KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Seven decorated student-athletes were nominated for induction into the Kutztown University Athletics Hall of Fame, Wednesday, as the university announced its 42nd annual class.
 
Joining 226 former student-athletes, coaches and contributors honored since 1977 will be Golden Bear greats Justine (Baer) Reading '02 (field hockey), Chelsea (Deeter) Lovelace '11 (women's soccer), Bobby Eberhart '06 (men's basketball), Darin Gorski '18 (baseball), Ziad Haddad '18 (wrestling), Kayla Jones '12 (women's bowling) and Charlie Young '66 (men's basketball/men's tennis).
 
Induction ceremonies dating back to 2016 have taken place in early November with a Friday night banquet and recognition at a Saturday afternoon home football game. The global coronavirus pandemic halted substantial in-person gatherings, including the 2020 KU Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony, but plans to formally induct the newest class will be solidified at a later date.
 

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2021 KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS

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JUSTINE (BAER) READING '02 | FIELD HOCKEY Justine (Baer) Reading captured All-America honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) three times during her illustrious Golden Bear career. She scored First Team honors as a sophomore in 1999, and Second Team recognition as a junior and senior in 2000 and 2001.   The Berks County native, who grew up in Shoemakersville, Pa., and attended Hamburg Area High School, opened her collegiate by capturing 1998 PSAC Rookie of the Year honors. Baer went on to graduate with a school record 32 assists, while ranking third in program history with 34 career goals and 100 career points. She still ranks in the top 10 in each category.   Baer was named to the All-PSAC First Team in 1999 as a sophomore and in 2018, with the field hockey program celebrating its 50th anniversary, she was named to KU's All-Time Team.   Academically, Baer was twice named to the NFHCA All-Academic Squad in 1999 and 2000.   Baer graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2002 and became an elementary school teacher in the Hamburg Area School District. She also served as head field hockey coach of the Hawks for three seasons.

 

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CHELSEA (DEETER) LOVELACE '11 | WOMEN'S SOCCER Chelsea (Deeter) Lovelace helped elevate Kutztown women's soccer to new heights by her final campaign in 2010. A four-time All-PSAC East First Team defender and three-time Daktronics All-Atlantic Region selection, Deeter also became the first player in the program's history to earn All-America honors when she was voted to the United Soccer Coaches (then NSCAA) Third Team as a senior.   During her outstanding career, Deeter, from Langhorne, Pa., led the way on defense, aiding the Golden Bears as they racked up 37 shutouts - a four-year program record. She was part of a unit that also set a school single-season record with 13 clean sheets in 2009. Deeter started each of the 80 games she took the field for in her career. She continues to hold the program record for career starts and ranks tied for seventh in games played.   During her final two seasons, Deeter was a part of KU teams that qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship tournament. The Maroon and Gold spent 18 consecutive weeks in the national rankings during the 2009 and 2010 regular seasons.   Deeter is the owner of Lace'd Unisex Hair Salon.

 

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BOBBY EBERHART '06 | MEN'S BASKETBALL Bobby Eberhart was a four-year starter and defensive stalwart on the men's basketball team from 2001-05. He served as captain during his senior season, in which he took home All-PSAC Second Team honors.   Eberhart, a native of Lancaster, Pa., is one of 25 players in school history to score 1,000 career points. He ranks 18th in school history with 1,177 points. He converted 441 field goals and 155 3-pointers offensively, while grabbed 146 steals on the defensive end of the floor. All three marks rank within the top 12 in KU program history.   Eberhart was known as one of the league's top defenders, often guarding the opponent's top offensive threat.   After winning six games during his freshman year, KU went on to post three straight winning seasons. Eberhart was part of current head coach Bernie Driscoll's first recruiting class at KU. Driscoll, the winningest coach in program history, credited Eberhart among the players that laid the groundwork for a winning culture of men's basketball at the university.   Eberhart, a graduate of McCaskey High School, earned his bachelor's in general studies at KU and is currently a regional manager for Auto-Chlor System.

