Kansas State Announces 2024 Athletics Hall of Fame Class
Image courtesy of Kansas State University Athletics
By KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State Athletics will honor a group of 10 outstanding individuals with induction into its Athletics Hall of Fame in August, school officials announced today.
The 2024 Hall of Fame class includes two football greats in Nick Leckey and Kevin Lockett, a pair of men’s basketball legends in Askia Jones and Jacob Pullen, former women’s basketball head coach Deb Patterson, Diana Miller (women’s basketball), Scott Sellers (track and field), Kim Zschau (volleyball), and Carl and Mary Ice (contributors).
“This year’s class of 10 individuals is a phenomenal group, and we are thrilled to welcome them into the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame,” said Kenny Lannou, Executive Associate Athletics Director for Communications and K-State Athletics Hall of Fame Chairperson. “Each of these inductees have made a lasting impact on K-State Athletics and Kansas State University, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Manhattan this fall for a special induction weekend.”
The class is the 14th in the history of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame, including the charter class of 1990, and will be honored during the weekend of August 30. Official induction ceremonies will take place on Friday, August 30, before the inductees are recognized at halftime of the football game against UT Martin the following day.
More ceremony details will be announced later this summer.
K-State Athletics Hall of Fame – Class of 2024 Biographies
Deb Patterson
The all-time wins leader in Kansas State women’s basketball history after compiling a 350-226 record over her 18 seasons at the helm. Kansas State had just four NCAA tournament appearances when Patterson took over in 1996. In just her first season the Wildcats went 19-12, posting their first winning conference record in five years and first NCAA appearance in 10 years. Patterson guided the program to nine NCAA tournament appearances, nine 20-win seasons, two Big 12 regular season titles (2004 and 2008) and one WNIT crown (2006). Under Patterson, 10 Wildcats garnered All-America honors and two were named Big 12 Player of the Year (Nicole Ohlde 2003, 2004 and Kendra Wecker 2005). Five of K-State’s top-six career scorers played under Patterson. She was twice named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2008 after leading the Wildcats to third and first place finishes, respectively. She was named a finalist for national coach of the year on three separate occasions (2002, 2003 and 2005) by two different organizations. In addition to coaching K-State, Patterson served as an assistant for three gold medal winning USA National Teams (1997, 1998 and 2000).
Carl & Mary Ice
Long-time supporters of both University and athletics projects and programs. Carl Ice is a career railroader and served as president and CEO of BNSF Railway. He began his career with Santa Fe Railway after graduating from the Kansas State University College of Engineering in 1979. His wife, Mary, is a 1980 graduate of the College of Health and Human Sciences and earned a master’s degree from the College of Education. Together they serve on the board of trustees of the KSU Foundation, and, in October 2019, Carl became Chairman of the KSU Foundation Board of Directors. Carl is also a past chair of the College of Engineering Advisory Council, former member of the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Advisory Council, and through the Ice’s generosity have been honored as the first college in Kansas State University history to be named the “Carl R. Ice College of Engineering”. Mary is a former member of the President’s Advisory Committee in Intercollegiate Athletics and the Ahearn Fund Advisory Group along with K-State Alumni Association board of directors and also served as president of the College of Health and Human Sciences Alumni Advisory Board.
Askia Jones
A four-year letterman (1989-94) for head coaches Lon Kruger and Dana Altman, Jones led the Wildcats to 85 wins to go with 4 postseason appearances (2 NCAA Tournaments and 2 NITs). He finished his career with 1,834 points, which ranks fourth all-time in school history. Jones is perhaps best known for his school-record 62-point effort vs. Fresno State in the 1994 Postseason NIT. Many of Jones’s accolades from that game still stand, as he holds school records for most points in a half (45), most 3-point field goals made (14) and attempted (18). During a record-setting senior year in 1993-94, Jones became the second Wildcat (joining Mitch Richmond) to score 700 or more points in a single season. His 22.1 points per game average that season still ranks sixth for a single season, while his 20.2 points per game average in league play places eighth. In addition, Jones’ name still ranks among the best in many single-season and career 3-point categories, including first in single-season made (110) and attempted (279), second in career 3-point field goals attempted (624) and third in career 3-point field goals made (237). His 38.0 career 3-point field goal percentage also still places 10th.
Nick Leckey
Leckey did not allow a sack his entire career at K-State and started 41 consecutive games. In the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Leckey earned First Team All-America honors. He was a finalist for the 2003 Rimington Trophy (nation’s best center) and was an All-Big 12 First Team honoree in both 2002 and 2003. He helped lead the Wildcats to a Big 12 Championship in 2003. Leckey was selected in the 2004 NFL Draft by Arizona and played seven years in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints.
