North Central Conference player ever selected in the first round of the National Football League Draft, when he was the 13th overall selection by the Detroit Lions in 1975.

A native of Osceola, Nebraska, Boden was a first-team Kodak Division II All-America honoree in 1974 and also was honored as the NCC’s Most Valuable Offensive Lineman. A four-year letterman, he gained a starting spot at offensive tackle as a sophomore and was chosen to serve as a team captain as a senior.

Boden went on to play four seasons with the Lions before finishing his NFL career with the Chicago Bears in 1979.

ROSE (EBNET) HENDERSON

Rose (Ebnet) Henderson made an impact on the volleyball court from 1997-2000, helping lead the Jackrabbits to unprecedented success in the North Central Conference and three appearances in NCAA Division II postseason play.

An outside hitter from Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, Ebnet capped her career in 2000 by being named North Central Conference Most Valuable Player as the Jackrabbits earned a share of the NCC title for the first time in program history. She powered a single-season record of 564 kills that season as SDSU advanced to the regional final.

Ebnet also took over the top spot on the SDSU career kills chart during her senior season, finishing with 1,724 - a total that still ranks second in program history. A three-time all-NCC performer, she also finished fourth in digs (1,316) and sixth in block assists (187) on the SDSU career charts.

In addition, Ebnet was named an NCC Honor Athlete during the 2000-01 academic year and was the recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

STEVE HEIDEN

Heiden earned All-America honors as a senior and went on to an 11-year playing career in the National Football League.

A native of Rushford, Minnesota, Heiden finished his Jackrabbit career from 1995-98 eighth in program history with 112 receptions and 1,499 receiving yards. He also scored eight touchdowns and was a team captain in 1998. Heiden was honored as a member of the 50-player Coughlin-Stadium All-Time Team in 2011.

During his senior season, Heiden led SDSU with 46 receptions for 742 yards and five touchdowns, en route to second-team All-America honors from The Sports Network and third-team recognition on the Football Gazette Division II All-America Team. He was a first-team all-North Central Conference selection in 1998 after honorable mention selections the two previous seasons. Heiden closed out his collegiate career by playing in the 1999 Snow Bowl (Division II all-star game).

The San Diego Chargers selected Heiden in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played three seasons for the Chargers before being traded to Cleveland, where he played from 2002-09.

Heiden has served as an assistant coach with the Arizona Cardinals since 2013.

BILLY McMACKEN

Billy McMacken excelled both at the plate and on the mound for Jackrabbit baseball teams from 1987-90. He earned first-team all-North Central Conference and third-team Division II All-America honors from the College Baseball Coaches Association in each of his final three seasons, adding NCC Most Valuable Player honors in both 1989 and 1990. McMacken is the lone Jackrabbit baseball player to be honored on All-America teams in multiple seasons.

A Brookings native, McMacken established numerous single-season and career hitting records, and still holds Jackrabbit career standards for slugging percentage (.713) and runs batted in (192). He also ended his four-year career as the Jackrabbit record holder for hits (223), runs scored (163), doubles (49) and home runs (42) - all of which have since been surpassed.

As a senior, McMacken set then-single-season records of 16 home runs, 18 doubles, 60 runs batted in and 127 total bases. He hit above .400 in back-to-back seasons, hitting at a .409 clip as a sophomore in 1988 and .416 a year later. He added team bests of 10 home runs, 52 RBIs, 109 total bases and 62 hits as a junior.

The left-hander also was a record-setter in the pitching department for the Jackrabbits, establishing career marks for innings pitched (210.0) and games started (39) - both of which have eclipsed. He ended his SDSU career with a 19-11 career mark, including posting a 5-0 record in 1988.

SDSU won NCC Southern Division titles each of his four seasons in the lineup and earned an NCAA Division II Central Regional berth in 1990.

McMacken went on to a long and storied amateur career, leading numerous Brookings-based teams to state championships as both a player and coach. He was inducted into the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013.

KRIS NELSON

Competing during the infancy of women’s athletics at South Dakota State University, Nelson excelled in three sports during the 1970s: basketball, softball and volleyball.

In basketball, Nelson was a part of Jackrabbit teams that captured AIAW state titles three times (1973-74, 1974-75 and 1976-77 seasons). She averaged a double-double as both a junior and senior, posting team-highs of 12.8 points and 10.4 rebounds and a junior before collecting 13.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game during the 1976-77 campaign.

A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Nelson set and continues to hold the Jackrabbit career softball records for batting average at .390, while currently ranking third in slugging percentage (.566). In 1975, Nelson batted .500 (22-for-44) and drove in 19 runs in only 12 games to lead the Jackrabbits at the plate. She also pitched for a 1973 squad that won the AIAW State Tournament and advanced to the AIAW World Series.

