Charleston Southern Athletics Announces 2024 Hall of Fame Class
5/6/2024 5:00:00 PM | General
CHARLESTON – Charleston Southern Athletics announced inductees for its Hall of Fame Class of 2024 on Thursday afternoon. The group features three former student-athletes named to the 2010-2019 Big South All-Decade Teams for their respective sports. It also recognizes one outstanding benefactor to CSU Athletics and the University.
The 27th Charleston Southern Athletics Hall of Fame class includes:
Bobby Ison – A three-year member of the Charleston Southern baseball program, Ison earned All-Conference honors in all three of his seasons. He became one of the top hitters in program history and was selected by the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) in the 2014 MLB Draft.
Anthony Ellis – A two-time Big South Defensive Player of the Year, Ellis was a defensive lineman during the best football seasons in school history. To date, he ranks in the conference's top three for tackles for loss and sacks and was a multi-time All-American honoree.
Jana Matthews-Chinners – One of just two players in program history to be a four-time All-Conference selection, Matthews-Chinners helped lead the softball squad to the most wins in their nearly 40-year existence during the 2012 season.Â
Roger Nielsen – A former baseball player who graduated from Baptist College in 1974 with a degree in accounting, Nielsen has gone on to become a large financial supporter with a primary focus on the CSU Business School headlined by a one-time gift of over $2M as well as a baseball program gift of over $500K.
Jeff Barber, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, said: "This is truly an outstanding Hall of Fame class, and they will make a great addition to an already very special list of difference-makers to both the University and our athletic department. We are extremely grateful to these four inductees for their tremendous contributions to our university."
The 2024 honorees will officially join the exclusive club of 107 former inductees at the Hall of Fame banquet that will be held on the night of Friday, October 18. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the football game against Southeast Missouri State at 4 p.m. on the following day.
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Bobby Ison | Baseball: 2012-14
Ison was one of the talented faces of Charleston Southern baseball in the mid-2010s. As an outfielder for the Buccaneers who rose to national acclaim for his hitting prowess, he played for three years at CSU and is all over the school record books thanks to his career and single-season totals while playing at the University. At the time of induction, he ranks second in career batting average at .365 and third in career hits with 247.
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He left as a three-time Big South All-Conference honoree, including back-to-back First-Team appearances in his final two seasons. In 2013 and 2014, he led the Big South in hits with 84 and 91, respectively, the top two marks in CSU history. Ison batted .367 in 2013 and .396 in 2014, the latter of which remains the highest average in school history since 1993.
He was named to the 2010-2019 Big South All-Decade Team for his terrific career during that time. Ison left CSU following the 2014 season after being selected in the MLB Draft. He went in the 21st round to the Indians becoming the eighth player in CSU baseball history to be drafted.
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Anthony Ellis | Football: 2014-17
Ellis was a defensive lineman for the Buccaneers from 2014-2017. He became one of the best players to play the position in school history and was a key member of the teams responsible for the most successful stretches in program history. He was named the Big South Defensive Player of the Year twice during his time at Charleston Southern, was one of just two players to earn the award, and is the only player to receive the award twice. Additionally, he was a three-time Big South First-Team All-Conference honoree and was later selected to the conference's 2010-2019 All-Decade Team.
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During his time with the program, Charleston Southern football made a pair of NCAA playoff appearances in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, earning the Big South's automatic bid each year. In the 2015 season, CSU earned the No. 8 national seed and the right to host the second round of the FCS Playoffs where it defeated No. 8 The Citadel,14-6. This remains today as one of the biggest victories in program history.
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For his career, he is first at CSU and second in the Big South Conference in career sacks with 24.0. Additionally, he is second at CSU and third in Big South history for tackles for loss at 51.5. He led the conference in tackles for loss for three consecutive seasons from 2015-17.
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He was no stranger to the national spotlight as garnered national awards following his junior and senior seasons, including First-Team FCS All-American status from HERO Sports each year. In 2016, Ellis was named a Second-Team FCS All-American by the Associated Press (AP) and Stats LLC/Stats Perform, and at the end of the 2017 season, he was again named Second-Team FCS All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press (AP) and Stats LLC/Stats Perform. He was also a two-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, the premier award given to the top FCS defensive player in the country.
