Spring Hill College Hall of Fame Inducts Eight, From Home Run King Bill Bonner to Coach Steve Hodges

MOBILE, Ala. — The Spring Hill College Hall of Fame grew by eight members on Thursday night, Oct. 22, as the school’s athletics program honored a 2026 class of record-setting baseball players, two basketball standouts, an All-America softball pitcher and two longtime coaches during a ceremony at Byrne Memorial Hall on the school’s campus off Dauphin Street.

The Spring Hill College Hall of Fame class of 2026 includes Bill Bonner (’02), baseball; Eric Lovett (’97), men’s basketball; Stephen Quina (’96), baseball; Gerald Rodgers (’69), baseball; Caroline Sagrera (’16), softball; Eddie Timmons (’97), men’s basketball; Steve Hodges, who coached golf from 1996 to 2025; and Dr. Drayton Miller, who coached men’s basketball from 1984 to 1988.

The induction took place during Homecoming Week on the Hill. The college first announced the class on June 30. Lovett, who died in July 2025, was honored posthumously.

A Hall of Fame tradition since 1972

The Spring Hill College Athletic Hall of Fame has recognized the best in Badger athletics since 1972. According to the college, 175 student-athletes, coaches and teams have been honored in the Hall of Fame.

This year’s group reaches across more than five decades of Spring Hill sports, from Rodgers’ senior season in 1969 to Sagrera’s career in the 2010s. It also spans the program’s history in two governing bodies: most of the inductees competed or coached when the Badgers were members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), while Hodges’ tenure carried into the school’s current era in NCAA Division II.

Baseball has the largest share of the class, with three former players, and two of them, Quina and Rodgers, are Mobile natives. Lovett also grew up in the area, starring at Vigor High School before choosing to play college basketball close to home.

The 2026 inductees

• Bill Bonner (’02), baseball: Four-year starter at first base and the team’s home run leader all four seasons; school-record 17 homers in one season and 43 for his career; NAIA All-American in 2000 and 2002.
• Eric Lovett (’97), men’s basketball: Four-year starter and three-year co-captain; 1,475 career points; two-time All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference pick.
• Stephen Quina (’96), baseball: Two-time captain; 23-11 record and 3.17 ERA; school record for career starts.
• Gerald Rodgers (’69), baseball: Pitcher and hitter; 1969 Spring Hill College Athlete of the Year; helped start the club football program.
• Caroline Sagrera (’16), softball: Two-time NAIA All-American and two-time NAIA Academic All-American; led the nation with 482 strikeouts as a freshman.
• Eddie Timmons (’97), men’s basketball: Four-year starter and three-time co-captain; more than 1,200 points and 635 rebounds; honorable mention All-American.
• Coach Steve Hodges (1996-2025), golf: Led the men’s team to nine NAIA national championship appearances and three NCAA national championship appearances.
• Coach Dr. Drayton Miller (1984-88), men’s basketball: 92-73 record; coached the 1987-88 team to a school-record 27 wins; also served as athletics director.

Baseball standouts: Bonner, Quina and Rodgers

Bonner was a fixture at first base for four seasons and led the Badgers in home runs every one of those years. His 17 home runs in a single season remain the school record, and he finished his career with 43. He was twice named an NAIA All-American, in 2000 and again in 2002.

Quina, a Mobile native, was a two-time team captain and one of the most durable pitchers in program history. He made 46 starts, setting the school record for career games started, and went 23-11 with a 3.17 earned run average over 272.2 innings. He saved one of his best performances for last: in his final college start, he threw a complete-game victory over No. 1-ranked Dallas Baptist.

Rodgers, also a Mobile native, starred on the mound and at the plate. As a senior in 1969, he was named Spring Hill College Athlete of the Year and received the Outstanding Baseball Player of the Year award. His contributions went beyond the diamond, too. He helped establish the school’s club football program and played quarterback for the team.

Sagrera’s record-setting arm

Sagrera is among the most decorated softball pitchers in Spring Hill history. As a freshman, she struck out 482 batters, the most in the country, while also piling up 39 wins, 18 shutouts and five no-hitters, according to the college.

She was twice named an NAIA All-American, and her success extended to the classroom. Sagrera was a two-time NAIA Academic All-America selection and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in pre-health science.

Her induction adds to a strong softball tradition on the Hill. The Badgers’ softball team won Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championships in 2024 and 2025, according to the college.

Hardwood heroes: Lovett and Timmons

Two members of the class of 1997 entered the Hall together. Timmons was a four-year starter and a three-time co-captain under head coach Joe Niland, who now serves as Spring Hill’s athletics director. Timmons helped the Badgers win a Gulf Coast Conference championship and earn a berth in the NAIA national tournament. He scored more than 1,200 points, grabbed 635 rebounds and earned honorable mention All-America recognition.

Lovett was a star at Vigor High School before staying home to play for the Badgers. He started for four years and served as a team co-captain for three seasons. He finished his career with 1,475 points, 576 rebounds, 346 assists and 230 steals and was twice named to the All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference team. After his playing days, Lovett remained in local basketball as a coach at LeFlore High School. He died in July 2025.

Two coaches who shaped Badger programs

Miller led the men’s basketball program from 1984 to 1988 and compiled a 92-73 record. His 1987-88 team won 27 games, still the school record for victories in a season. Miller also served as Spring Hill’s athletics director and is a member of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Hodges spent nearly three decades as Spring Hill’s golf coach, from 1996 to 2025, and coached both the men’s and women’s teams for much of that time. Under his leadership, the men’s team made nine NAIA national championship appearances and posted four top-10 national finishes. After the school moved to NCAA Division II, he guided the team to three NCAA national championship appearances, giving him postseason success under both governing bodies.

From NAIA roots to the Gulf South Conference

Spring Hill’s athletic history has changed significantly since many of this year’s inductees competed. The Badgers spent nearly three decades in the NAIA’s Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, from 1981-82 through 2009-10, before moving to the NAIA’s Southern States Athletic Conference.

The NCAA accepted Spring Hill into the Division II membership process in July 2013. The school joined the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference beginning in fall 2014, becoming the first school that is not a historically Black college or university to join the league, and it became a full Division II member in 2018. Since then, Spring Hill has won 16 SIAC tournament championships, including seven straight volleyball titles from 2018 through 2025, according to the college.

Another change is coming. In March, the Gulf South Conference announced that Spring Hill accepted an offer of full membership effective July 1, 2027, with competition beginning in the 2027-28 academic year. The Badgers will compete in 15 conference-sponsored sports in the GSC, where they have been an affiliate member in men’s and women’s soccer and women’s golf since 2014-15. Spring Hill will become the fifth Alabama-based member of the league, joining UAH, AUM, Montevallo and West Alabama.

When the move was announced, Niland called the Gulf South Conference “one of the premier conferences in NCAA Division II” and said the move positions Badger student-athletes “to compete at the highest level.”

About Spring Hill College

Spring Hill College was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, the first Catholic bishop of Mobile, and is the oldest institution of higher learning in Alabama. The college describes itself as the first Catholic college in the Southeast and the third-oldest Jesuit college in the United States. French Jesuits from Lyon took over the school in 1847, and it has remained under Jesuit direction since.

The campus sits at 4000 Dauphin St. in west Mobile. Spring Hill enrolls nearly 900 students annually, according to the college.

For a small school, Spring Hill’s athletic tradition runs deep, and the Hall of Fame is one of the ways the college connects current Badgers with the alumni who came before them. With the 2026 class enshrined, eight more names now join that history.