HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University Athletic Department and Panther Club are proud to announce the HPU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026. The class will feature seven student-athletes while honoring two legendary eras of men's soccer teams.

"The 2026 High Point University Athletics Hall of Fame class has many outstanding student-athletes that our HPU fan base will recognize," HPU Vice President and Athletic Director Dan Hauser said. "The 2026 class represents student-athletes that achieved record-setting and championship success, including honorees that will be the first athlete inducted from their respective sports. Panther fans will enjoy an exciting evening on May 16th to celebrate the 2026 class and make sure you register fast as we're expecting a sold-out crowd. We are honored to welcome our inductees back to campus."

The HPU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026 includes Pepe Perrone '82 (men's soccer), Ann Marie Dalton '08 (women's golf), Kelli Joline '13 (women's soccer), Mackenzie Carroll '14 (women's lacrosse), John Brown III '16 (men's basketball), Dan Lomas '16 (men's lacrosse), and Kaylah Keys '17 (women's basketball). This group will be High Point's eighth class inducted.

HPU will recognize the 1974-77 and 1980-1982 men's soccer teams as legendary era teams.

The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026, inside the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center. Cocktail hour and dinner will be from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., with the ceremony immediately following from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Tickets for the HOF ceremony are $50 per person or $300 for a table of eight.

The Panther Classic Golf Tournament will be the day before on Friday, May 15, 2026, at the High Point Country Club – Willow Creek. The pricing for the golf tournament is as follows: individual ($250), foursome ($800), hole sponsorship ($800), while a foursome and hole sponsorship paired together is $1,200. Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m., with a shot gun start to follow at 9:00 a.m.
 
HPU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026

Pepe Perrone '82 (men's soccer)
The first All-American in High Point men's soccer history, Perrone was named to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) All-American teams as well as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American teams in 1981 and 1982. He was an All-Carolinas Conference selection four times and was voted to the NAIA All-District 26 team three times. In 1981, Perrone was the NAIA District 26 Player of the Year. He was also voted by college coaches to the NC All-State team in 1980, 1981, and 1982 and the NAIA All-Area VII team in 1981 and 1982 while being voted to the NSCAA All-South Region team during the same years. Perrone tallied 23 goals (t-14th all-time) with 27 assists (third all-time) during his career. He is eighth all-time in career points with 73 and tied sixth all-time with 11 assists during the 1981 season.

Ann Marie Dalton '08 (women's golf)
Ann Marie Dalton was the first HPU women's golfer crowned a Big South Conference medalist in 2008 and now becomes the first to be inducted into the HPU Athletics Hall of Fame. She won the title on the fifth playoff hole to make history after shooting 229 (80-76-73) over three rounds. In the same season, Dalton also became the first women's golfer to be named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Dalton was a two-time Big South All-Conference honoree as she was a named to the Big South All-Decade Team. She also was voted Big South Golfer of the Week and earned Big South All-Academic Team honors. In 2007 and 2008, Dalton was High Point's top finisher at the Big South Championships with a sixth and first-place placements, respectively. Over four years, she compiled nine top-10 finishes and 14 top-25 finishes.

Kelli Joline '13 (women's soccer)
A three-time Big South Conference champion, Kelli Joline was an impactful player on the pitch. The three-time Big South All-Conference honoree, earning two first team nods and one second team honor, was named to the Big South All-Tournament Team twice and is ranked first all-time in conference play with 21 goals and 49 points. Joline is tied second all-time in career goals (32) and is third all-time in points (74), while scoring a career third-best seven game-winning goals and being second in penalty kick makes (4-for-4). The forward also earned Big South All-Freshman honors and was a three-time NCCSIA All-State North Carolina honoree.

