Xavier Announces 2017 Athletic Hall of Fame Class

HALL OF FAME TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for the 2017 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner on Friday, January 6, are $50 for adults and $25 for children 12 and under. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. on Friday with the reception from 6-7 p.m. Dinner and the awards program will start at 7 p.m. Fans have the opportunity of adding a game ticket for the Saturday, January 7 game vs. St. John's for an additional $20. Please contact Carol Maas for reservation information at 513-745-3413 or via email at maas@xavier.edu.

FIVE NEW HALL OF FAME MEMBERS

CINCINNATI --- Xavier University announced its five-member Athletic Hall of Fame class for 2016-17 today, including men's basketball standout Stanley D. Burrell ('08), women's basketball All-Americans Amber S. Harris ('10) and Ta'Shia K. Phillips ('11), baseball's all-time winningest pitcher Louis J. Witte ('99) and popular broadcaster and media member Andrew P. MacWilliams. The new class will be inducted in the XU Hall of Fame at a dinner on Friday, Jan. 6, at Cintas Center and will be honored again at the men's basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 7 vs. St. John's at Cintas Center.

The new five-member class will bring the total number of members in the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame to 128. They are all honored at the P. Douglas O'Keefe Athletic Hall of Fame on the concourse at Cintas Center. It's a big class for the state of Indiana since Burrell, Harris and Phillips call Indianapolis home and Witte grew up in Richmond, Ind.

STANLEY BURRELL

Stanley Burrell will go down as one the best defensive players in Xavier basketball history but he actually began his career as his team's top offensive star, earning Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors after leading XU in scoring as a freshman at 12.7 ppg. During his sophomore campaign, Burrell led Xavier in scoring again at 14.4 ppg. and made the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team. Burrell finished his career with 1,612 points, which is still good for 13th place on XU's all-time scoring list, but it was his transformation into one of the nation's best defensive players that took his game to an elite level.

Burrell, one of the most popular players in Musketeer basketball history, helped lead XU to the NCAA Tournament in each of his final three seasons, including the 2008 NCAA Elite Eight. Xavier won 93 games during Burrell's career, including a school-record 30 wins and a second straight Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship in 2008. In fact, Burrell earned a long list of honors his senior year, including 2008 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, a member of the Sports Illustrated "All-Glue" Team and a spot on the National All-Defensive Team for both rivals.com and collegeinsider.com. Burrell has enjoyed a successful professional basketball career overseas since graduation and is currently playing in Poland.

AMBER HARRIS AND
TA'SHIA PHILLIPS

It is fitting that Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips will be honored in the same induction class. The duo led Xavier to the most successful five-year run in school history. Xavier made it to five NCAA Tournaments during their careers, including three seasons playing together. XU reached the 2010 NCAA Elite Eight with Harris and Phillips leading the way, coming up just two points shy of Stanford in a heartbreaking loss that kept XU out of its first-ever Final Four. Harris arrived at Xavier first and began her career in the 2006-07 season but sat out the 2008-09 season due to injury, so the pair fittingly ended their careers together as seniors in the 2010-11 season. Harris earned 2007 Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year honors, while Phillips arrived the following year and captured 2008 Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year honors. There was a long list of records and honors that they amassed before they graduated.

Harris, a three-time All-Atlantic 10 First Team honoree and the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, was drafted fourth in the 2011 WNBA Draft, the highest draft pick in program history. Harris became the first Musketeer to be honored as a State Farm All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in 2009-10 and repeated in 2010-11. Harris also earned mention as a Second Team All-American in 2011 and Third Team All-American in 2010 by the Associated Press. Harris, Xavier's all-time blocked shot leader (361), finished her career with 2,205 points (second all-time) and 1,226 rebounds (second all-time). She is only the second Musketeer ever to surpass the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound mark. Harris was a member of the All-Tournament Team in all four of her appearances in the Atlantic 10 Championship and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 A-10 Championship. She finished her Xavier career a perfect 12-0 all-time in A-10 Tournament games, leading XU to four championships in five years. Harris continued her championships ways in professional basketball, winning a pair of WNBA Championships with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011 and 2013.

Phillips, the two-time Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, was the 2008-09 A-10 Player of the Year. Phillips was selected as a 2010 and 2011 State Farm Honorable Mention All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association before being drafted eighth overall in the 2011 WNBA Draft. Phillips finished second in the country in rebounding (12.4 rpg.) and third in field goal percentage (.605) in 2010-11 after finishing fourth in both rebounds per game (11.7) and field goal percentage (.621) for the two prior seasons (2008-09, 2009-10). Phillips, XU's all-time leading rebounder with 1,552 career boards, notched 77 career double-doubles and scored in double-figures in 103 out of 131 career games played. She led the league in rpg. for four consecutive years, earning a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team for the three consecutive seasons. Phillips was honored as an All-District I pick by the WBCA in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and earned All Atlantic-10 First Team honors in each of her last three seasons.

ANDY MACWILLIAMS

It's hard to find someone outside of the players and coaches who is more popular with Xavier fans than Andy MacWilliams. It's also hard to find a more passionate supporter of Xavier basketball. His call of the Xavier upset over No. 1 Cincinnati at UC in 1996 is one that endeared him to the Xavier faithful: "Number one in the country and number two in their own city."

The Syracuse University graduate began with professional hockey broadcasting in the 70s. MacWilliams broadcasted for teams such as the Syracuse Blazers (EHL), Jacksonville Barons (AHL), Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) and the Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL). He was elected to the Cincinnati Hockey Hall of Fame for all his contributions to the hockey community. MacWilliams was the voice of Xavier University men's basketball from 1983-98. MacWilliams also did broadcasts for the other Cincinnati teams, including the Bengals and the Reds on WLW radio, as well as Reds Spring Training games. He then changed direction and moved to collegiate sports as the play-by-play voice of University of Cincinnati football and basketball. MacWilliams began his work at Xavier in 1983, starting with the TV play-by-play and moving to the radio play-by-play. From 1997-01 he was a writer for the Xavier basketball weekly "X-Press" newspaper and from 2001-present he has been a columnist for the Musketeermadness website. MacWilliams now hosts the popular pre-game hospitality events with XU alum Brad Redford and special guests, sharing scouting reports and insights before the games at Cintas Center.

LOU WITTE

Lou Witte left his mark as one of the best hurlers in Xavier history, including the winningest pitcher in XU history. A winner. That's a great way to describe Witte. The record book has Witte with 35 career wins from 1996-99, which is nine more than his closest competitor. He holds the single-season record for wins with 12 as a sophomore in 1997. His senior season he won 10 games, which is tied for the second-highest total in XU history. Witte's winning ways earned him a spot on the Atlantic 10 Conference First Team as a sophomore (1997) and a senior (1999). In addition to his A-10 First Team honors, Witte was named 1997 A-10 Pitcher of the Year and earned a spot on the 1997 A-10 All-Championship Team.

Witte's impact on the XU record books went beyond individual wins. Witte still holds the Xavier career records for strikeouts (345), complete games (36) and innings pitched (402.2). He also holds the single-season XU records for strikeouts (107), complete games (12) and innings pitched (123.2), all from the 1997 campaign when he led XU to a then-school record 32 wins. Witte was drafted in the 12th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees.

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