NEW ORLEANS – Five new inductees are heading into the UNO Athletics Hall of Fame for 2024. Terry Kieffer (Baseball), Wally Whitehurst (Baseball), Ledell Eackles (Men's Basketball), Kristin O'Hearn (Volleyball) and Mike Bujol (Administration) are a part of the newest class of Hall of Famers.
Kieffer starred for a 1974 team that finished as the Division II runner-up in the College World Series. The southpaw is still the only Corbett Award winner in Privateer history. The Corbett Award is presented annually to the top amateur athlete in Louisiana. Kieffer co-owns the single-season program record for wins with 15. He threw 12 complete games for the '74 team. Kieffer was a first-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1974 MLB Draft.
Whitehurst is the program leader in career wins (37) and complete games (40). He also ranks second in program history in career strikeouts with 310. Whitehurst was a huge part of the 1984 team that became the first Division I program in Louisiana to advance to the College World Series. Whitehurst went on to pitch in the big leagues for seven seasons with the Mets, Padres and Yankees.
Eackles had a star-studded career on the Lakefront, which included earning All-American Honorable Mention in 1986-87 and 1987-88. Eackles ranks in the top ten in career scoring with 1,358 points. He was also named Louisiana Newcomer and Player of the Year in 1987. He earned American South Player of the Year in 1988. Eackles was drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1988 and scored over 4,700 points in the NBA between 1988-98.
O'Hearn was a versatile player for the Privateers volleyball program from 1992-95. She led the team in kills and digs in each of her last three seasons on the Lakefront. O'Hearn made six in-season all-tournament teams. She ranks second in career kills (1,837) and fourth in career digs (1,327). O'Hearn was a two-time All-Sun Belt selection and twice made the All-Louisiana Team.
Bujol was in administration and served nearly three decades at the University of New Orleans. His career on the Lakefront began in 1982 when he oversaw sports information, sales and marketing. Starting in 1992, Bujol managed the athletic facilities for a decade. In 2002, Bujol was promoted to Associate Director of Athletics. Following his retirement from UNO Athletics, he went on to become the Athletic Director of nearby Holy Cross High School in 2009.
Previous Hall of Fame classes can be viewed
here.
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