The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame announces the addition of nine new inductees as the Class of 2017, following approval by the US Lacrosse Board of Directors. The newest members will be officially inducted in a ceremony on Saturday, September 23, at The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md.
The 2017 inductees are: Doug Knight, Leslie Blankin Lane, Jim McDonald, Laurette Payette, Casey Powell, Jill Johnson Redfern, Brooks Sweet, Robyn Nye Wood, and Don Zimmerman.
Tickets for the 2017 National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, sponsored by RPS Bollinger and the Markel Insurance Company, will be available to the public for purchase beginning August 1. Tickets will be sold online at uslacrosse.org/HOF.
The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a program of US Lacrosse, was established in 1957 to honor men and women who by their deeds as players, coaches, officials and/or contributors, and by the example of their lives, personify the great contribution of lacrosse to our way of life. Over 400 lacrosse greats are honored in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, which is located alongside the National Lacrosse Museum at the US Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Maryland.
Bios for this year’s inductees are listed below:
Doug Knight
Knight will be inducted as a truly great player. Knight enjoyed an All-American career at the University of Virginia, earning first team honors on attack in 1996 and 1997 and second team accolades in 1995. He was also selected as the recipient of the Raymond Enners Award as the national player of the year in 1996. Knight earned All-ACC honors three times (1995, 1996, 1997) and was named the ACC Tournament’s MVP in 1997 after leading Virginia to the title. He was also UVA’s team MVP in 1997. Knight still ranks as Virginia’s all-time leader in career goals (165) and is now second in career points (249) after finishing his career as the all-time leader. He still holds school single-season records for goals (56) and points (86), both established in 1996. Knight’s professional career included two seasons as an indoor player for the Baltimore Thunder, and three seasons in the outdoor game with the Boston Cannons and Philadelphia Barrage. He was inducted into the US Lacrosse Charlottesville Chapter’s Hall of Fame in 2012.
Leslie Blankin Lane
Lane will be inducted as a truly great player. Lane enjoyed a four-year career at Hollins College, where she led the program to its first Virginia State Division II Championship as a senior in 1979. That year’s team also finished as the national runner-up in the USWLA’s Collegiate Championship, with Lane described as the “heart and soul” of the squad. After college, she had a four-year run as a club player for Philadelphia I, and earned all-tournament honors four times at the Women’s National Tournament. Lane was also a member of the U.S. Women’s Program, playing on the 1981 U.S. Touring Team to Australia and the first World Cup team in 1982. Lane earned All-World honors as a midfielder in 1982 as Team USA claimed the gold medal in England. She has previously been inducted into four Halls of Fame, including the inaugural class for Hollins College, and most recently, the US Lacrosse Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter’s Hall of Fame in 2014.
Jim McDonald
McDonald will be inducted as a truly great contributor. After his playing career concluded, he spent over 50 years still engaged with lacrosse as a coach and administrator. McDonald coached the University of Baltimore from 1956-63, compiling a 67-15-2 record and winning four championships in what was called the Laurie Cox Division. He also served as a longtime coach on both the rec and high school levels. McDonald spent 30 years as a member of the National Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee, including 24 years as its chair. He also served as a board member for 18 years for the Lacrosse Foundation, one of the predecessors to US Lacrosse. McDonald has been previously inducted into the US Lacrosse Charlottesville Chapter’s Hall of Fame (1997), the US Lacrosse Greater Baltimore Chapter’s Hall of Fame (2005) and the University of Baltimore’s Athletic Hall of Fame (2008).
Laurette Payette
Payette will be inducted as a truly great contributor. Recognized as one of the nation’s best officials, she has served as an umpire for 35 years. She has worked four NCAA championship games and seven national semifinal games during her 20-year collegiate umpiring career. She has also worked international events, club championship and numerous high school state championships through the years. As an administrator, she has been chair of the US Lacrosse Women’s Officials Committee and spearheaded the updating of national training and rating manuals for women’s lacrosse officials. She has also been an active clinician for officials training events nationwide for over 30 years. Payette was the recipient of the US Lacrosse Nancy Chance Service Award in 2010, and in recognition of her longtime service, had the US Lacrosse Laurette Payette Service Award created in her honor in 2015.
