BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Athletics Department announced the members of its 2026 Athletics Hall of Fame class Tuesday morning.
 
The 2026 class, the ninth in the Hall of Fame's history, consists of the 2005 men's golf team, the 2011 volleyball team, Chris Evans (football), Michael Pierce (football) and Jermaine Seoposenwe (soccer).
 
"The Hall of Fame Celebration is easily one of my favorite events of each year," Samford VP For Intercollegiate Athletics Martin Newton said. "With two championship teams, an Olympian, an NFL standout and one of the best running backs in our state's history, this class is one of the best we've inducted. I look forward to welcoming these inductees back to campus."
 
The members of the 2026 Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted at a ceremony on April 25.
 
The Samford Athletics Hall of Fame opened in 2017. That first eight classes consisted of some impressive names, including Bobby Bowden, Cortland Finnegan, Jimbo Fisher, John Brady, Pat Sullivan, Jaquiski Tartt, James Bradberry, Devlin Hodges and Karisa Nelson.
 
In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, Josh Reidinger is being honored with the John C. Pittman Lifetime Achievement Award. Reidinger competed for the Samford track and field program from 1993 to 1997. He later spent time as an assistant coach at Samford. Josh had a successful career in wealth management, eventually becoming the CEO of Waverly Advisors. Reidinger passed away last December after battling cancer.
 
A short bio on each of the 2026 induction class members is below.
 
2005 MEN'S GOLF TEAM
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2026
The 2005 Samford men's golf team, led by head coach Woodie Eubanks, is the most accomplished team in men's golf program history. The Bulldogs won the Ohio Valley Conference championship with a three-round score of 873, beating second-place Austin Peay by four strokes. Three Samford players finished in the top five at the OVC championships, including Bradley Farmer, who won the event with a three-under-par 216. Nathan Turner and Andrew Villareal both tied for fifth in the event. Farmer was named first team All-OVC, while Farmer, Turner and Villareal were all named to the All-OVC Tournament team. The Bulldogs were selected to compete in the NCAA West Regional at the Stanford Golf Course. Samford finished 26^th in the NCAA Regional.
 
2011 VOLLEYBALL TEAM
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2026
The 2011 Samford volleyball team, led by head coach Dex Schroeder, won the program's first Southern Conference Tournament championship and earned the first NCAA Tournament bid in program history. The Bulldogs finished the season with a school-record 29 wins, posting an overall record of 29-4, including a 13-3 mark in SoCon play, winning the league's North Division championship. Samford defeated Davidson, 3-1, in the first round of the SoCon Tournament, held in the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs then swept Furman, 3-0 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Samford swept College of Charleston, 3-0, to bring the program its first title. Elizabeth Neisler was named the SoCon Player of the Year and she was joined on the All-SoCon team by Lauren Hutchinson and Katie Murphy. In the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs took on Cincinnati, pushing the Bearcats to a fifth set, falling, 3-2.
 
CHRIS EVANS, FOOTBALL
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2026
Chris Evans had a historic career in his time on the Samford football team from 2007 to 2010. For his four-year career, Evans rushed for a Samford and state of Alabama record 4,575 yards. He also holds school records for rushing yards in a season (1,284 in 2008), most carries in a game (37 at Wofford in 2009), most carries in a season (260 in 2008) and most carries in a career (919). He rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons as a Bulldog and he tallied a career-high 257 yards at Wofford in 2009. He came to Samford in 2007 and was named to the Ohio Valley Conference's All-Newcomer team that season. Samford moved to the Southern Conference in 2008, and Evans earned first-team All-SoCon honors in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
 
MICHAEL PIERCE, FOOTBALL
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2026
Michael Pierce was a force on the defensive line during his time on the Samford football team from 2013 to 2015. He came to Samford from Tulane in 2013 and helped lead the Bulldogs to a share of the Southern Conference title and a bid to the NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs. In 2014 he was named second team All-SoCon, and he earned first-team honors in 2015. Pierce signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He played with the Ravens from 2016 to 2019, starting on their defensive line. He then spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, before returning to the  Ravens for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. For his NFL career, Pierce had 238 total tackles and 9.5 sacks. He also recovered six fumbles and intercepted one pass.
 
JERMAINE SEOPOSENWE, SOCCER
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2026
Jermaine Seoposenwe rewrote the Samford soccer record book in her time as a Bulldog from 2014 to 2017. She holds the school career records for goals (39), assists (39), points (117), game-winning goals (15) and shots (220). She also holds the single-season records for goals (16), assists (13), points (38), game-winning goals (8) and shots (75). She was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in both 2016 and 2017, and she was a four-time All-SoCon selection. In 2016, she was also named to the NSCAA All-Southeast Region Team. In addition to her collegiate accomplishments, she played for the South African national team, representing her home country in many events, including the 2016 Olympic Games while she was still a student-athlete at Samford. In 2025, she joined FIFPRO, the global union for professional football players.
 
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