 

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DARIN GORSKI '18 | BASEBALL Darin Gorski capped a stellar three-year run with just the sixth 100-strikeout season in Kutztown University baseball history to land 2009 PSAC East Pitcher of the Year, All-Atlantic Region and All-America honors.   The Mount Joy, Pa., native was selected by the New York Mets in the seventh round of the 2009 Major League First-Year Player Draft (224th overall pick). Gorski cemented his status as one of the Golden Bears' great hurlers in a storied pipeline that includes 15 MLB Draft picks dating back to 1971.   Gorski continues to hold the program record for lowest career ERA at 2.37 and ranks in Kutztown's top-10 with 20 career wins, 11 complete games and 218 strikeouts.   In 2009, his final season donning the Maroon and Gold, Gorski went 8-2 with a 2.17 ERA. He led the Golden Bears in numerous categories, including strikeouts (100), innings pitched (78.2) and batting average against (.208). The southpaw topped the PSAC in strikeouts and ranked second in ERA. Gorski's strikeout total was also tied for 10th in NCAA Division II.   In addition to being named 2009 PSAC East Pitcher of the Year, Gorski was a two-time All-PSAC East First Team selection (2008 and 2009), an All-Atlantic Region First Team pick by the ABCA (2008), Daktronics (2008 and 2009) and the NCBWA (2009), and recognized on All-America Third Teams by Daktronics and the NCBWA in 2009.

 

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ZIAD HADDAD '18 | WRESTLING Ziad Haddad concluded his three-year career at KU with nearly every possible award and honor to his name.   As a senior in 2014-15, he became KU wrestling's second two-time national champion, won his second consecutive regional championship, won his first PSAC championship, recorded his second straight undefeated season, became the program's second three-time All-American, went 55 straight bouts without being taken down and ranked No. 1 in the nation for 507 consecutive days.   Kutztown captured, at the time, its best-ever PSAC and national tournament team finishes in 2014-15, while also placing third at regionals. Haddad led the team with 12 pins and 10 major decisions during his senior season, culminating in Division II's Most Dominant Wrestler award.   As a junior, Haddad, originally from Orefield, Pa., was named the PSAC, Super Region I and NCAA Division II National Wrestler of the Year.   Haddad's 30 victories in 2014-15 are tied for the third most in a season all-time at KU; his 82 career wins rank fifth.   Haddad, a teacher in the East Stroudsburg Area School District, finished his Golden Bear career with an 82-5 record in three seasons after transferring to KU from Division I North Carolina. He was a Dean's List student, the 2015 KU Male Senior Athlete of the Year and a two-time KU Male Athlete of the Year.

 

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KAYLA JONES '12 | WOMEN'S BOWLING The most decorated bowler in Kutztown University's relatively short 13-year history as a varsity program, Kayla Jones is fittingly its first-ever Hall of Fame inductee.   A native of Johnstown, Pa., Jones was a three-time All-American, the 2009 Division II Player and Rookie of the Year and the 2012 Division II National Player of the Year. She was also the first bowler to be named KU Female Athlete of the Year, in 2012.   Jones made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2008-09, taking home Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Year and All-NEC First Team honors. She led KU with a 193.7 average and registered a school single-game record 275.   Jones landed on the All-NEC First Team twice more in her career, as a junior in 2010-11 and as a senior in 2011-12. Her junior season was highlighted by a team-high 199.1 traditional average and helping the Golden Bears to their first NCAA Championship appearance in Taylor, Michigan. Kutztown's sixth-place ranking in the final NTCA Poll is its highest-ever.   Academically, Jones was a two-time selection to the NTCA All-Academic Team and a 2012 PSAC Scholar-Athlete.   Jones' post-playing career has seen her successfully venture into the coaching arena. She's in her second season as the head coach at Long Island University after spending the previous seven in a similar capacity at LIU Brooklyn, which combined with LIU Post to form one institution in 2019. Jones led LIU Brooklyn to a program-record 75 wins in 2017-18 and its first NEC Championship final in 2015-16.

 

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CHARLIE YOUNG '66 | MEN'S BASKETBALL/MEN'S TENNIS A two-sport standout at Kutztown in the 1960s, Charlie Young competed as a member of the basketball and tennis teams. He was Hall of Fame coach Walt Risley's top rebounder in 1966, and was named Outstanding Senior Basketball Player that same year.   As a senior, Young set the school record for rebounds in a season with 253, averaging 13 per game. He also averaged 11 points per game and grabbed a career-high of 23 rebounds on one occasion.   Young, from Kutztown, Pa., went on to play semi-pro basketball with the Exeter Black Knights.   On the tennis court, Young was a team captain and played at the No. 1 position. In his collegiate career, he won 33 matches.   In the classroom, Young was also a Dean's List student.   After his playing career, Young coached the Fleetwood High School boys' basketball team for 10 years and won a record 166 games. He was inducted into Fleetwood's Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and presently serves as the Hall of Fame's president. He served the school district for many years as a fifth-grade teacher.