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Jana Matthews-Chinners | Softball: 2010-13
Matthews-Chinners was a four-year member of the Buccaneers Softball program from 2010-2013 as an outfielder. She earned Big South All-Conference accolades every season and became one of just two Buccaneers to accomplish the feat. She was selected to the Big South's 2010-2019 All-Decade Team for her success while dawning the Blue and Gold.
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Matthews ranks among the program's best career hitters ranking in the Top-25 all-time for every major offensive statistical category. Her career home run total ranks third in program history with 36, while she checks in second all-time in career RBIs at 141. She also ranks sixth in CSU history for career slugging percentage with a mark of .496 across her four years.
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During her first three seasons at CSU, she helped the team secure its highest finish in the conference tournament in nearly a quarter century. Charleston Southern entered the 2012 tournament as the No. 3 seed before finishing as runner-up, marking their best finish since winning the conference championship in 1988. In 2012, the Bucs collected 33 wins to set a program record for wins in a single season with Matthews being a key component during that run.
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Roger Nielsen | Baseball/Benefactor: '74
Nielsen graduated from Baptist College in 1974 after playing catcher for the baseball team from 1970-1974 and earning his degree in accounting from CSU. Since then, Nielsen went on to become an outstanding business owner and currently resides outside of Philadelphia.
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In 2018, the field at CSU Ballpark was named Nielsen Field in his honor and that of his wife, Joyce, and his children Kristen and Brian following their $500,000 donation to the baseball program. He has continued to support the Department of Athletics in various projects since then. Nielsen has been quoted previously for attributing where he is today to the investment made in him by the baseball staff at the time from Baptist College. Along with his support of the baseball program, he and his family have been heavily involved in the academic side of campus and made a $2M donation in 2022 to Charleston Southern to establish the Hans A. Nielsen College of Business.
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"Without the money to play baseball, I don't go to college," Nielsen reflected. "Baseball is a big deal in my house because without baseball, college doesn't happen for me. I might never have met my wife, and my life would be completely different. People believed in me and gave me the opportunity to be part of something special, and I'm just kind of passing it forward."
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Nielsen becomes the first inductee into the Charleston Southern Athletics Hall of Fame for contributions to the University and the Department of Athletics.
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The 27th Charleston Southern Athletics Hall of Fame class includes:
Bobby Ison – A three-year member of the Charleston Southern baseball program, Ison earned All-Conference honors in all three of his seasons. He became one of the top hitters in program history and was selected by the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) in the 2014 MLB Draft.
Anthony Ellis – A two-time Big South Defensive Player of the Year, Ellis was a defensive lineman during the best football seasons in school history. To date, he ranks in the conference's top three for tackles for loss and sacks and was a multi-time All-American honoree.
Jana Matthews-Chinners – One of just two players in program history to be a four-time All-Conference selection, Matthews-Chinners helped lead the softball squad to the most wins in their nearly 40-year existence during the 2012 season.Â
Roger Nielsen – A former baseball player who graduated from Baptist College in 1974 with a degree in accounting, Nielsen has gone on to become a large financial supporter with a primary focus on the CSU Business School headlined by a one-time gift of over $2M as well as a baseball program gift of over $500K.
Jeff Barber, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, said: "This is truly an outstanding Hall of Fame class, and they will make a great addition to an already very special list of difference-makers to both the University and our athletic department. We are extremely grateful to these four inductees for their tremendous contributions to our university."
The 2024 honorees will officially join the exclusive club of 107 former inductees at the Hall of Fame banquet that will be held on the night of Friday, October 18. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the football game against Southeast Missouri State at 4 p.m. on the following day.
Â
Bobby Ison | Baseball: 2012-14
Ison was one of the talented faces of Charleston Southern baseball in the mid-2010s. As an outfielder for the Buccaneers who rose to national acclaim for his hitting prowess, he played for three years at CSU and is all over the school record books thanks to his career and single-season totals while playing at the University. At the time of induction, he ranks second in career batting average at .365 and third in career hits with 247.
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He left as a three-time Big South All-Conference honoree, including back-to-back First-Team appearances in his final two seasons. In 2013 and 2014, he led the Big South in hits with 84 and 91, respectively, the top two marks in CSU history. Ison batted .367 in 2013 and .396 in 2014, the latter of which remains the highest average in school history since 1993.
