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OKLAHOMA CITY - Jeff Maack of Oklahoma City University has been selected for induction into the NAIA Hall of Fame, the association announced recently.
Maack will become the first former OCU athlete inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. He helped build OCU's tradition in baseball, becoming a two-time all-American and leading the Chiefs to the first NAIA World Series appearances in the program's history from 1985-88.
Maack will be recognized on Jan. 7, 2011 at an awards luncheon during the American Baseball Coaches Association convention in Nashville, Tenn. Maack's peers in the induction include Oklahoma Baptist baseball coach Bobby Cox, Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.) baseball coach Q.V. Lowe and former Southeastern Oklahoma State player Cary Ammons.
OCU baseball coach Denney Crabaugh served as assistant to Charley Lodes during Maack's career.
"It's a long overdue honor," Crabaugh said. "He's a solid individual. He came to the ballpark every day and contributed. He was definitely a team guy and a person everyone looked up to. He still remains one of the best ball players to come through our program. He played an instrumental role in putting OCU baseball on the map nationally."
The 2010-11 NAIA Hall of Fame class includes former NBA all-stars Scottie Pippen of Central Arkansas and Terry Porter of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, former NFL player Casey FitzSimmons of Carroll (Mont.) and pro golfer Ian Leggatt of Texas Wesleyan.
The rest of this year's NAIA Hall of Fame inductees are Royal Goheen (Meritorious Service); John Friend (Meritorious Service), James Wilson (Meritorious Service); Shelley Howieson (Women's Soccer, Coach), David Moody (Volleyball, Coach), Bill Odell (Men's Basketball, Coach), Travis Grant (Men's Basketball, Athlete), Robin Hagen-Smith (Women's Basketball, Coach), Brian Taylor (Wrestling, Athlete), Danny Mijovic (Men's Golf, Athlete), James McMahon (Track & Field, Coach), Rochelle Swanson (Track & Field, Athlete). To read more about the inductees, click here.
Originally from Bedford, Texas, Maack set 12 individual season and career records playing for OCU, four of which stand today. He still holds the NAIA career record with 27 triples. Maack posted career numbers of a .413 batting average, 243 runs, 319 hits, 74 doubles, 45 home runs, 200 RBIs and 63 stolen bases.
"I'm very excited," Maack said. "It is an honor being the first athlete from OCU. I'm looking forward to the whole process. Special thanks to Denney and OCU.
"The coaches and the players to this day are still some of my best friends. I wanted to lead by example. I always valued giving 100 percent. I went out there to do my job because I wasn't really a rah-rah type guy."
Maack established nine of his school records his senior year at OCU in 1988. Maack hit .402 with 30 doubles, 10 triples, 18 homers and 94 RBIs in earning first-team all-American accolades in addition to all-district and all-area. Maack led the Chiefs to a 54-23 showing, District 9 and Area III championships and a fourth-place finish in the NAIA World Series in 1988.
As a junior, Maack had a .467 average, 81 runs, 108 hits, 25 doubles, 10 triples, 20 homers and 61 RBIs in becoming a first-team all-American. Maack helped OCU qualify for its first World Series in 1986, Maack's sophomore year. The Chiefs captured the District 9 and Area III titles that year.
In 1994, Maack became a member of the OCU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Currently, Maack serves as co-owner of Pinnacle Design Group, an architecture and engineering firm in Norman, Okla. He and his wife Dawn have been married for 16 years and have two children, Karsten and Addlynn.
OCU has the most wins in the nation among college baseball since 1991 with 1,023.