BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Four former Camel greats will be inducted this winter into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame.  Martha Covington (softball), Jonathan Rodriguez (men's basketball), Ryan Thompson (baseball) and Mary Weiss (women's basketball) will be enshrined on Saturday, Jan. 24 during ceremonies on campus.
 
Induction ceremonies will be held at 12:00 p.m. in the Keith Family Ballroom at the Oscar N. Harris Student Union, followed by recognition of the 2026 Hall of Fame class at halftime of the 4:00 p.m. men's basketball game vs. Monmouth at Gore Arena.
 
Tickets to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony are available for purchase by the general public.  Admission, which includes the ceremony and buffet meal, is $35, while a ticket to the basketball game may be added on for an additional $10.  Tickets may be purchased online HERE.
 
Martha Covington, '99 was a four-time Atlantic Sun first-team all-conference performer in softball and is one of just 10 student-athletes to accomplish that feat since 1986.  She was a three-time All-Southeast Region selection and still ranks among the ASun career top-five leaders in batting average (4th, .429), hits (4th, 280), doubles (1st, 73).  Covington was the ASun batting champion in 1997 (.449), 1998 (.442) and 1999 (.474) and her .474 batting average in 1999 is the second-highest all-time in league history (behind Denelle Hicks of Campbell, who hit .502 in 1995). 
 
A native of Colonial Heights, Va., Covington led the ASun in hits twice (1997 and '98), doubles (1997) and RBI (1997).  In Campbell record books, she still ranks first in career RBI (157) and doubles (73), second in batting average (.473), hits (280) and total bases (419) and sixth in runs (127).  She led the Camels to the 1996 A-Sun East Division championship and league tournament runner-up finish.
 
Following graduation, Covington obtained her Virginia Firefighter and AEMT certifications in 2003.  She started the Richard Bland College softball team in 2013 and served as head coach through the 2016 season.  She was named NJCAA Region 10 coach of the year in 2013 and led her team to regular season titles in 2013 and 2016.  From 2017-2020, Covington served as assistant coach at Virginia State University before moving into public education.  She achieved National Board Teacher Certification 2023
 
Jonathan Rodriguez, '10 was a four-time Atlantic Sun all-conference selection, including a three-time first-team choice.  At the time of his graduation in 2010, he was one of just five players in ASun history (since 1978-79) to receive all-league recognition four times.  Rodriguez set school records for career points (2153) and rebounds (1066) and finished his career as one of only 101 players in Division I history to reach 2000 points and 1000 rebounds. The A-Sun's all-time 2nd-leading rebounder and 3rd-leading scorer, Rodriguez ranked among the league leaders in seven categories as a senior, including 5th in scoring (17.4), 4th in rebounding (8.1), 3rd in free throw percentage (.779) and 9th in field goal percentage (.481) and steals (1.5). 
 
A member of the 2010 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 3 second team, Rodriguez led Campbell to its first-ever conference regular season title on the Division I level (since '77-78) and to school records for regular season (19) and conference wins (14). A 6-foot-5 native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Rodriguez set A-Sun career records for double-doubles (49), free throws made (653) and attempted (860). During his four-year career, Rodriguez set 13 school career records, including most points, rebounds, games played (121) and started (121).  Only Chris Clemons, who concluded his career in 2019 as the NCAA's third all-time leading scorer (3225), has scored more points than Rodriguez in Campbell men's hoops history.
 
Since turning professional in 2010, Rodriguez has been a member of 10 league championship teams, six in Colombia, two in the Dominican Republic and two in Puerto Rico.  He has played professionally in Argentina, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.  Rodriguez was a three-time Colombian League MVP ('16, '21, '23), three-time BSN All-Star in Puerto Rico ('18, '19, '21) and Mexico LNBP ('17, '18, '19).  Named the BSN (Puerto Rico) most improved player in 2018, he was the 3-point shooting contest champion at the 2021 Puerto Rico All-Star Game.  He is the all-time leading scorer and rebounder for Titanes of Barranquilla (Colombia) and a member of the Puerto Rican National Team.
 
Ryan Thompson, '14 earned All-American honors in back-to-back seasons for the Camels and was named 2013 Big South Pitcher of the Year. He was a two-time first team All-Big South selection and named 2014 Big South Tournament MVP.  Thompson owns the lowest season (0.88) and career (1.13) ERAs in program history. Both marks set Big South Conference records that still stand today. A native of Turner, Ore., Thompson holds the Campbell record with 17 saves in a season and most all-time saves with 27. Additionally, he set the single season record with 39 relief appearances in 2014.  The right-hander made 70 appearances and pitched 161.1 innings with a 16-3 record in a pair of seasons with the Fighting Camels. Thompson tallied 144 strikeouts and held opponents to a .211 batting average.  Thompson helped lead Campbell to its winningest season in program history in 2013 as the squad went 49-10 and earned the Big South regular season championship.  As a senior, he led Campbell to the 2014 Big South title and the program's first NCAA postseason berth in 24 years. 
 