Mackenzie Carroll '14 (women's lacrosse)
A member of the inaugural women's lacrosse team, Mackenzie Carroll compiled a list of program-first accolades and now becomes the first women's lacrosse student-athlete inducted into the HPU Athletics Hall of Fame. She helped lead the Panthers to their first championship, winning the National Lacrosse Conference in the program's inaugural season (2011) before winning the first-ever Big South Conference Championship in the team's first year in the league (2013). The attacker won a combined four championships in Purple & White, while being named the NLC Player of the Year and Attacker of the Year in 2012 as well as the first HPU player to be named Big South Offensive Player of the Year in 2014. Over a decade later, Carroll still ranks first in career assists (134), second in career games played (77), points (263) and game-winning goals (12) while sitting fifth in career goals (129). She registered a program and conference single-season, second-best 46 assists in 2014. Carroll was a two-time NLC Offensive Player of the Week, All-NLC First Team honoree, Big South Offensive Player of the Year, and a two-time All-Big South First Teamer.
 
John Brown III '16 (men's basketball)
John Brown III is the most decorated HPU men's basketball player to don the Purple & White. The do-it-all forward was a three-time CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-American and a two-time AP All-American, while being  named to the Big South and CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Decade Team. He was named to multiple national watch lists like the Julius Erving Award Watch List and Lou Henson Player of the Year Watch List. To this day, Brown III is HPU's all-time leading scorer in the DI era with 2,229 points and is just one of two players in the Big South Conference to join the 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 steals, 100 blocks, and 100 assists club. Brown III is first in career games started (116) and offensive rebounds (381), while ranking second in free throws made (512), points per game (18.7), blocks (167). He is third all-time in minutes played (3,536), field goals made (858), defensive rebounds (420), and steals (182). Brown III is a four-time NABC All-District Team selection and was named to the Basketball Times All-Mid-Major team while being a four-time Big South First Team honoree. He was a two-time Big South Player of the Year, including three Big South Preseason Player of the Year nods, while being named Big South Freshman of the Year and Big South Defensive Player of the Year during his four-year career. Brown III plays professionally overseas, where he has continued to garner player of the year accolades en route of winning championships.
 
Kaylah Keys '17 (women's basketball)
From day one, Kaylah Keys made her impact known on the hardwood. The floor general helped the Panthers to their second Big South Conference Championship in 2013-14, where she was selected as a seven-time Big South Freshman of the Week and as the Big South Freshman of the Year while earning Big South All-Freshman Team, Big South First-Team and Big South All-Tournament Team honors. Keys still holds single-season records from the 2013-2014 season as she is first in single-season games played (33), points (583), free throws made (148), while ranking second in points per game (17.7) and third in minutes played (1074).

She is one of three players in conference history with over 300 assists (321), 200 Three-Pointers (255) and 200 steals (206) in their career. The Big South three-time All-Conference Honoree, earning one first team nod and two second team accolades, was named to the 2010-2019 Big South All-Decade Team as she ranked fourth in program history in career points (1869), which is 10th all-time in the conference, while being fifth in free throws made (356). She is still atop the career ranks in multiple other categories as she is second in three-pointers made (255) and games started (115) as well as third in games played (126) and minutes (3754). Keys was also named a Big South Player of the Week as well as the Big South Preseason Player of the Year while being a NCCISA All-State North Carolina First Team and Second Team selection.

Dan Lomas '16 (men's lacrosse)
Becoming the first men's lacrosse player inducted in the HPU Athletics Hall of Fame, Dan Lomas set the standard and his accolades prove as such. The three-time captain was the first player named to the prestigious Tewaaraton Award Watch List, earning recognition three times from 2014 to 2016, while being the only Atlantic Sun Preseason Player of the Year and first Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American as a senior. He was also the first Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2015 as he was a two-time SoCon Offensive Player of the Week, a SoCon Offensive Player of the Month. The two-time SoCon Preseason Team honoree and First Team All-Conference member was a two-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American in 2015 and a USILA All-American Scholar in 2016. He also was named to the SoCon All-Academic Team twice.

