HICKORY, N.C. — The Catawba Valley Community College athletic department announces its second Hall of Fame Class as well as details for its induction ceremony.
Members of the newest Red Hawk Athletics Hall of Fame class include CVCC men's golf standout Travis Bland (1993-95), CVCC baseball standout Bryson Bowman (2012-14), former CVCC head women's basketball coach Tommy Edwards (2009-13), former CVCC volleyball head coach Shannon Hudson (2009-19) and CVCC women's basketball standout Shaniya Lester (2016-18).
.
Catawba Valley Community College athletics will also introduce a new honor — the Red Hawk Spirit of Service Award, which will be presented to Tim Peeler, the former Director of the Learning Assistance Program at CVCC.
All six of these individuals will be honored at the second Red Hawks Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will take place Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Tarlton Complex on CVCC's main campus in Hickory.
In conjunction with the induction ceremony, current country music artist and professional baseball player, Bryce Hensley, will perform a special show for those in attendance. Bryce is a baseball alum and was a member of the 2015 World Series team. For more information on Hensley, visit https://brycehensley.com.
The five new members of the Red Hawk Athletics Hall of Fame will join members from the first-ever Red Hawk Hall of Fame Class, including Charlie Bock, Mark Clodfelter, Terri Ferber, Danny Fraga, Kadesha Gibbs, Eddie Martin, Jeff Moore, Jim Murray, Bryan Norris and Brad Turner. For more information on the first class click here.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for this event and will go toward supporting the future of CVCC Red Hawk Athletics and student athletes.
For more information on the event or to sponsor, please visit https://forms.office.com/r/wdE3pSue7j or contact Terri Livingston at tlivingston652@cvcc.edu or call 828-327-7000 ext. 4510.
Below is bio information on each inductee (in alphabetical order):
Travis Bland, CVCC men's golfer (1993-95)
A four-year letterman and state qualifier in golf at Glenn High School, Bland is one of the most decorated golfers in Catawba Valley Community College athletics history.
Bland, who played under CVCC Athletics Hall of Fame head coach Charlie Bock, was named All-American during both the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. He is only one of four two-time All-Americans in golf at CVCC, including Mark Clodfelter (1989-91), Brad Turner (1989-91) and Jason Smith (1991-93).
Bland was also a two-time medalist during the NJCAA men's golf tournament.
Bland finished his athletic career at UNC Wilmington, earning MVP honors both years with the Eagles. He won a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship in 1998. He also set a CAA tournament record for finishing all three rounds under par.
Bland went on to coach the Lenoir-Rhyne women's and men's golf programs, leading the Bears men's program to the 2006 South Atlantic Conference tournament championship and NCAA Division II Regional tournament appearance in 2007.
Bryson Bowman, CVCC baseball player (2012-14)
Bowman led the Red Hawk baseball program to two regular-season league titles. Bowman finished his CVCC career ranking second in program history with 78 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Bowman had a career .350 batting average with the Red Hawks with 28 extra base hits, including nine home runs.
Bowman was a first team All-Region as both a freshman and sophomore (2013-14). Bowman was also selected to the All-Region Defensive Team in 2013 and was named an NJCAA All American in 2014.
Upon leaving CVCC, Bowman earned a scholarship at Western Carolina. In his first season at WCU, Bowman helped the Catamounts to the Southern Conference Tournament title and to an NCAA regional appearance.
Bryson Bowman became Catawba Valley's first MLB Draft pick after being selected in the 33rd round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.
After declining to sign with the Yankees, Bowman return to Western Carolina and finished his senior season with a team-best .381 batting average, 59 RBI and 11 home runs — becoming the 16th player in school history to win the Catamounts' Triple Crown award. He earned first team All-SoCon honors and shared SoCon Player of the Year honors.
Tommy Edwards, CVCC women's basketball head coach (2009-13)
A longtime coaching staple in the Catawba Valley region, Edwards coached the Red Hawk women's basketball program for four seasons, amassing an 82-30 record during that time.
Edwards' teams at CVCC improved in each of his four seasons as coach, winning 16 games his first season and 18 in both his second and third seasons.
His final season at the helm of the Catawba Valley women's basketball program was by far his best — leading the Red Hawks to a 30-1 overall record and both a Carolinas-Virginia Conference regular-season and tournament title.
The Red Hawks ranked as high as third nationally under Edwards. He finished his coaching career in both high school and college with a 500-229 overall record.
Shannon Hudson, CVCC women's volleyball head coach (2009-19)
Hudson spent 12 seasons with the Catawba Valley volleyball program, guiding the Red Hawks to a 348-76 record during her tenure. Her Red Hawk volleyball teams held two impressive streaks — 143-straight conference victories and 179-straight Region wins.
Under Hudson, CVCC reached the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament in volleyball six times (2009, 2012-13, 2016, 2018-19). The Red Hawks finished a program-best fourth nationally during the 2016-17 season.
A five-time Region 10 Coach of the Year (2012-13, 2015-16, 2019) and a six-time District Coach of the Year (2009, 2012-13, 2016, 2018-19), Hudson helped coach 39 All-Region performers, eight Region 10 Players of the Year and six NJCAA All-Americans. Twenty-eight of her players also signed to play at the four-year level.
In 2018, Hudson received the prestigious Two-Year College Northeast-Southeast Region Coach of the Year honor from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
Shaniya Lester, CVCC women's basketball player (2016-18)
A former standout at North Mecklenburg High School, Lester finished her career at Catawba Valley Community College as the only basketball player — male or female — to amass more than 1,000 career points scored. She finished her career with 1,038 points.
Lester's performance during her sophomore season helped catapult the Red Hawks to a 26-6 record, including a 20-2 mark in conference games. She averaged 20.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game during her final season at CVCC.
Following an extremely successful sophomore campaign in 2017-18, Lester was named an NJCAA All-American, becoming only one of four All-Americans in Catawba Valley women's basketball program history.
Lester went on to finish her academic and athletic career at UNC Pembroke.