Rice Athletics Announces Starts With Hall of Fame Classes
The Rice Athletics Hall of Fame will induct its next class of legendary performers on Friday, October 27.
The 2023 class is comprised of six athletes (Natalie Beazant, ’15, Christopher Caldwell, ’94, James Casey, ’11, Lauren Hughes, ’16, Anthony Rendon, ’12, and Lennie Waite, ’08), current Volleyball coach Genny Volpe, and this year’s Distinguished “R” and Honorary “R” Award winners. Letterwinner Adam Peakes, ’95 will receive the Distinguished “R” Award for his exemplary life as a Rice student-athlete, alumnus, and valued athletics community member. Richard Stabell, former Rice Dean of Admissions, will receive the Honorary “R” Award for his tireless support for the Owls over the course of his career and beyond.
Induction activities will continue the following afternoon, October 28, with a tailgate prior to the Rice-Tulane football game, and the class will be honored on the field during the game.
Formal registration for the Hall of Fame ceremony is forthcoming. For additional information regarding the 2023 Rice Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, please contact the Owl Club, 713-348-8425 or by email, [email protected] or click here to be the first to know when registration opens.
Natalie Beazant, ’15 (Hall of Fame)
Beazant thrived in her time with the women’s tennis team, becoming one of the most decorated tennis players in Rice and Conference USA history. From 2012-15, she led the Owls to four C-USA title-match appearances, taking home the conference championship three times while earning Outstanding Player of the C-USA Championship all four years. A two-time All-American, she was a three-time NCAA qualifier in both singles and doubles. She was named to the All-Conference team four times and twice was named the Conference USA Player of the Year.
Beazant helped lead Rice to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including its only Sweet 16 appearance in 2012. She also spent the majority of her time in the ITA rankings, reaching as high as 25th in singles and 20th in doubles. Beazant capped off her career by winning the Joyce Pounds Hardy Award as Rice’s top female student-athlete and in 2021, she became the first women’s tennis player to be inducted into the Conference USA Hall of Fame.
Christopher Caldwell, ’94 (Hall of Fame)
An all-time Rice track & field great, Christopher Caldwell is a six-time Southwest Conference event champion, two-time All-American, and was awarded the first-ever Fred Wolcott Award, presented annually to the men’s track & field most versatile performer, in 1992. Caldwell’s time of 1:49.10 sits fourth all-time at Rice for the 800m indoor and his time of 1:47.05 is third all-time for Rice for the 800m outdoor. He was also part of the 4×800 Relay team that set the school record in 1991 and won three conference titles in the event (1991, 1992, 1993). Caldwell is also a two-time U.S. Olympic Trial Qualifier (1992, 1996).
James Casey, 11 (Hall of Fame)
James Casey began his athletic career in professional baseball, playing three years in the White Sox system. But after retiring from baseball, he came to South Main and needed just two years to become the most dominant, do-it-all tight end in Rice Football history. A consensus All-Conference USA honoree as a senior, he recorded 157 receptions and 1,914 yards both of which rank fifth on the school’s all-time list, while his 17 touchdowns rank fourth. In 2008, had one of the most dominant seasons by a tight end in NCAA history, recording a school-record 111 receptions and 1,329 yards, while scoring 13 touchdowns. His 111 receptions are also the most by a tight end in NCAA history. Casey also set a school record with 208 receiving yards at Memphis. He added 11 touchdowns on the ground.
He caught at least one pass in his last 22 games and had at least five catches in each of his last 19 contests. Casey became the first player in NCAA history to have two games in which he threw a touchdown pass, caught a touchdown pass and rushed for a score in the same game (at Tulsa and vs. Houston). Following his Rice career, Casey was drafted by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. In seven NFL seasons with the Texans, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos, he caught 72 passes for 842 yards and six touchdowns. Casey has spent the last eight year as an assistant on both the collegiate and pro level, spending the last five as the tight ends coach with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Lauren Hughes, ’16 (Hall of Fame)
Hughes etched her named in the Rice Soccer record books over a stellar four-year career. She became a four-year All-Conference player, while becoming just one of three players to earn First Team All-Conference USA honors three times. Hughes was twice honored as the C-USA Offensive Player of the Year, earning the award in back-to-back seasons (2014 and 2015). She’s also one of three players to earn All-Region honors three times. In 2012, she helped the Owls to the C-USA regular season championship and two years later, she led them to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in almost 10 years.