With Nelson in the lineup, Jackrabbit volleyball teams claimed AIAW state titles in 1974 and 1975, combining for a 45-16 record over those two seasons.

SHANNON (SCHLAGEL) HUBER

Shannon (Schlagel) Huber helped lead the South Dakota State women’s basketball team to new heights during a standout career from 2002-05. Individually, she finished as the Jackrabbits’ career scoring leader with 1,887 points (since broken) and is one of two players in program history to also reach 1,000 career rebounds, finishing second on the career charts with 1,011.

Schlagel was honored as North Central Conference Freshman of the Year during the 2001-02 season, averaging 11.8 points and 8.1 rebounds as the Jackrabbits went on to make the first of three consecutive NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances. SDSU claimed the NCAA Division II national championship in 2003 with Schlagel averaging 12.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest. She scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the North Central Regional final against South Dakota, then tallied 26 points with 12 rebounds in the opening round of the Elite Eight versus Cal State Bakersfield.

After averaging a career-best 17.7 points as a junior while repeating on the all-NCC squad, Schlagel led a successful transition to the Division I ranks with team highs of 15.4 points and 6.5 rebounds during a 2004-05 season in which she earned first-team all-Independent recognition.

A native of Raymond, South Dakota, and a graduate of Clark High School, Schlagel started 128 of the 133 games she played as a Jackrabbit and posted 34 double-doubles. For her career, she averaged 14.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, and shot 47.4 percent from the field. She also finished in the SDSU career top 10 with 193 steals.

SDSU compiled a 107-26 in Schlagel’s four seasons in the lineup.

SHAUNA (STURM) BROCKMAN

Shauna (Sturm) Brockman became the first Jackrabbit volleyball player to earn All-America recognition in two separate seasons and was named 2001 AVCA Division II Player of the Year in leading SDSU to an Elite Eight appearance and berth in the national championship match. She also was a first-team AVCA All-America selection in 2000 and was honored as North Central Conference Most Valuable Player her senior year.

In addition, the Springfield, Minnesota, native was a third-team Daktronics All-America honoree in 2000 before moving up to the first team in 2001. Sturm tallied 491 kills her senior season after recording 485 kills and a career-best .366 hitting percentage as a junior in 2000 as the Jackrabbits won a share of the NCC title for the first time in program history.

A three-time all-NCC and all-region performer, Sturm finished second on the SDSU career charts with 1,528 kills, second in hitting percentage (.322), tied for third with 275 block assists and ranked 10th with 67 solo blocks. Her 126 block assists in 2001 set a Jackrabbit single-season record (since broken).

With Sturm in the lineup the Jackrabbits won 20-plus matches each of her four seasons, compiling a 102-28 record and qualifying for NCAA Division II postseason play in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

Sturm was named an NCC Honor Athlete as a senior and was a two-time member of both the NCC All-Academic Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.

ZACH ZENNER

Zach Zenner defined excellence - both on the field and in the classroom - during a standout career at South Dakota State University from 2011-14.

On the gridiron, the Eagan, Minnesota, native established himself as one of the top running backs in the history of the Football Championship Subdivision, finishing his career third on the FCS rushing charts with 6,548 yards. He became the first player in Division I football history to rush for 2,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, gaining 2,044 yards in 2012, 2,015 yards in 2013 and 2,019 yards in 2014. He was an All-America selection and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in the FCS ranks each of the three seasons.

Zenner also set four Missouri Valley Football Conference career records: rushing yards (6,548), all-purpose yards (8,211), rushing touchdowns (61) and total touchdowns (69). His 69 total touchdowns tied the SDSU career mark and twice he ran for a Jackrabbit single-game record of 295 yards - in a 2012 playoff game against Eastern Illinois and at North Dakota in 2013.

Long touchdowns were a staple of Zenner’s career as he scored on runs of 50-plus yards 14 times, including a school-record 99-yard rush at Kansas in the 2012 season opener. He topped the 100-yard mark in 32 career games and crossed the 200-yard mark eight times, including one in a playoff game in each season from 2012-14.

Besides his dominance on the field, Zenner received a number of other accolades for his academic pursuits. A biology/pre-medicine major, Zenner was named a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy in 2014 and was awarded postgraduate scholarships by the National Football Foundation, NCAA and FCS Athletic Directors Association. He also was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Mickey Charles Academic Achievement Award as the FCS’s top scholar-athlete and became the first Jackrabbit student-athlete in any sport to be honored as the Capital One Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. He was a three-time selection to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America Team and also was chosen as a member of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his community service efforts.

Zenner was selected to play in the East-West Shrine Game following the 2014 season and later signed a free-agent contract with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He played for the Lions from 2015-18 before spending portions of the 2019 season with the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins.