MOBILE, Ala. — Former baseball standouts Juan Pierre and P.J. Walters, former men’s tennis All-American František Babej and former women’s tennis standout Cindy Summers will be inducted into the South Alabama Athletics Hall of Fame this fall.
Three of the four inductees earned All-America honors at South Alabama, and the fourth was nationally ranked in both singles and doubles. The class will join the 57 former Jaguars already enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame Weekend
The induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 3, at 10 a.m. at the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center on the South Alabama campus. The inductees will be recognized later that day at halftime of South Alabama’s football game against Florida International at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
P.J. Walters, Baseball
Walters lettered for the Jaguars from 2004 through 2006. As a freshman, he went 10-1 with 119 strikeouts in 117 innings and was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
As a junior, Walters went 11-3 and led the Sun Belt Conference with 166 strikeouts, the second-highest single-season total in school history. Collegiate Baseball named him a second-team All-American, and Baseball America named him to its third team.
Walters holds South Alabama’s career records for strikeouts (404) and innings pitched (410 1/3) and ranks second in school history with 31 wins.
Juan Pierre, Baseball
Pierre played one season at South Alabama and led the Sun Belt in hits (95), runs (77) and stolen bases (54). His stolen base total ranked fifth nationally. He was named Sun Belt Player of the Year and first-team all-conference.
The American Baseball Coaches Association named Pierre a second-team All-American, and he was a third-team All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
That season, the Jaguars won the Sun Belt regular-season title with a 42-19 record and went 2-2 at the NCAA South I Regional. Both losses came by one run against USC, which went on to win the national championship.
František Babej, Men’s Tennis
Babej lettered at South Alabama in 2004 and 2005 and earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-America honors in singles both seasons.
In his first season, Babej became the first South Alabama player to reach the semifinals of the NCAA singles championships. He finished the 2003-04 season ranked 17th nationally in singles and 49th in doubles.
As a senior, Babej went 32-3, put together a 26-match winning streak and won his first two matches at the NCAA singles championships. He finished the year ranked 16th in the final national singles rankings.
Cindy Summers, Women’s Tennis
Summers helped the Lady Jaguars win four consecutive Sun Belt Conference championships from 1994 through 1997. She was named most valuable player of the conference championships in 1996 and 1997 and earned all-conference honors three times in singles and three times in doubles.
In 1996, Summers finished the season ranked 34th nationally in singles and 40th in doubles. She ended her senior season ranked 65th in singles and 57th in doubles.
Summers was also selected to the Sun Belt Conference’s 30th Anniversary All-Time Women’s Tennis Team.