Kevin Lockett
Lockett was a Third Team All-America and first team all-conference honoree in both 1995 and 1996. A semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award (nation’s best wide receiver) in 1996, Lockett was named a First Team Academic All-American in both 1995 and 1996, while he was a four-time academic all-conference honoree. Following his playing days in Manhattan, Lockett was selected in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft by Kansas City, playing seven years in the NFL.
Diana Miller
Miller completed her playing career in the Little Apple in 1991 as K-State’s all-time leading scorer with 1,705 points and currently ranks seventh, with 1,705 points. In 1990, Miller was named an Honorable Mention All-American, a Kodak all-district team selection and the 1990 co-Big Eight Player of the Year after averaging 17.3 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game and leading the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament. She earned All-Big 8 First Team honors in both 1990 and 1991. In 1991, she averaged 19.2 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game. During her career, Miller scored in double figures in 88 of 114 games, with 28 20-plus point games. She started 113 consecutive games during career and ranks in the top 10 in 15-of-18 K-State career categories.
Jacob Pullen
A four-year letterman (2007-11) for head coach Frank Martin, Pullen helped the Wildcats to 95 wins and four postseason appearances (3 NCAA Tournaments and 1 NIT) as well as the Elite Eight in 2010. The school’s all-time leading scorer (2,132 points), he was the first three-time team captain. Pullen became the second Wildcat (joining Mike Evans) and the sixth Big 12 player to eclipse 2,000 career points. He earned All-America status twice in his distinguished playing career, first as a junior in 2010 and lastly as a senior in 2011. Pullen was a three-time All-Big 12 selection, including first team in 2010 and 2011, while he was twice named to the All-Defensive Team. He first won All-America honors as a third team selection from The Sporting News and an honorable mention pick from The Associated Press in 2010 after helping the Wildcats total a school-record 29 wins and their first trip to the Elite Eight in 22 seasons. He repeated his third-team honors as a senior in 2011 from the AP, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/ State Farm, The Sporting News and Yahoo! Sports after guiding the Wildcats to a 23-win season and another NCAA Tournament appearance. Pullen became just the third player in school history to be selected as a John R. Wooden Award All-American. He captured the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, as the best player under 6-foot by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Pullen averaged a team-best 20.2 points during his All-American senior season on 42.6 percent shooting, including 38.1 percent from 3-point range, with 3.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. His 38 points against Wisconsin in the NCAA Southeast Regional Third Round on March 19, 2011, were the most by a Wildcat in a NCAA Tournament contest. He set the career scoring mark with his 38 vs. the Badgers. Pullen averaged a team-best 19.3 points during his All-American junior campaign with 3.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. He registered 37 consecutive double-digit scoring games, which is the longest single-season streak and the second-longest in school history. Pullen’s 110 3-point field goals tied Askia Jones for the most in a single season at K-State. He ranks in the Top 5 in 17 career categories at K-State and in the Top 10 in six career categories in Big 12 history. Pullen was the first Wildcat with at least 1,800 points, 400 assists, 300 rebounds and 200 steals. Following his time in Manhattan, Pullen has played professionally all over the world, including currently in Italy.
Scott Sellers
Sellers was a three-time NCAA high jump champion – 2007 outdoor (2.31m/7-7.25) and both indoor (2.24m/7-4.50) and outdoor (2.26m/7-5) in 2009. An overall eight-time NCAA All-American, Sellers reached the NCAA National Championships both indoor and outdoor his entire collegiate career. He was a two-time Big 12 Champion – 2007 outdoor (7-7.75) and 2008 indoor (7-6.00). He is currently No. 2 in both K-State indoor (2.29m/7-06.00) and outdoor (2.33m/7-07.75) high jump records. Sellers was awarded the USTFCCCA Field Scholar Athlete of the Year award in 2009 and named the Big 12 men’s outdoor Performer of the Year in 2007 and indoor in 2008. He also earned multiple academic awards, including as a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection.
Kim Zschau
Zschau was a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection in volleyball (1997 & 1998 – unanimous) who was invited to 1998 USA National Team Trials. She was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree (1996 & 1997 – first team; 1998 – second team). She is 1 of 4 players in school history with 1000+ kills and digs. She ranks third in career games played at K-State with 457. She is 1 of 2 players with three seasons of 300+ kills and digs (1996: 399k, 386d; 1997: 476k, 383d; 1998: 473k, 455d). Zschau ranks second with 4 career 20/20 double-doubles and owns the mark for the most double-doubles in school history with 69. She ranks fourth in school history in 20-kills matches with 16 and ranks fifth in school history for 20-dig matches with 11. She is among the K-State career rankings for attacks (2nd; 4632); kills (2nd; 1646); and digs (3rd 1578, most by an outside hitter).
