INDIANAPOLIS – A 10-time GLVC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year, a men’s soccer National Champion head coach, a two-time GLVC Men’s Golf Champion and Player of the Year, and a two-time baseball All-American have been elected for induction to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Hall of Fame, it was announced by the Conference office Tuesday.
The GLVC’s Class of 2019 inductees include University of Indianapolis men’s golf head coach Ken Partridge and men’s golf standout Justin Hueber, Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer head coach John Basalyga, and Lewis University baseball player Ernie Young.
The GLVC Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be honored at the Enterprise/GLVC Spring Awards Banquet at the Drury Plaza Hotel in St. Louis on Tuesday, May 21.
Ken Partridge began his long-time tenure at UIndy in the 1966-67 season before joining the GLVC as a charter member in 1978-79, where his team finished first in the league’s inaugural slate. He followed with 10 other first-place finishes and four runner-up results. In 1987-88 he won his first of 10 GLVC Coach of the Year accolade and repeated as such the next five seasons, including a nod as the NCAA D-II District 4 Coach of the Year in 1988-89. His Greyhounds twice finished second in the NCAA District tournament in 1990-91 and 1994-95, while the following year the format changed from district to regional where Partridge guided his squad to its first NCAA Regional win despite placing fourth in GLVC competition in 1995-96. That kick started another three years of GLVC Coach of the Year selections from 1996-97 to 1998-99, while his 10th and final award as the league’s top headman was in 2001-02. In his 28 years at the helm, Partridge mentored 44 players to All-GLVC recognition and six to GLVC Player of the Year distinction. Additionally, seven of his players were named All-Americans 14 times, including three that were three-time winners.
John Basalyga captured one GLVC Championship title and four NCAA Regional crowns during his nine years leading Northern Kentucky. He was named GLVC and Regional Coach of the Year twice while NCAA National Coach of the Year in 2010 when his Norse became National Champions after winning the GLVC crown, as well. Before that, though, Basalyga began his tenure in the league during the 2003-04 season with a modest 4-9-3 overall record but quickly turned things around the very next season, going 12-6-2 and earning a national ranking as high as No. 17 with a fifth-place finish in league standings. The 2005-06 slate saw even more improvement, as his Norse advanced to the semifinal round of the GLVC Championship. Despite losing in the semis again the very next year, Basalyga’s squad earned a NCAA bid and went on to win the regional title for their first of three consecutive crowns, which set the stage for five more years of national success before NKU departed the GLVC to reclassify as a Division I member. Basalyga spent five more seasons on the NKU sidelines before retiring in 2016. During his tenure, Basalyga had seven seasons where his Norse were nationally ranked, including three-straight years at No. 1, while he mentored 37 to All-GLVC recognition, 27 to All-Region distinction, and 12 to All-American nods. One standout, in particular, included Steven Beattie, who was the 2008 and 2010 National Player of the Year and recently inducted into the 2018 GLVC Hall of Fame.
Justin Hueber could be considered the top performer in Indianapolis men’s golf history, as his name can still be found atop numerous records a decade after graduating. He owns the UIndy record for lowest career scoring average (72.61), lowest single-season average (71.14), lowest single-round score relative to par (-7) and most career individual wins (11). The two-time GLVC Player of the Year showed promise early in his career, garnering All-GLVC, Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-Great Lakes Region and All-America Honorable Mention accolades as a freshman before going on to earn All-America Second Team honors as a junior and an All-America First Team nod his final campaign. The Ft. Wayne, Indiana, native saved some of his best moments for the postseason where he racked up four consecutive top-10 showings at the NCAA regional, including two third-place finishes and a runner-up performance. He also led the Greyhounds to a NCAA regional title in 2008 and back-to-back top-10 showings at the NCAA DII Championships. He was part of two record-breaking performances at the GLVC Championships. Winning the Conference individual medal as both a junior and a senior, Hueber led the Hounds to a league-record 23-stroke win at the 2008 postseason event, one year before setting the individual margin-of-victory record (seven strokes) and helping UIndy break the GLVC Championships record for lowest 54-hole team score (864). More importantly, Hueber also excelled in the classroom. The two-time Academic All-GLVC honoree was named an All-America Scholar by the GCAA as a senior while being voted the 2009 GLVC Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Since graduating in 2009, Hueber has gone on to find success as a professional golfer. He is currently competing on the Web.com Tour and has a pair of PGA Tour Latinamérica wins to his credit.
In
Ernie Young’s three years at Lewis, he compiled a .347 batting average with 36 home runs (t-8th) and 63 stolen bases (sixth), which are both top-10 marks all-time in the Lewis annals. In hits (30), doubles (30), triples (six), and runs batted in (120), he ranks among the top 25 Flyers. In 1990, Young led Division II in runs (81) and was second in home runs (25) while tying a Lewis single-game record with three homers against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was a two-time All-GLVC selection and a two-time American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-American, earning Second Team honors in 1989 and First Team recognition in 1990. Young helped lead the Flyers to three consecutive NCAA World Series appearances in 1988, 1989 and 1990. The combined baseball record for those three years was 137-56, as Lewis finished third in the nation in both 1988 and 1990 while fifth in 1989. In GLVC play, the Flyers were first in 1990 with a 15-3 record and second in both 1988 (14-4) and 1989 (12-8). His third and final year in Romeoville, Young hit .365 with 25 homers, 11 doubles, two triples, 72 RBI, and 38 stolen bases. The prior year, he went .353 at the plate and tallied nine dingers, 19 doubles, four triples, and 39 RBI with 17 steals. During his freshman slate, Young hit .234 with two home runs and added nine RBI and eight stolen bases. After departing Lewis, Young played eight seasons in Major League Baseball with five different teams, including the Oakland Athletics where he appeared in 141 games in 1996, hitting a career-high 19 home runs, 19 doubles, 64 runs batted in and stole seven bases. Additionally, he helped Team USA defeat two-time defending champion Cuba to win the 2000 Olympic gold medal in Australia. For the Olympic tournament, he led Team USA in on-base percentage (.568), tied for the team lead in with eight RBI and posted a .385 batting average (10-for-26).
The 2019 GLVC Hall of Fame Class will be the 18th class to be inducted since the establishment of the honor in 2002. With the inclusion of the Class of 2019 in May, the GLVC Hall of Fame membership will expand to 80 former administrators, coaches, and student-athletes.