The Cal State San Bernardino athletic department celebrated its Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
The inductees: Laura Beeman (women’s basketball), John Major (baseball), Jackie Powers (women’s soccer) and Larry Reynolds (coach, men’s basketball), were formally inducted into the Coyote Hall of Fame on May 19.
“The four new members are a talented class of Coyotes who represented CSUSB as student-athletes and in coaching in a distinguished manner,” said Morgan Walker, interim director of athletics.
“Our Class of 2017 is an outstanding group of individuals who each played integral roles in building our department’s reputation,” he said. “Laura Beeman, John Major, Jackie Powers and Larry Reynolds are very deserving of this honor and we’re honored to celebrate each one of them.”
About the inductees:
Laura Beeman (basketball 1989-91) — The current head coach at the University of Hawaii, the Highland native played two seasons for the Coyotes (1989-91) after transferring from UC Riverside. She earned NCAA Division III honorable mention All-American honors in 1990 after helping the Coyotes reach the D3 national tournament.
She remains second in career assists (379) and second and third among season assists in school history. She coached at Mt. San Antonio College from 1995 to 2010 where the Mounties won four state titles and 10 South Coast conference titles. She then served as an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and at USC.
Hawaii has reached postseason play in each of her four seasons at the helm, capped with its 2016 NCAA Tournament appearance.
John Major (baseball 1995-96) — The Claremont native played two seasons for the Coyotes (1995-96) after transferring from Howard Junior College in Texas.
Major’s senior season was the finest by a Coyote in school history. The left-hander led the CCAA in five categories — games (22), starts (18), wins (11), strikeouts (104) and innings (128.2) — and was named the CCAA Pitcher of the Year, All-West Region and ABCA All-American.
He remains the school record holder in season victories and innings.
Jackie Powers Knopke (soccer 1990-93) — The Highland native burst onto the collegiate scene in 1990 by scoring a school-record 23 goals for the Coyotes — a record that remains today.
She was the CCAA Player of the Year in 1991 and is CSUSB’s first three-time All-CCAA first-team performer.
She holds or shares nine school records that include: goals — game (4), season (23) and career (56); assists — game (4), season (14) and career (48); and points — game (12), season (55) and career (160).
Larry Reynolds (men’s basketball 1997-2002) — The five years under Reynolds’ direction were highlighted by national recognition for the department and his sport.
CSUSB captured three CCAA titles (2000, 2001, 2002), two NCAA West Region titles (1999 and 2002) and four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths (1999-02) in his five seasons. The Coyotes were 110-35 under Reynolds and he remains the leader in winning percentage (.759).
Reynolds led the Coyotes to a 28-2 overall record in 2001-02 — the best record of any NCAA men’s basketball program that season. He earned four CCAA Coach of the Year honors (1999-02).
He left CSUSB for Long Beach State after the 2002 season and currently is the head coach at Stanislaus State.
Keep up with the latest sports news at CSUSB Athletics.