A decade later, he still is first in career man-up goals (25) while holding the single-season records for three straight seasons (2014-2016). Lomas ranks high in numerous career records, sitting second in goals (159) and game-winning goals (7), fourth in points (183), and tied eighth in games played (61). He was a Senior CLASS Award Finalist and was drafted by two leagues as the Ohio Machine of Major League Lacrosse selected him with the 38th overall pick before the Rochester Knights of the National Lacrosse League picked him 16th overall.
 
Legendary Era Men's Soccer Teams
 
1974-1977 Men's Soccer Teams
When men's soccer was re-established as an intercollegiate sport in 1971 after a 30-year absence, the results during the first three seasons were dismal (4-28-2). The 1974 team provided the first foundational block for the exceptional soccer program that exists at High Point today and established soccer as a prominent program in North Carolina by posting a record of 11-1-2, losing its only match in the NAIA District 26 title game but winning the conference title with a 6-0-0 record. That team, coached by High Point Hall of Famer (2025) Ray Alley, set a standard for teams to come.

The 1975-1977 teams, playing a combined schedule of NCAA and NAIA teams, was coached by Ken Chartier who posted an overall record of 31-16-1 and a Carolinas Conference record of 20-2-0. High Point finished 2nd in the conference in 1975 (9-4-1, 5-1-0) but won conference titles in 1976 (12-6-0, 7-1-0) and 1977 (10-6-0, 8-0-0) and qualified for the NAIA District 26 playoffs each year. Chartier was voted Conference Coach of the Year in 1976 and 1977.
Key players on these teams include Jerry Gostic (1974 Conference & NAIA District 26 Player of the Year), Hunter Brett (1974 All-Conference), Tom MacIntosh (1974 All-Conference), Jeff Potter (4x All-Conference and 3x All-District, Conference POY in 1976), Doug Challenger (4x All-Conference and 3x All-District, NAIA District 26 POY in 1976, All-Area 1976, Conference Co-POY 1977), Greg Gohle (2x All-Conference and All-District, Conference POY in 1976, 2x All-South), Walter Roe (4x All-Conference and 3x All-District, 2x NC All-State, 2x All-South), Gary Downing (2x All-Conference), Mel Mahler (All-Conference and All-District 1977), Joe Ramsbotham (All-Conference) and Todd Miller (All-Conference).
 
1980-1982 Men's Soccer Teams
Continuing to play a mixed schedule of NCAA and NAIA teams, the 1980-1982 teams became the first High Point soccer teams to win three consecutive conference titles, posting an overall record of 34-19-4 and a conference record of 20-2-2. The 1980 team (13-6-0, 7-1-0) and the 1982 team (11-7-2, 6-0-2) won conference championships outright while the 1981 team (10-6-2, 7-1-0) tied for first place. Each year the teams, coached by High Point Hall of Famer (2018) Woody Gibson, advanced to the NAIA District 26 championship match. Gibson was voted Conference Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1981 while winning NAIA District 26 COY in 1980.

Key players on these teams include Pepe Perrone (4x All-Conference, 3x All-District, 2x All-South, 3x NC All-State, 2x NAIA and NSCAA All-American 1981 & 1982, District POY in 1981); Chris Hohnhold (3x All-Conference, 3x All-District, Conference POY in 1980, 2x All-South), Jeff Sloan (2x All-Conference and All-District, All-South), Ricky Kleir (3x All-Conference and 2x All-District, All-South), Mike Brandell (2x All-Conference and All-District), Angelo Stewart (3x All-Conference, 3x All-District, 2x All-South, 2x All-State, NSCAA All-American) and Bobby Rapp (3x All-Conference, 2x All-District, All-South, 2x All-State, NSCAA All-American).

The men's soccer era teams will be legendary honorees of the event, but will not be inducted into the HPU Hall of Fame Class of 2026. If any members of the men's soccer era teams need any additional information, please contact HPU Associate AD/SWA April Wines: awines@highpoint.edu or 336-841-4645.