CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison announced the 2025 Austin Peay Athletics Hall of Fame Class, Thursday.
The 47th Hall of Fame Class, which will be inducted during ceremonies held Feb. 7-8, 2025, includes football's Chris Fletcher, softball's Morgan Rackel, baseball's Phillip Sleigh, volleyball's Kristen Stucker, women's tennis' Lidia Yanes Garcia, and public address announcer Steve Williard.
The athletics department will recognize the class at halftime of the men's basketball game against Central Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tickets for that day's basketball doubleheader, which includes the women's basketball game against Lipscomb, are available for purchase online through Ticketmaster. A full schedule of the Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend events will be available at a later date.
The APSU Athletics Hall of Fame, which is displayed in the front lobby of the Winfield Dunn Center, inducted legendary director of athletics and coach David Aaron as its first member in 1977. This year's class of six inductees will bring the total number of individuals recognized to 145. The APSU Athletics Hall of Fame can be visited online at LetsGoPeay.com/HOF.
Austin Peay Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Biographical Sketches
Chris Fletcher, Football (2004-07)
Chris Fletcher's four-year career spanned an era that saw Austin Peay transition from the nonscholarship Pioneer Football League to the scholarship Ohio Valley Conference. He excelled in both leagues, winning 2007 First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors after earning All-Pioneer Football League recognition twice (2005-06). Fletcher's 4,688 career rushing yards and 42 rushing touchdowns remain program records by more than 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns, while he averaged a program-best 106.5 yards per game during his career. He scored a program-record 270 points and was responsible for 45 touchdowns in his career, which ranks fourth in APSU history and makes him the only running back in program history to record 40 or more touchdowns. Fletcher also rushed for 100-plus yards in 28 of the 44 games he played during his Governors career.
Fletcher posted two of the four best single-season rushing totals in Austin Peay history, in addition to two of the top three single-season rushing touchdown marks. His 18 touchdowns and 108 points scored during the 2006 season are still the best single-season marks in Austin Peay history. He also still ranks sixth in APSU history in total yards (4,688), second in all-purpose yards (5,552), second in all-purpose yards per game (126.2), and first in rushing attempts (935).
Morgan Rackel, Softball (2018-19)
Even though Morgan Rackel spent only two seasons at Austin Peay after beginning her career in the Texas Junior College ranks, her name appears in nearly all career, single-season, and single-game records in the Austin Peay softball record book. Rackel began her career by being named the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, a First Team All-OVC selection, a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Third Team All-Central Region selection, an OVC All-Tournament selection, and an OVC Medal of Honor recipient in 2018. Her 22 wins during her junior season rank second in program history, and her 1.41 ERA remains the third-best mark in Austin Peay history. Rackel followed her junior season with an impressive senior campaign, posting 21 victories and the third-most strikeouts in a single season with 242 in less than 200 innings pitched.
Not only did Rackel excel in the circle, but she also had great success in the batter's box, where she finished her career with a .288 batting average, 96 hits, and 16 home runs – her 16 homers rank 12th in APSU history. Rackel also still ranks fifth in program history in career wins (43), fifth in strikeouts (446), 5th in shutouts (13), third in ERA (2.16), and tied for first in no hitters (2).
Phillip Sleigh, Baseball (1966-69)
Phillips Sleigh played baseball at a time when 20 games was the norm, not 55-plus as is today. Sleigh was the centerfielder for the Govs for four seasons; he also played at a time when wooden bats were utilized. For his career, Sleigh played in 71 games with a .294 batting average, six triples, six home runs, and 50 runs batted in. He was a three-time All-OVC West Division selection, two-time team MVP, and a three-time Russell Award (given for scholarship, leadership, and ability) recipient. Sleigh was a four-time letterwinner and was voted team captain as a senior in 1969.
He batted a team-leading .344 in 1969 after tying for the team lead in batting average (.254) in 1968. During the 1967 season, Sleigh played in all 18 games and hit .317 while leading the team in hits (20), RBU (15), and home runs (3). As a freshman, he played in 14 of 15 games and batted .250; he was second on the team in runs (10), hits (11), and RBI (10).
Kristen Stucker, Volleyball (2015-19)
The only three-time Setter of the Year in Ohio Valley Conference history, Kristen Stucker led Austin Peay to back-to-back OVC Regular-Season Championships, the 2017 OVC Tournament Championship, and an appearance in the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. Stucker was a First Team All-OVC and OVC All-Tournament Team selection in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In addition, Stucker was named the OVC Setter of the Week 20 times during her career, including 10 times during her junior season in 2017.
Stucker ranks second in Austin Peay history and ninth in OVC history with 4,705 career assists. She posted three of the top-seven single-season assist totals in program history, including an Austin Peay record 1,508 assists during the 2017 season – a mark that still ranks as the 11th-best season in OVC history. Stucker was the setter for two of the four best teams by attack percentage in program history, with her teammates hitting .236 during her junior and senior seasons. Stucker also was able to play all over the court, becoming one of just five setters in APSU history to record 1,000 digs in their career.
Lidia Yanes Garcia, Women's Tennis (2015-19)
The first and only women's tennis player to be named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year in three seasons, Lidia Yanes Garcia earned the award in three-consecutive seasons (2016, 2017, 2018) to begin her career while also being named the OVC's Freshman of the Year in 2016. Yanes Garcia also was a four-time First Team All-OVC selection, making her just the second player in program history to make an all-conference team all four years of their Austin Peay career. In singles play, Yanes Garcia went 91-16 overall and 35-2 in OVC matches while posting a 48-43 overall and 20-15 record in doubles while often playing with her twin sister, Claudia.
During her senior season, Yanes Garcia led the Govs to a perfect 20-0 regular season en route to winning the 2022 OVC Championship and earning a bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship, where they fell to No. 22 Wake Forest. Off the court, Yanes Garcia earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor in all four years of her career and was named a CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-District and Second Team Academic All-America selection in 2018.
Steve Williard, Public Address Announcer
Steve Williard's voice was synonymous with Austin Peay athletics for over a quarter of a century. Williard was the public address voice of Austin Peay basketball for 39 years, football for 28 seasons, and baseball for some 10 seasons-plus. Williard called more than 500 games as the basketball public address announcer and was awarded a basketball to commemorate his 500th game against UT Martin on Jan. 4, 2020. In addition, even though he was retired from Austin Peay basketball public address, he was brought back in 2023 to handle halftime PA for the final men's basketball game played in the Winfield Dunn Center.
And Williard literally did it for nothing as 95 percent of the monies paid to him were donated back to the University, first to baseball and then the large majority of it to sports information as student scholarship funds initially and then for much-needed equipment. In 2007, Williard was recognized by the University for the monies donated to baseball and APSU Sports Information as he was awarded Alumni's Outstanding Service Award.