Originally selected by Houston in the 23rd round of the 2014 MLB draft, he has pitched in two World Series – in 2020 for the Tampa Bay Rays and 2023 for the Arizona Diamondbacks.  In six major league seasons since making his MLB debut on July 24, 2020, with the Rays, Thompson has made 254 pitching appearances with an 18-16 record, eight saves, a 3.54 ERA and 208 Ks in 241.1 innings.
 
Mary Weiss, '85 has devoted nearly her entire professional career to her alma mater.  A standout guard for the Camels from 1983-85, she started 48 of 50 games and led the team to a 31-20 record in two seasons, including a berth in the 1985 NAIA District 26 title contest.  Forty years after graduating in 1985, Weiss still holds the school record for career assists average (6.8) with 342 in 50 games.  She was named to the all-tournament team at the 1985 NAIA District tournament.  Her 14 assists against High Point on Jan. 4, 1985, still stands as the second-most in Campbell women's basketball history. 
 
Weiss joined Wanda Watkins' coaching staff in 1986-87 – the team's first NCAA Division I season – and spent 30 years – including 12 as associate head coach – helping to guide the program.  During her tenure, Campbell won 465 games, including 290 Big South and Atlantic Sun conference contests.  In addition, the Camels won the 1989 Big South and 2000 ASun tournament titles and made the program's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2000.  Weiss coached 51 all-conference honorees, including six league players of the year.  In addition to her basketball responsibilities, she served as head softball coach in 1989.  After retiring from coaching in 2016, Weiss joined the faculty at her alma mater and is an instructor of exercise science in the College of Arts and Sciences.  She was inducted into the Chowan College Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.  She is a two-time Campbell graduate, earning her B.S. in physical education in 1985 and Master of Education degree in 1987.
 
Following the induction of Covington, Rodriguez, Thompson and Weiss this winter, membership in the Hall of Fame, which began recognizing Campbell athletic greats in 1984, will include 100 honorees.
 
Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame Members
1984
Gaylord Perry
Jim Perry
1985
Fred Emmerson
Richard Murphy
1986
Earl Smith
Bob Vernon
1987
Cal Koonce
Len Maness
1988
Jim Bromley
Jay Overton
Don Prince
Dr. Mike Reidy
1989
Archie Brigman
Jim Gurkin
Dr. Don Laird
1990
Sam Brewer
Rob Cole
George "Buck" Hardee
1991
Howard Auman
Walter Deal
1992
George Graybill
Charles Koonce
Bruce Shelley
Don Whaley
Billy Williams
1993
Ronda Mueller Langdon
Billy Mason
James Sessoms
Gary Woodward
1994
Wayne Dale
Marion Hargrove
1995
Hank Currin
Fred McCall
Fred Whitfield
1996
Sam Bishop
Antionette Matthews Carr
Horace "Bones" McKinney
1997
James "Catfish" Cole
John T. Johnson
1998
Ollie Harrell
Frances Lloyd
1999
Ken Faulkner
Regina McKeithan Wadsworth
2000
Dave Amsler
Wendell Carr
2001
Betty Jo Clary
Hargrove B. Davis (posthumously)
Clarence Grier
2002
Bob Etheridge
Gary Hobgood
Bill Holleman
Carl Ivarsson
James Nisbet
Tammy Brown Tew
2003
Barry Howard
Danny Roberts
Dr. Pete Wish
2004
Willard B. Harris
Leanne Plum Mann
Orville Peterson
2005
Bobby Bowie
Janet Wooten
Captain Eugene "Red" McDaniel
2006
David Doyle
John Marshbanks
2007
Denelle Hicks
Maria Maldonado
Ernie White
2009
Juha Miettinen
2010
Toni Siikala
Joe Spinks
2011
Brad Childress
Denise Ford Shipman
2012
Sam Staggers
2015
Brad Fritsch
Kylie Pratt
Bill Young
2017
Bob Burke
Anthony Cox
Wanda Watkins
2022
Marshall Lovett
2023
April Cromartie
Jerry Hartman
Heather Lee Magill
John Payne
Brittany Stanley Lee
2024
Rodrigo Cagide
Barbara Foxx
Earl Stephenson
Erin Switalski
Cordell Wise
2025
Pat Brogden
Jerry Brooks
John Crooks
Bev Shepard Marley
Dale Steele
2026
Martha Covington
Jonathan Rodriguez
Ryan Thompson
Mary Weiss