Hughes holds numerous records, including single-season goals (14), assists (10), points (35), shots (84) and shots on goal (37), as well as career goals (39), assists (28), points (106), game-winning goals (14), shots (269) and shots on goal (129). She also set a school record in 2014 by scoring a goal in seven consecutive games.
Adam Peakes, ’95 (Distinguished R Award)
The definition of a student-athlete, Peakes turned himself into an all-around player on the basketball court. He increased his productivity each year, before leading the team with 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds as a senior to earn a place on the All-Southwest Conference Second Team. He finished his career with over 1,200 points, ranking in the top ten in school history in rebounds, assists and steals and is the only player to finish his career with at least 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals.
Following a playing career overseas, Peakes spent nearly 20 years as an Investment Banker, serving as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, then as a partner at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Company. He currently serves as an Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the Hornblower Group. He serves as a board member of numerous companies, including the Chairman of the Board of Advisors for Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
Anthony Rendon, ’12 (Hall of Fame)
Rendon turned in one of the most decorated careers in Rice Baseball history. He arrived on South Main as one of the top high school stars in Houston, and only saw his career soar from there. A three-time All-American, he immediately established himself as one of the top players in the country, earning Conference USA Player of the Year and National Freshman of the Year honors. He stepped up his game a year later, leading C-USA with 26 home runs on his way to his second straight Player of the Year award. He also took home the prestigious Dick Howser Award, given to the top college baseball player in the country. He closed out his career placing in the top ten in school history in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.679), total bases (463), walks (176), hits (253), RBI (85), runs (83), and home runs (52). In 2019, he was a part of the inaugural class of the Conference USA Hall of Fame.
Following his junior season, Rendon was selected by the Washington Nationals in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft. He has gone on to play 11 seasons in the majors with the Nationals and the Los Angeles Angels. A two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, he was named to the National League All-Star team in 2019. That year, he led the Nationals to their first World Series championship, becoming the fourth Owl to do so.
Richard Stabell (Honorary R Award)
Stabell served Rice University for 32 years as the Dean of Admissions and was a driving force behind the admissions of over 3,000 Rice student-athletes. Starting in 1972, Stabell was responsible for all Rice undergraduate admissions, including athletes. He created the first admission process for student-athletes, which would be implemented in 1974. During his tenure, he worked closely with the athletics department until his retirement in 2002 and personally interviewed hundreds of future Rice Owls during the recruiting phase. Stabell’s mission was to create an admission procedure that would help Rice win, while still staying true to the academic values of the University.
During Stabell’s time at Rice, the athletics department earned many accomplishments, including 22 conference championships, 46 Academic All-Americans;,one Rhodes Scholar, one Fullbright, one Marshall and one Honda Broderick Award. He was also an Associate of Baker, Weiss, Brown and Martel Colleges.
Genny Volpe (Hall of Fame)
Entering her 20th season, Volpe has established the Owl volleyball program as a national power. Under Volpe’s watch, the Owls have made eight NCAA Tournament appearances, the only eight appearances in Rice’s history. The sixth head coach in Rice history, Volpe has the highest winning percentage (.651) in school history and has compiled a 376-200 record, the most wins in school history. Under her tutelage, the Owls has won five Conference USA championships. She has coached 16 All-Americans, 21, C-USA All-Academic members, 74 All-Conference selections and 117 Players of the Week.
The 2020-21 AVCA Southwest Region Coach of the Year, she is also a two-time C-USA Coach of the Year (2008 and 2018). She’s also coached 11 different conference Player of the Year selections.
Lennie Waite, ’08 (Hall of Fame)
A decorated cross country/track & field runner, Lennie Waite is a three-time C-USA event champion having set school records in the 1500m, mile and 3000m steeplechase and was part of seven C-USA Championship teams throughout her career. Waite was part of the 2007 and 2008 NCAA cross country qualifying teams and was the highest point scorer at the 2009 C-USA Indoor Championships. She was named the C-USA Indoor Female Track Athlete of the Year after earning All-American honors with a sixth-place finish in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Waite closed her career as a two-time All-American, and Academic All-American and a top 10 finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. After graduating cum laude, she continued to train and represented Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games.