Olympian, Pro Bowler Among 9 Athletic Greats To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Marissa Coleman (2005-09) played a key role as a freshman on the Terps’ 2006 national championship team, hitting the game-clinching free throws against Duke. She spent each of the next three years elevating her game — and the program around her.

First recruited by Frese when she was 16, Coleman became one of the most decorated players in program history as a three-time All-American.

She is one of only three players in Maryland women's basketball history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Her 42-point performance against Vanderbilt in 2009 is still tied for the top single-game performance in school history. 

Coleman was the second overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics, propelling her into a 10-year professional career that also included stops with the Los Angeles Sparks, Indiana Fever and New York Liberty. She earned WNBA All-Star honors in 2015 while also playing professionally overseas.

For Coleman, the honor represents more than the numbers, championships and accolades that defined her four years in College Park.

“One of the things, if not the thing, I have the most pride in and value the most about my time at Maryland is the people it put into my life,” she said. “We’re a family, and so many of us are still super close. I’m really excited to come back. I live right down the street and get back to games all the time, but to be on campus to celebrate something so special with so many people who made the journey possible, it’s just going to be a lot of feelings.”

Revered as one of the best lacrosse players in NCAA history, Taylor Cummings (2012-16) redefined the sport, from playing to coaching to calling games on live television.

Cummings led Maryland to national championships in 2014 and 2015, earning NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player honors both seasons. She became the first player in NCAA history to win the Tewaaraton Award three consecutive times as the nation's top player. She also earned the Honda Sports Award three straight years as the top female athlete in collegiate lacrosse. 

A first-team All-American for all four years and a three-time National Midfielder of the Year, she was named the 2016 Big Ten Tournament MVP as well as the 2014-15 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year. Across her four years, Cummings tallied 229 goals, 94 assists and 509 draw controls, and caused 139 turnovers. 

“We get so many fans at Maryland, especially little girls,” women’s lacrosse coach Cathy Reese said. “For them to grow up watching her and how she could dominate on both ends of the field, see her competitive fire and the championship-caliber player that she was, I think it’s something that was super inspirational to future players.”

Cummings starred with the U.S. National Team from 2014-22, helping Team USA win world championships in 2017 and 2022; she retired from international play after being named MVP of the 2022 tournament. She spent five years as head coach of the girls’ team at her alma mater, the McDonogh School, and opened her own business, Taylor Cummings Lacrosse. 

Cummings credited her teammates, coaches and support staff she had along the way: “Individual awards are given to individual people, but when they play on a team, it would be a mistake to not credit everyone who made my success possible. If I didn't have every amazing piece in the position that it was, I wouldn’t have won national championships, individual awards, and I certainly wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.”

Brenda Frese, women's basketball coach since 2002, has built the program into a national powerhouse. 

With 631 wins (and counting) in her career in College Park, Frese is not only the most successful coach in Maryland history, but also among the best across the NCAA. Her .768 career winning percentage is the highest among active men’s and women’s coaches in the Big Ten.

She led Maryland to the 2006 national championship, the first in the school’s history, and earned two AP Coach of the Year awards, three Final Four appearances, 14 conference titles and 20 seasons of 20 or more victories. Through NIL, conference changes and so much more, Frese has assembled 17 top-15 recruiting classes. 

“Winning a national championship in your first four years makes it look easy to do, but when I reflect back, finding the consistency we’ve had with the ever-changing landscape of college athletics makes me so proud,” she said. 

Frese found a passion for coaching after a series of injuries halted her playing career. She started her journey at Pima Community College in Arizona and made stops at Kent State, Iowa State, Ball State and Minnesota before landing in College Park. Here, she has led the Terrapins to 22 NCAA Tournament bids while coaching numerous All-Americans, WNBA draft picks and Olympic-level student-athletes.

“As a coach, I’ve had the opportunity to see firsthand the incredible impact she has made,” said women’s lacrosse coach Cathy Reese, “not only through everything she has accomplished on the court, but through the way she has helped shape so many young women into great leaders and role models.”

