UW-Platteville Announces Next Class of Hall of Fame Inductees

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville athletic department announced Thursday it will induct four individuals into the Athletic Hall of Fame. The next class, which includes three former student-athletes and one coach, will be inducted on May 19, 2024.

The four inductees are:

Ross Bennett, '08, Baseball

Mike Jones, '01, Men's Basketball

Kelly Laschinger, '08, Volleyball

Chris Walter, Wrestling Coach

Ross Bennett – Baseball
Bennett is one of the best players to ever come through the UW-Platteville baseball program, with several school records in his name. The 2008 graduate holds team records in career home runs (26), games played (158), and games started (156), while ranking second in at-bats (577), runs scored (144), hits (195), RBI (135), and total bases (337). The three-time First Team All-WIAC selection was named a D3baseball.com Preseason All-American in 2007 and earned American Baseball Coaches Association All-Region honors in 2006 and 2007. Across his four-year career, Bennett posted a .338 batting average, .446 on-base percentage, and .584 slugging percentage.

Mike Jones – Men's Basketball
Jones was a three-year starter and two-time National Champion for the Pioneers men's basketball team. One of 39 players in the UW-Platteville 1,000 career points club, Jones was named First Team All-WIAC in both 1999 and 2000 after impressive seasons. The 2001 graduate helped the Pioneers go 102-12 across his four seasons with the team, including a perfect 30-0 in 1997-98 season to claim the National Championship over Hope. Jones was named to the All-Final Four Team in 1999 and holds the Pioneers post-season record for most rebounds in a game with 16 in the double overtime win over Hampden-Sydney to win a second straight National Championship.

Kelly Laschinger – Volleyball
Laschinger totaled 5,004 career assists while at UW-Platteville, which ranks second in Pioneer volleyball history and 11^th in WIAC history. The 2008 graduate holds the single season assists record of 1,724 set in 2006 which earned her WIAC Honorable Mention. The following year, Laschinger totaled 1,690 assists and was named First Team All-WIAC, American Volleyball Coach Association Midwest Region First Team, and Honorable Mention All-America. Laschinger competed in two NCAA Tournaments in 2005 and 2007 as a Pioneer, and helped the team win the WIAC Tournament Championship in 2005. Her 68 assists against UW-Stevens Point in 2006 is the second-most in a single match in program history.

Chris Walter – Wrestling Coach
Walter coached the UW-Platteville wrestling team for 17 years and guided the program to unprecedented heights while at the helm. In his first year, Walter was named the 1997-98 NCAA DIII Rookie Coach of the Year and WIAC Coach of the Year after placing third in the conference and sending six wrestlers to nationals. During his time with the Pioneers, Walter coached 10 total All-Americans, 33 National Qualifiers and 15 individual WIAC Conference Champions as well as 21 NCAA DIII Academic All-Americans. He currently sits 8^th in WIAC history with 115 dual match wins. Walter served on the National Wrestling Coaches Association ranking committee for 16 years and worked as a National Seeding Representative for the DIII National Tournament. After stepping away from coaching in 2014, Walter stayed a supporter of the Pioneer wrestling program and even returned as interim head coach at the end of the 2022-23 season.

The UW-Platteville Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1972 by the Alumni Association to honor standout student-athletes, coaches, and contributors. This year's class brings total membership to 228 individual honorees. The induction ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 19, 2024. Ceremony tickets will be available in the coming months. 

To be nominated for consideration into the Hall of Fame, individuals must meet at least one of the following criteria: documented outstanding performance in intercollegiate athletics while a student at UW-Platteville with graduation date 15 or more years before the current year, documented outstanding past or current coaching performance at UW-Platteville, or contributed to UW-Platteville intercollegiate athletics through service or as a team.

To nominate someone for hall of fame consideration, click here.