He was named to the 2010-2019 Big South All-Decade Team for his terrific career during that time. Ison left CSU following the 2014 season after being selected in the MLB Draft. He went in the 21st round to the Indians becoming the eighth player in CSU baseball history to be drafted.
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Anthony Ellis | Football: 2014-17
Ellis was a defensive lineman for the Buccaneers from 2014-2017. He became one of the best players to play the position in school history and was a key member of the teams responsible for the most successful stretches in program history. He was named the Big South Defensive Player of the Year twice during his time at Charleston Southern, was one of just two players to earn the award, and is the only player to receive the award twice. Additionally, he was a three-time Big South First-Team All-Conference honoree and was later selected to the conference's 2010-2019 All-Decade Team.
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During his time with the program, Charleston Southern football made a pair of NCAA playoff appearances in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, earning the Big South's automatic bid each year. In the 2015 season, CSU earned the No. 8 national seed and the right to host the second round of the FCS Playoffs where it defeated No. 8 The Citadel,14-6. This remains today as one of the biggest victories in program history.
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For his career, he is first at CSU and second in the Big South Conference in career sacks with 24.0. Additionally, he is second at CSU and third in Big South history for tackles for loss at 51.5. He led the conference in tackles for loss for three consecutive seasons from 2015-17.
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He was no stranger to the national spotlight as garnered national awards following his junior and senior seasons, including First-Team FCS All-American status from HERO Sports each year. In 2016, Ellis was named a Second-Team FCS All-American by the Associated Press (AP) and Stats LLC/Stats Perform, and at the end of the 2017 season, he was again named Second-Team FCS All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press (AP) and Stats LLC/Stats Perform. He was also a two-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, the premier award given to the top FCS defensive player in the country.
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Jana Matthews-Chinners | Softball: 2010-13
Matthews-Chinners was a four-year member of the Buccaneers Softball program from 2010-2013 as an outfielder. She earned Big South All-Conference accolades every season and became one of just two Buccaneers to accomplish the feat. She was selected to the Big South's 2010-2019 All-Decade Team for her success while dawning the Blue and Gold.
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Matthews ranks among the program's best career hitters ranking in the Top-25 all-time for every major offensive statistical category. Her career home run total ranks third in program history with 36, while she checks in second all-time in career RBIs at 141. She also ranks sixth in CSU history for career slugging percentage with a mark of .496 across her four years.
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During her first three seasons at CSU, she helped the team secure its highest finish in the conference tournament in nearly a quarter century. Charleston Southern entered the 2012 tournament as the No. 3 seed before finishing as runner-up, marking their best finish since winning the conference championship in 1988. In 2012, the Bucs collected 33 wins to set a program record for wins in a single season with Matthews being a key component during that run.
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Roger Nielsen | Baseball/Benefactor: '74
Nielsen graduated from Baptist College in 1974 after playing catcher for the baseball team from 1970-1974 and earning his degree in accounting from CSU. Since then, Nielsen went on to become an outstanding business owner and currently resides outside of Philadelphia.
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In 2018, the field at CSU Ballpark was named Nielsen Field in his honor and that of his wife, Joyce, and his children Kristen and Brian following their $500,000 donation to the baseball program. He has continued to support the Department of Athletics in various projects since then. Nielsen has been quoted previously for attributing where he is today to the investment made in him by the baseball staff at the time from Baptist College. Along with his support of the baseball program, he and his family have been heavily involved in the academic side of campus and made a $2M donation in 2022 to Charleston Southern to establish the Hans A. Nielsen College of Business.
Â
"Without the money to play baseball, I don't go to college," Nielsen reflected. "Baseball is a big deal in my house because without baseball, college doesn't happen for me. I might never have met my wife, and my life would be completely different. People believed in me and gave me the opportunity to be part of something special, and I'm just kind of passing it forward."
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Nielsen becomes the first inductee into the Charleston Southern Athletics Hall of Fame for contributions to the University and the Department of Athletics.
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Saturday, October 17
Thursday, October 15
Tuesday, October 13
Saturday, October 10
