The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
Photos courtesy Long Beach State Athletics
A loaded class of Long Beach State legends were added to the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame last Thursday night at the Long Beach Marriott. Two memorable teams along with 11 individuals were enshrined as part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class, the first for LBSU Athletics since 2018.
In many ways the event felt like an unofficial launch for a new era of Beach Athletics. The landscape of college athletics has changed significantly in the past six years, and with new Executive Director of Athletic Bobby Smitheran just six months into his tenure, it was an opportunity to bring together the past and present of Long Beach State Athletics.
“Congratulations to the two teams and the 11 individuals for cementing your legacy in Long Beach State University history,” said Smitheran to help kick off the festivities. “Your achievements provide our current student-athletes someone to look up to, and something to try to achieve and maybe even surpass. Thank you, have a good night, and Go Beach!”
The event was emceed by The562.org’s own, Mike Guardabascio and JJ Fiddler, as they conducted on-stage interviews with each of the inductees. Several different eras of Long Beach State Athletics were recognized, with an impressive collection of notable coaches, athletes, and administrators in attendance.
The 1964 Long Beach State baseball team was the first to be honored, with former players Rick Bryson and Jack Hoffman representing the group–LBSU’s first baseball team to reach an NCAA Regional. They were followed by the 1986-87 Final Four women’s basketball team, with head coach Joan Bonvicini, assistant coach Glenn McDonald, and players Penny Toler and Margaret Mohr all gracing the stage to reflect on their 33-3 season, when they finished the year ranked No. 4 in the nation.
Legendary women’s volleyball head coach Brian Gimmillaro was the first individual enshrined during the ceremony. Gimmillaro has already had two of his teams inducted in the Hall of Fame (1989, 1998), and is himself an AVCA Hall of Famer. He told stories about his time as coach and reflected on how Long Beach was the perfect backdrop for the program’s success.
“The highlight was simply the opportunity to work at this university with the people I worked with, and the community I was surrounded by,” Gimmillaro said. “There’s a lot of cities in Southern California, and I’ve been to a lot of them recruiting, but there’s only one community. And the only community I know is Long Beach.”
One of Gimmillaro’s former players, Brittany Hochevar, also joined the Hall. Hochevar was an All-American as both a hitter and a setter at the Beach, the only athlete to accomplish that feat, and she spoke about the tradition and family atmosphere at Long Beach State.
“I came in to ‘replace’ THE Misty May, which as everyone knows, is impossible. It was just an honor to be adjacent to greatness,” Hochevar said. “I felt myself adjacent to greatness throughout my whole career. I came to be trained by the great Debbie Green, by Brian Gimmillaro, to train like Misty May or Trisonya Thompson … And I just keep hearing this, and it’s so true about the family that Long Beach is.”
Former men’s volleyball star, Taylor Crabb, also joined the Hall of Fame, but was unable to attend the banquet due to his ongoing pro career. Crabb was the National Player of the Year in 2013 and has gone on to have terrific success in beach volleyball on the AVP.
Jeff McNeil was also unable to attend the ceremony as he’s preparing for another Major League Baseball season with the New York Mets. McNeil sent in a pre-recorded video, thanking his coaches at Long Beach State for taking a chance on him and helping him to a successful big league career, which already includes a pair of All-Star Game appearances.
“It’s a tremendous honor and when I found out I was super excited,” McNeil said in his video. “So many great athletes, especially baseball players, have been inducted to the Hall of Fame then went on to tremendous athletic careers and big league careers. So it’s a tremendous honor to be recognized alongside them.”
McNeil also reflected on how his time at Long Beach impacted his life, especially meeting his wife, Tatiana, in the Parkside dorms.
Love and family was a common theme throughout the night, with family ties either continuing–or beginning–at the Beach. Erin Jones-Wesley was a Long Beach State legacy who became the career wins and strikeouts leader for the LBSU softball program. She brought back memories from her freshman year in 2011, when the Beach earned a 2-1 win over No. 6 Oklahoma.
“It was early in the season, and it was really special for all of us because we were a young team,” Jones-Wesley recalled. “We had five freshmen in the lineup, and it was a really special game for us … We’re talking about the love for Long Beach State, my parents met there, my dad was a baseball player there, and my mom and dad did not miss one softball game my entire career. They were at every single one, so that was really special.”
Also in 2011, the Long Beach State women’s soccer program made its historic run to the NCAA Elite Eight, led by Big West Midfielder of the Year, Shawna Gordon.
“You talk about the underdog season and to this day I think that’s what that team has,” she said. “Without all those pressures of making it to the top every single year, all we did was focus on ourselves, work extremely hard and rely on each other, and this community and all the support. To just inch-by-inch, every single year just get better.”
Gordon is LBSU’s career leader in games played and was the program’s first player to sign and play in the National Women’s Soccer League.
During that same time, TJ Robinson was a key member of the men’s basketball program’s “Fab Four.” He remains the leading rebounder in both LBSU and Big West Conference history, and had 55 double-doubles as a four-year starter at the Beach. He was joined on stage by his former head coach Dan Monson, and teammate Larry Anderson, who are both patrolling the sidelines at Water Pyramid these days.
“Everybody knows I’m from the East Coast, Connecticut, so I was the outsider. Long Beach State was a family away from my home,” Robinson said.. “I took a visit out to Long Beach State and I fell in love with the community. I fell in love with the big blue Pyramid, that was the main attraction. The Long Beach weather and everything out here, I just fell in love.”
Track and Field had a trio of honorees, including Gary Patterson, an early star for the LBSU program dating back to 1960. Patterson was an accomplished hurdler who also helped set school records in the 440 and 880 relays.
Speaking of school records, Andrea Lynch still holds the record in the 100m and 200m at the Beach, and she was the NCAA runner-up in both events back in 1977. Lynch went on to be a two-time Olympian, and remains one of the most successful sprinters in Beach history.
Speaking of the sprints, Brent Gray was a two-time First Team All-American at the Beach, who still holds five school records. He was a Top 5 finisher in the 200m twice at the NCAA Championships, and in 2008 he competed in five different events, placing Top 16 in all of them.
“I always brought the mentality that it’s not where you go, it’s the work that you put in,” Gray said of his career at Long Beach State. “We didn’t have the biggest lockers or the best gear, we weren’t sponsored by Nike at the time. I just knew that if we stuck together and worked hard we could attain greatness.”
Finally, rounding out the class was former LBSU softball player and longtime administrator, Cindy Masner. She worked 37 years in the athletic department before her retirement in 2020, working for five different presidents and 10 different athletic directors, while also serving twice as interim AD at her alma mater.
“I’ve had countless coaches, but a lot of the coaches have stayed for a very long time, because this is an awesome place to be,” Masner said. “We have wonderful supporters, boosters, donors, we have great administration on campus. That was half my fun, I could go across campus and talk to all different people and build a relationship to help athletics, but we could also help them. Because that’s an important part of being part of the university. We’re not an island unto ourselves.”
2024 Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Fame Class:
1964 Baseball Team
1986-87 Women’s Basketball Team
Taylor Crabb, Men’s Volleyball
Brian Gimmillaro, Women’s Volleyball Coach
Shawna Gordon, Women’s Soccer
Brent Gray, Track & Field
Brittany Hochevar, Women’s Volleyball
Erin Jones-Wesley, Softball
Andrea Lynch, Track & Field
Cindy Masner, Athletics Administrator
Jeff McNeil, Baseball
Gary Patterson, Track & Field
TJ Robinson, Men’s Basketball
