SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Six former California State University San Bernardino student-athletes and one former athletic trainer have been selected for induction into the University's Athletics Hall of Fame.

"We are thrilled to announce our 2024 CSUSB Athletics Hall of Fame inductees," said Director of Athletics Shareef Amer. "This is an extremely deserving group of representatives of both our department and our university, and I cannot wait to bring them back to campus to celebrate their achievements. It will be the perfect way to kick off our 40th year of athletics at Cal State San Bernardino."

The first honoree in the Class of 2024 is longtime head athletic trainer Laura Tropila. 

Laura began her career at CSUSB in the first year that the University sponsored intercollegiate athletics in 1984, and was a mainstay at CSUSB for 34 years, working with student-athletes to treat their injuries as well as prepare them for competition. She also served as a mentor for future athletic trainers enrolled in the kinesiology program. Laura spent countless hours not only being present at games and matches, but also in developing best practices in the training room as a professional and as an instructor. Thousands of Coyote student-athletes benefited from her expertise during her long career at CSUSB, including each of her six fellow nominees.

The second inductee for the Class of 2024 is Laura Aceves, who competed on the CSUSB women's track & field and cross country programs until her graduation in 2017.

Laura was the first CSUSB track & field student-athlete to compete in the NCAA Division II national championship meet when she qualified in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 2016. The following fall, Laura set a high bar for her sport at CSUSB, winning five individual meet titles, including the CCAA championship 6K run in a record time of 20:55.95. She then won the NCAA West Regional, then earned USTFCCCA All-American honors. In the spring of 2017, she set four school records, and was named All-CCAA in the 5,000 meters, finishing third in 16:53.56. She was voted the CSUSB Female Athlete of the Year in 2017, and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American.

The next honoree, a standout men's basketball player from 1985 through 1989, is Gerald Duncan.

Gerald was a player on the first CSUSB men's basketball team to advance to the NCAA Tournament when athletics was in its fifth year of existence as a Division III program. His legacy remains 34 years later, as he is still listed among the top five in program history in a handful of statistical categories. Among them, he still reigns supreme as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,694 career points. In his final two seasons, led the Yotes to a combined overall record of 41-10 record in 1987-88 and 1988-89.

The fourth Hall of Fame inductee is women's volleyball alum Samantha Middleborn.

Samantha was the first CSUSB student-athlete to ever be named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year twice, after receiving the award in 2010 and 2011. She earned All-CCAA First Team honors in three of her four seasons, and was twice the CCAA and NCAA West Region Player of the Year as well. She currently holds the program records for hitting percentage for career hitting percentage, single season blocks, and career blocks per set, among a handful of others. She was inducted into the CCAA Conference Hall of Fame in 2019. 

The fifth member of the CSUSB Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024 is former softball student-athlete Nicole Nobbe.

Nicole earned NFCA All-America and All-West Region in 2015, and was named CSUSB's Female Athlete of the Year. She was also the 2014 CCAA Newcomer of the Year as well as an All-CCAA First Team selection in each of her two seasons for Cal State San Bernardino. She finished her career ranked first in career batting average (.484), second in career doubles (46), sixth in career walks (57), and ninth in career home runs (15) and runs scored (91). In 2015, she ranked in the top seven in Division II in four offensive categories. During her two years, her team posted a 57-48 record. 

Men's soccer standout Jerry O'Hara is the sixth member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

A member of the Coyotes when Cal State San Bernardino competed in Division III, Jerry's team went 16-3-3 in 1987, winning the West Regional as an independent program and advancing to the Final Four. Approaching 40 years later, the name O'Hara still ranks at or near the top of the list of individual records set since the program began in 1984. He ranks first in career points (150), career goals (61), career assists (28), single-season goals (25) and single-season assists (11).

Rounding out the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 is 2008 women's basketball All-American Vanessa Wilt.

In her two seasons in San Bernardino, Vanessa was named a CCAA First Team All-Conference selection on two occasions, and was the 2008 CCAA Player of the Year after leading the Coyotes to a second place finish. Her teams combined to go 38-19 in her two years, and finds her name scattered throughout the CSUSB women's basketball record book. Offensively, she is co-holder of the all-time team record for points in a game (39), and ranks first in field goal percentage in a season (59.2 percent) and career (56.8 percent). Defensively, she ranks number one in team history in single season rebounds (388), rebounds per game in a single season (13.4) and career rebounds per game (11.6), and she co-holds the record for most blocked shots in a single game (eight), and ranks number one all-time in single season blocked shots with 71. 

The group will be honored at an induction ceremony at CSUSB's Santos Manuel Student Union South on August 16. Ticket information will be available soon.