Casey Powell
Powell will be inducted as a truly great player. Powell was a four-time collegiate All-American at Syracuse University, earning first team honors in 1996, 1997 and 1988 and second team honors in 1995. Additionally, he was a two-time winner of the Raymond Enners Award as the national player of the year in 1997 and 1998, as well as the national midfielder of the year in 1996 and the national attackman of the year in 1998. He was named to the NCAA’s All-Tournament team four times, including 1995 when Syracuse won the national championship. Powell ranks second in Syracuse history with 287 career points. Powell played on the U.S. Men’s World Championship Team in 1998 and 2006, earning the gold as a member of ’98 squad. He also had a legendary professional career, playing for six different teams during a 14-year career in Major League Lacrosse. He ranks second in league history with 527 career points, and was the MLL’s MVP in 2014. He also earned All-Pro honors as an indoor player four times, including the NLL’s MVP award in 2010.
Jill Johnson Redfern
Redfern will be inducted as a truly great player. A four-year standout midfielder at Ursinus College, Redfern earned first team All-America honors in both 1987 and 1988. She helped lead Ursinus to the 1986 NCAA Division III national championship after the Bears finished as national runner-up in 1985. Redfern was selected as the most outstanding player in the 1986 and 1987 NCAA Tournament. She also served as team captain and was team MVP as a senior in 1988. Following college, Redfern was a six-year member of the U.S. Women’s National Team Program, culminating with the 1993 World Cup championship in Scotland. She was also a member of the U.S. Touring Team to Canada in 1990. Redfern, who currently serves as the women’s lacrosse head coach at Lehigh University, was inducted into the Ursinus College Hall of Fame in 1988.
Brooks Sweet
Sweet will be inducted as a truly great player. Following an all-star prep career at Ithaca (N.Y.) High School, Sweet began his collegiate career at SUNY Farmingdale, where he was a junior college All-American in both 1976 & 1977 and he helped Farmingdale to the 1977 JUCO national championship. He then moved to the University of Massachusetts, earning honorable mention All-America status in 1978 and first team honors in 1979 when he also led the nation with 61 goals scored. He was also team captain and MVP in 1979. Sweet played for Team USA in 1982 and was named both the Most Outstanding Attackman and All-World as the U.S. team captured gold. Sweet played four professional seasons in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League and was a three-time league all-star. He has been previously inducted into five other halls of fame, including most recently, the National Junior College Hall of Fame in 2008.
Robyn Nye Wood
Wood will be inducted as a truly great player. Following an All-American prep career at Downingtown (Pa.) High School, Wood became a two-time first team collegiate All-American at Virginia. As co-captain in 1991, she led the Cavaliers to the NCAA national championship and was named the IWLCA’s Defensive Player of the Year. She was also selected to the NCAA’s All-Tournament Team in 1991, and chosen as UVA’s most valuable athlete. Wood was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2002. After college, she was a club participant in the Philadelphia Women’s Lacrosse Association for 10 seasons, and also a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team Program from 1991 to 1997. Wood played on the 1997 U.S. World Cup Team that captured gold in Japan, and also played on U.S. Touring Teams to Australia in 1992 and Wales in 1995. She has previously been inducted to the Downingtown Area High School Hall of Fame and the US Lacrosse Charlottesville Chapter’s Hall of Fame.
Don Zimmerman
Zimmerman will be inducted as a truly great coach. Zimmerman’s collegiate coaching career spanned across five decades, 1978-2016, and included four stops as an assistant coach and two as a head coach. He won three NCAA national championships (1984, 1985, 1987) in seven seasons as the head coach at Johns Hopkins, amassing a 73-15 record. Zimmerman then recorded 164 wins as the head coach at UMBC from 1994-2016. He also served as an assistant coach for the gold medal winning Team USA in 1986. Zimmerman received numerous coaching honors during his career, including the America East Conference’s Coach of the Year Award three times and the Hero’s Coach of the Year Award in 1984. He was the recipient of the IMLCA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Zimmerman has been previously inducted into three other halls of fame, including most recently, the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.