Lindsey Wilson University

« Back to Recent News

A Great Eight: Lindsey Wilson University Athletics Hall of Fame Inducts Two Classes

Members of Classes of 2024 and '25 helped add 11 team and individual national titles, more than two dozen conference titles to Blue Raiders' trophy cases.

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (09/14/2025) — The eight new members of the Lindsey Wilson University Athletics Hall of Fame came from six athletic programs and their Blue Raider careers spanned from 1998-2018. But characteristics all of them shared at this year's induction ceremony were a deep sense of humility and a drive to help their team and teammates realize their full potential.

Two classes were inducted Saturday morning, Sept. 13, at the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center into the Lindsey Wilson Athletics Hall of Fame, bringing its membership to 70 since it was inaugurated in 2001.

Entering the Hall of Fame in the Class of 2024 were Jared Barnes '05, men's basketball; Trent Coffee '01, baseball; Andre Cooper '03, men's soccer; and Jamaine Gordon '07, track and field. Entering the Hall of Fame in the Class of 2025 were Jill Lirbank-Almbaek Fitzgerald '06, women's soccer; Kirsty Marr Chapman '04, women's soccer; Brian Ombiji '05, men's soccer; and Ashley Rainey '13, women's basketball.

A winning work ethic

Collectively, the eight inductees were responsible for adding 11 team and individual national titles and more than two dozen conference titles to the university's trophy cases during their Blue Raider playing and coaching careers.

"I didn't come to Lindsey with the hopes of making the Hall of Fame. I simply wanted to come here and play basketball," said Barnes, who was the 20th men's basketball player to be inducted. "I just wanted to win and we did a lot of winning while I was here."

Barnes was a member of the 2003-04 Lindsey Wilson team that finished that season with 33 wins, the most in program history.

Like Coffee, all of the inductees also shared a strong work ethic and deep determination to win.

"I didn't want to leave the field with a clean uniform," said Coffee, who is the eighth baseball player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and ranks in the top 10 in eight of the program's hitting categories.

The eight inductees also shared Cooper's habits during their Lindsey Wilson playing careers -- they regularly showed up early to practices and stayed late in order to refine their playing skills and sharpen their competitive edge.

For Cooper, that extra work resulted in the Blue Raiders winning the 2000 and 2001 NAIA men's soccer national titles. The same was true for Ombiji, who helped the program win the 2005 NAIA men's soccer national title. They were the ninth and 10th men's soccer inductees, respectively.

For Fitzgerald and Chapman, investing extra work and time in their sport helped Lindsey Wilson make history -- in 2004, they were members of the Blue Raiders' first NAIA women's soccer national champions. Fitzgerald was a part of another national title team in 2006.

As Rainey -- who is one of only two Lindsey Wilson women's basketball players to score 1,000 career points and collect 1,000 rebounds -- said, a Hall of Fame career would not have been possible without a strong supporting cast of teammates.

"This moment isn't about me," said Rainey, who is the ninth women's basketball player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. "If it wasn't for our coaches and the teammates we had, I would not have shined like I did. If it wasn't for them, there wouldn't have been a me."

Gordon made history twice at Lindsey Wilson. He won the Blue Raiders' first NAIA individual track and field national title, and on Saturday he became the first track and field athlete to be inducted into the LWU Athletics Hall of Fame.

In memory of Coach Stoner

Gordon's national championship story of how he turned tragedy into inspiration is worthy of its own place in the LWU Athletics Hall of Fame.

In April 2005, a little more than a month before that year's NAIA men's outdoor track and field national championships, Lindsey Wilson cross country and track and field coach Gary Stoner was found dead in his Columbia home. Stoner died of natural causes.

Gordon was among the track team's athletes who helped guide their Blue Raider teammates through the remainder of the season.

"Losing him in the middle of the season shaped a lot of our lives," said Gordon.

At the NAIA national meet in late May in Louisville, Kentucky, Gordon was among those who competed in the triple jump. Going into his final jump, Gordon was two inches behind the leader, whose mark was also two inches farther than Gordon had ever jumped.

But on that final day, with his late coach on his mind, Gordon managed the strength to not only win the program's first NAIA individual track and field national title but do it by jumping 51 feet, 7 inches -- two feet farther than his previous personal record.

"As I came up, I just knew. I had sand in my hand, just feeling it fall," said Gordon, who coached four individual NAIA national champions during his five-year tenure as Lindsey Wilson's coach. "I did my best Tiger Woods impression at the time. I just knew. And I must admit, that's why I don't have any knees now. ... The only thing I could think of was, 'I wish Coach Stoner was here for this moment to share.'"

Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.

Media Attachments

The new members of the Lindsey Wilson University Athletics Hall of Fame are recognized during halftime of the Lindsey Wilson-St. Thomas (Florida) University football game on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Parnell Family Stadium. From left: Ashley Rainey ’13, women’s basketball; Jamaine Gordon ’07, track and field; Trent Coffee ’01, baseball; Jared Barnes ’05, men’s basketball; Kirsty Marr Chapman ’04, women’s soccer; Jill Lirbank-Almbaek Fitzgerald ’06, women’s soccer; Andre Cooper ’03, men’s soccer; and Brian Ombiji ’05, men’s soccer.

Copyright © 2025 Merit Pages, Inc. • All Rights Reserved. • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Opt Out