Michael Howley (2000-03), one of the premier defensemen in the history of Maryland men's lacrosse, has carried the team’s motto of “Be the Best” into life beyond the sport. 

Known for his physical play, leadership and shutdown ability against the nation's top attackmen, he helped Maryland reach three NCAA Tournaments and establish itself as one of the nation's top defensive teams during the early 2000s.  

Howley won the 2003 Schmeisser Award as the nation's top Division I defensive player, earned All-America honors three times and was named to the 2003 NCAA All-Tournament Team after helping Maryland reach the Final Four. He finished his UMD career with 179 ground balls, ranking fourth all-time among Maryland long-stick defensive players.

In 2002, Howley was a member of the U.S. Men's National Team that captured the gold medal at the World Championships in Perth, Australia. Following his collegiate career, he was chosen in both the Major League Lacrosse and National Lacrosse League drafts. 

He played five seasons in MLL, then turned to Wall Street. A 16-year trading career eventually set him up to run the investment-grade corporate bond trading desk at a large bank. 

Today, Howley continues to serve as a youth coach, mentoring the next generation of athletes. 

“I had a really great experience at Maryland, both athletically and academically,” he said. “The lessons I took from the lacrosse field and great coaching prepared me to be a great leader, manager and an individual contributor.”

Dennis Ivory (1976-79) turned his football ambitions into a career as one of the most accomplished jumpers in Maryland track and field history.

Ivory grew up in Birmingham, Ala., and by the fourth grade was winning state championships in the 400-meter dash, but his aspirations rested on the gridiron. “Being in Birmingham, playing football for the Crimson Tide was all you knew.”

Promises that running would help his football endurance won Ivory over to track and field, where he soon shifted to jumping events and relay races, and his high school team was one of the nation’s most successful. 

At Maryland, Ivory helped the Terps to three consecutive ACC championships and a sixth-place finish in the NCAA indoor championships in 1979. He earned First Team All-American honors in 1978 after finishing as the NCAA runner-up in the triple jump. 

His triple jump of 55 feet 3 inches in 1978 stood as an ACC record for over four decades and is still untouched in the Maryland record books. His 7.94-meter long jump from the same year stands as the Terps’ second-longest mark. 

Among his other honors, Ivory received the 1979 McCormick Award, presented to the Baltimore-area senior who contributed the most to athletics, and the 1979 Maryland Watch Award as the top male athlete in the state. 

Ivory also participated on the World University Team and trained for the 1980 Olympic Games, which the U.S. eventually boycotted. He later dedicated his time to coaching.

Ivory thought he was coming back to College Park for a community event when he learned from former teammate Nehemiah that he’d been selected for the Hall of Fame. 

“I have nothing but the utmost respect for the University of Maryland and its athletes, and to be recognized on that board with some of the greatest athletes that have ever participated in any sport, to me, it's an honor that I hope I'm worthy of, and I can just do my best to accept it.”

Thea LaFond (2012-15) became the first Maryland track and field alum — and the first Dominican in any sport — to win an Olympic medal when she earned gold in the triple jump in the 2024 Paris Games. 

She moved from the Caribbean nation of Dominica to Silver Spring, Md., at age 7. At UMD, she was an All-American across multiple events: outdoor All-American in the high jump and triple jump, and indoor All-American in the pentathlon, high jump and triple jump. 

Her 13.48m triple jump in the 2015 Big Ten Championships still stands atop the Maryland record book. In the same year, she was a part of the Terps’ best all-time shuttle hurdle relay. LaFond also finished her UMD career as the school record holder in the indoor 60m high hurdles.

She was named 2015 Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Championships Field Athlete that year. 

“The most amazing thing Maryland gave me was a support system that I consider to be family to this day,” LaFond said. “They were there in the days when I was the most vulnerable and not feeling the best about myself, because it’s easy to get lost in the success or downfall of the sport and attribute your self-worth to that sometimes. The people that I met, both in athletics and academics at Maryland, namely the people that loved me before the medals, they gave me a chance to be Thea outside of athletics. That means the world to me.” 

LaFond competed in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, and at the 2024 Games she posted a mark of 15.02 meters (49 feet 3¼ inches), a new Dominican national record and a world best. 

