New Hall of Famers  

Conn’s Athletics Hall of Fame welcomed eight inductees in September.

The Connecticut College Athletics Hall of Fame welcomed two classes and eight inductees during a special ceremony in September. A total of 120 individuals and two teams have been enshrined since 1989. 

Class of 2024

Basil Donnelly ’86
Men’s Rowing

A four-time Dad Vail College Nationals participant at the stroke, Donnelly led the lightweight to a silver medal in 1983, a fifth-place finish in 1984 and a bronze medal in 1985. He finished his career leading the lightweight four to the gold medal in 1986. A New England Rowing Championship gold medalist in 1983 with the lightweight eight, and silver medalist in 1986 with the heavyweight eight, he was a two-time team captain and MVP. 

Isabella Franz ’17
Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field

A seven-time NCAA Championship qualifier, Franz has the most appearances of any Conn female athlete. She ranks second in program history in the 800 meters, the 1,000 meters and the mile, and third in the 1,500 meters. Franz is a two-time All-NESCAC honoree in the 800 and New England DIII champion in the 800 and 1,000. 

Nicolle Jasbon ’15
Women’s Water Polo

Jasbon made an immediate impact in her debut season, earning Collegiate Water Polo Association Rookie of the Year honors. She went on to lead the Camels to CWPA Division III titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015, earning CWPA DIII Most Valuable Player honors all three seasons. The three-time All-American and 2015 Anita L. DeFrantz Award winner finished her collegiate career as the program’s all-time leader in goals (222), assists (128) and steals (253). 

Fran Shields P’14  
Men’s Lacrosse Coach, Retired Athletics Director 

Over five decades, Shields brought the Men’s Lacrosse program into national prominence, improved the competitiveness of Conn’s 28 sports, significantly enhanced athletics fundraising, oversaw $16 million in facilities improvements and enriched the lives of countless colleagues and student-athletes. As head coach of Men’s Lacrosse, he led the Camels to a 170-138 (.552) record in 23 seasons, resulting in four Top 20 national rankings, an ECAC New England DIII championship, an ECAC second-place finish, and 12 All-America players.

Class of 2025

James Butler P’10
Retired Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field Coach

Butler’s impressive coaching career spans 30 years. In 2002, his Cross Country squad qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history, and he was named New England DIII Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. In 2004, he was honored as NESCAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. Butler developed 14 NESCAC and New England DIII champions across his career, along with one relay squad and 23 individual NCAA Championship qualifiers. He also guided Michael LeDuc ’14 to nine All-America finishes and three individual NCAA titles.   

Astrid Kempainen ’15
Women’s Soccer

Kempainen led the Camels to a 16-3-1 record and the first NESCAC team championship in Conn’s history in 2014. After dispatching Williams College in the conference title game, Conn went on to claim its first NCAA postseason win since 1998 with a 3-1 victory over Swarthmore in the opening round. Just the second player in program history to earn NESCAC Player of the Year honors, Kempainen closed out her senior season with NSCAA First Team All-America and D3soccer.com First Team All-America honors.

Benjamin Parens ’18 
Men’s Lacrosse

The most dominant faceoff specialist in program history, Parens is a three-time U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-American, a three-time All-NESCAC selection and a two-time Nike Specialist of the Year. He remains the program’s all-time leader in ground balls (475) and faceoff wins (853). A two-year team captain and 2018 Anita L. DeFrantz Award winner, Parens led the team to a national ranking in 2018, the program’s first in five years. 

Valerie Urban ’17
Women’s Swimming and Diving

Urban led the Camels to a top-six NESCAC Championship finish in each of her four seasons—with a program-best third-place showing in 2017—as well as two top-15 NCAA Championship finishes, with a program-best 10th place showing in 2017. The 2015 NESCAC Champion in the 1,000 freestyle, Urban is a six-time All-America honoree and was a 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. A team captain and Brown-Brooks Award winner, she finished her career with program records in the 500 freestyle, 1,000 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle. 

Above: (Back row L-R) James Butler P’10, Benjamin Parens ’18, Valerie Urban ’17 and Astrid Kempainen ’15; (Front row L-R) Isabella Franz ’17, Basil Donnelly ’86, Nicolle Jasbon ’15 and Fran Shields P’14. Photo by Sean D. Elliot