Three Buccaneer greats elected to CSU Athletics Hall of Fame

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Three former Charleston Southern Buccaneers have been selected to the 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame class it was announced Monday. Newly elected members include Braxton Drummond of men’s track and field, Mulern Jean of women’s track and field and Saah Nimley of men’s basketball.

These three build upon the legacy of past hall of fame inductees. They grow the hall of fame to 107 former Buccaneer greats spanning 26 classes since the first group of 11 joined May 9, 1989. CSU Athletics will honor this year’s trio during Hall of Fame Weekend, kicking off the home football schedule, at Noon Sept. 3 against Western Carolina.

BRAXTON DRUMMOND | MEN’S TRACK & FIELD | 2011-16
One of the greatest track & field athletes in school history, Drummond was a three-time All-American in the long jump, earning the distinction following the 2013 indoor and 2014 indoor and outdoor campaigns. His dual honor in 2014 made him one of just four athletes nationally that season to garner both accolades.

He finished as high as fifth in the long jump on the national scale, one of two Top-10 results. He was the Big South champion in the event four times, two each for indoor (2013, 2014) and outdoor (2014, 2016) and was named the Big South Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2014 and 2016. Throughout his illustrious career, Drummond received nine total all-conference honors and was voted to the All-Big South Decade Team for 2010-19 both for indoor and outdoor track and field.

A long-time conference record holder in the long jump, he still is atop the league listings for outdoor and his indoor mark was surpassed just this spring. He also tallied five total Big South Athlete of the Week plaudits during his time in the Holy City.

Additionally, he participated in the 2015 USA Track & Field Championships, placing fifth in the long jump, and was ninth in a qualifying heat at the 2016 Olympic Trials. He was a gold medalist at the 2014 NACAC Under-23 Championship, held in Kamloops, British Columbia.

MULERN JEAN | WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD | 2011-14
Another exemplary performer from the track & field programs, Jean earned one All-America honor during her career, in the 100-meter hurdles in 2013, and was a two-time Big South Freshman of the Year on her way to joining Drummond as a Big South All-Decade Team (2010-19) honoree by the time her time in the blue and gold was finished.

She captured the league’s event title three years in-a-row from 2012-14, both indoors and outdoors, and received a total of 11 all-league honors across five different events in her stellar career. She still holes Charleston Southern indoor records for the 55-meter hurdles (7.85 seconds) and 60-meter hurdles (8.23), as well as the outdoor standard for 100-meter hurdles (13.25) which she set at the 2013 NCAA East Preliminary. Her times in the indoor 60-meter hurdles indoors and 100-meter hurdles outdoors rank as the top performances during a league championship meet, respectively.

A three-time Big South Athlete of the Week during her career, she bolstered her resume by also competing in the 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay. She is a member of the eighth-fastest 4x100-meter relay time in school history.

After her time at CSU was completed, she went on to represent her home country of Haiti in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil and in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, reaching the semifinals in the latter with her time of 13.09 in the 100-meter hurdles. She also participated in the 2017 World Outdoor Championships, 2018 World Indoor Championships and 2022 World Indoor Championships.

SAAH NIMLEY | MEN’S BASKETBALL | 2011-15
Recent memories of the Bucs on the hardwood include one standout name, who’s still very synonymous with the program and that’s Nimley. He led CSU to the 2013 and 2015 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT) on his way to earning 2015 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America and 2015 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-America plaudits. He was the 2015 Big South Player of the Year, a two-time all-league first-team choice (2012-13 and 2014-15) and as a member of the 2010-19 All-Big South Decade Team.

His extraordinary senior season saw him rank among the national top-five leaders in four different categories, including points per game (21.4, fourth); 3-pointers attempted (307, second); 3-pointers made (110, fifth) and 3-pointers made per game (3.55, fifth). In addition to leading the Big South in all of those categories, he also was the conference standard bearer for total points (663) and field goals attempted (447) in 2014-15.

He was named an NABC All-District 3 First Team in 2012-13 and 2014-15 and was a finalist for the CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson Award Player of the Year as a senior while being voted the Jan. 26, 2015, Lou Henson National Player of the Week. He also was tabbed to the 2012 All-Big South Freshman Team before adding an All-Big South Tournament Team accolade the following season.

He remains the only player in Big South history with over 1800 points and 500 assists, placing third in school history and 16th in the league record book with 1866 career points. His 511 career assists are one of three CSU records he still holds, along with free throws made (490) and attempted (633). He’s also second among the all-time Bucs for 3-pointers made (288) and attempted (838) and third for field goals attempted (1484) and games started (110).

His 20 3-pointers attempted against High Point in the Buc Dome Feb. 28, 2015, are tied for the most in Big South history. He scored 30 ore more points seven times as a senior, including four-in-a-row during a stretch that made him the only player nationally to achieve that feat. His career-high 39 points was at Radford Feb. 6, 2015. Nimley was a four-time Big South Player of the Week and two-time Big South Freshman of the Week selection.

His stellar collegiate career earned him an invitation to the prestigious pre-NBA Draft Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and launched a five-year professional playing career overseas in four countries. After he hung up the sneakers, he joined his alma mater as an assistant coach where he has served since 2019-20, receiving a promotion to the Buccaneers’ assistant head coach prior to the 2021-22 campaign.