“Thea was a generational talent that brought our field to another level,” Maryland track and field coach Andrew Valmon said. “I go back to remembering sitting in her living room with her mom and dad and talking about what the goals could be and her dreams, and capping it off at the Olympics and seeing them come true. She was a fierce competitor and we’re constantly reminded of everything she contributed to Maryland.”

Shawne Merriman (2002-04), one of the fiercest pass rushers in Maryland football history, extended his reputation for excellence in the NFL. 

He grew up in Prince George’s County, in an area he remembers being “as bad as it gets.” During some of his most difficult moments, including homelessness, his coaches became a source of stability, opening their homes to him and helping him keep moving forward.

At Maryland, he finished his three-year career with 22 sacks and 32.5 tackles for loss, including 17 in the 2004 season.

Nicknamed “Lights Out,” Merriman in 2004 earned second-team All-America honors and received the Jim Tatum Memorial Award as Maryland's Lineman of the Year.

He was taken 12th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers and made an instant impact as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He earned first team All-Pro honors in 2006, led the NFL with 17 sacks that season and was selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls from 2005-07.

Across eight seasons with the Chargers and Buffalo Bills, Merriman tallied 258 tackles, 45.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles. 

He often returns to his old stomping grounds and always makes time for the fans and the community that were there for him during all of his highs and lows. He anticipates close to 20 family members and his high school coaches will be in attendance at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

“It’s going to be emotional for me,” Merriman said. “It’s going to be a great day, but I don’t feel like it’s just about me. It’s about everyone who was a part of my process, everyone who supported and believed in me.”

Joe Smith (1993-95) was one of the best players in Maryland men’s basketball history before launching a 16-season career in the NBA. 

Arriving as a highly touted recruit, he played two seasons in College Park and finished his time at Maryland with 1,524 points and 815 rebounds, recording 34 double-doubles and helping the Terrapins to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under coach Gary Williams.

He also collected an avalanche of recognition, including the 1995 Naismith College Player of the year, and the same honor from the Associated Press and United Press International. He was a first-team All-American and won the Adolph Rupp Trophy that year, honoring the top player in men's NCAA Division I competition. 

“I have so many memories from the things we were able to do as a team and the games we won and people we upset. It was a great two years for the resurgence of the program that really propelled me into the next phase of my basketball career.”

Smith was taken first overall in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, and earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors in 1996. He played over 1,000 games with teams including the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Today, he’s often found on campus in College Park doing anything he can to give back to the program and safeguard its future.

His love for the program took him to New York City for the Terps’ Another National Championship event, where Williams announced that Smith would join the Hall of Fame in 2026.

“It was a huge surprise,” Smith said. “I was sitting there and my mouth just dropped. Everybody stood up and gave me a standing ovation. I walked up on stage with tears in my eyes. It was a great experience, and what an honor.”

Graham Zusi (2005-08), one of Maryland soccer's all-time greats, was a model of consistency, leadership and longevity at the collegiate and professional levels.

Zusi made the most of his four years as a midfielder and a forward. He was on the 2005 national championship team, led the team in goals in 2006 and assists in 2007, and delivered one of the program’s most iconic moments, scoring the lone goal in Maryland's 1-0 victory over North Carolina in the 2008 NCAA championship. 

He finished his collegiate career among Maryland's all-time leaders in points (75, 13th), goals (28, T-14th) and assists (20, 13th). Zusi earned 2008 first-team All-American honors, capping a standout senior season.

Selected in the second round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by the Kansas City Wizards, he spent his entire professional club career there. He is the longest-tenured player to have played with one club in MLS history. A six-time MLS All-Star, he took MLS Best XI honors twice as one of the league's top midfielders.

Zusi also made 55 appearances with the U.S. men's national soccer team. He competed in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, recording two assists in four matches, including the setup for a late game-winner vs. Ghana.

Nehemiah joined UMD men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski on the call to congratulate Zusi on joining the elite company in the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame. 

“That caught me completely off-guard,” Zusi told Cirovski. “That’s incredible.”