CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University Department of Athletics is excited to announce the George F. Sasser Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023. The inductees include six standout student-athletes - Billy Cooke (baseball), Leah Hardeman (volleyball), Bruce Mapp (football), Kiana Quolas (softball), Latesha Simpson (women's track & field), and Jacques Watson (men's track & field) as well as honorary inductee Will Garland, a former senior vice president for administration and finance at CCU.
The 2023 Sasser Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Friday, Nov. 10. The class will also be recognized during halftime of CCU's football game versus Texas State on Nov. 11. Class of 2023 Inductees:
Billy Cooke – Baseball (2014-17)
A member of the 2016 National Championship team, Cooke was named to the 2016 NCAA Raleigh Regional All-Tournament team after batting a team-high .421 with two doubles at the regional. He led the Big South with 27 stolen bases.
Cooke was a 2017 Perfect Game third-team All-American and named the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, as he led the team in hits (71), average (.353), slugging percentage (.587), runs scored (52), doubles (15), stolen bases (21), sacrifice flies (6), and sacrifice bunts (14).
A two-time All-Big South selection, Cooke ranks fifth in CCU's career record books in fielding percentage (.994) and is 12th in both on-base percentage (.438) and sacrifice bunts (26).
Cooke was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round of 2017 Major League Baseball Draft. He played three seasons in the minor league system from 2017-2019 and one year of independent baseball in 2021.
Leah Hardeman – Volleyball (2017-18)
One of the most decorated student-athletes in Coastal Carolina history, Hardeman was a three-time AVCA All-Region selection (2015, 2016, and 2017) and a four-time Conference Player of the Year – Sun Belt (2016 and 2017) and Big South (2014 and 2015).
Named the 2014 Big South Freshman of the Year, Hardeman was a two-time All-Sun Belt first-team selection (2016 and 2017), a two-time All-Big South first-team selection (2014 and 2015), and was named to the 2014 Big South All-Freshman team.
She was also a two-time Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Tournament MVP (2016 and 2017) and a two-time member of the Sun Belt Volleyball Championship All-Tournament team (2016 and 2017) after being named the 2015 Big South Volleyball Championship Tournament MVP and earning a spot on the 2015 Big South Volleyball Championship All-Tournament team.
A key member of the 2015 Big South Regular-Season Championship team, the 2014 and 2015 Big South Tournament Championship team, the 2017 Sun Belt Regular-Season Championship team, and the 2016 and 2017 Sun Belt Tournament Championship team, Hardeman was a 10-time Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week selection and a five-time Big South Freshman of the Week honoree in 2014.
Hardeman, who was named to the 2010-19 Big South Volleyball All-Decade team, holds the CCU program record in both career kills (1,811) and career points (2,068). She also ranks third in CCU's career record books with an average of 4.13 kills per set and 4.72 points per set and 10th with 122 service aces and 72 solo blocks. She also holds the Big South Championship Tournament record for the most points in a match with 30 points in the semifinals versus Winthrop in 2015.
The decorated Chant has played volleyball professionally in France, Greece, and Italy since graduating from Coastal Carolina.
Bruce Mapp – Football (2012-16)
A member of the 2012, 2013, and 2014 Big South Conference championship teams and the 2016 CCU Football Transition Committee championship team, Mapp was a two-time All-Big South selection, earning second-team honors in 2014 and first-team accolades in 2015, and was named to the 2016 CCU Football Transition Committee All-Conference first-team.
Mapp had the second-longest pass reception in program history with a 91-yard catch versus The Citadel in 2015 and recorded the fifth-longest streak with 22 consecutive games with at least one reception from 2015-16.
Tied for fourth in CCU's single-game history with 10 receptions, which he posted twice, Mapp still holds the CCU single-season record with 71 receptions set in 2014. He also ranks fifth in CCU's single-season history in receiving yards with 959 in 2014, ninth in pass receptions with 50 in 2015, ninth in touchdown catches with seven in 2015, and 10th in receiving yards with 769 yards in 2015.
Mapp also ranks third in CCU's career record book with 168 career pass receptions, fourth with 2,438 career receiving yards, fifth with 20 career touchdown passes, 10th with an average of 14.51 yards per catch, and 11th with 20 career touchdowns.
A member of the USA Football Men's Flag Football National team, Mapp won a gold medal at the 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship to go along with his previous gold medals from the 2021 IFAF World Championship and The World Games 2022.
Kiana Quolas – Softball (2012-15)
A two-time Big South Pitcher of the Year (2013 and 2014), Quolas was also a four-time All-Big South selection, earning first-team recognition in 2012, 2013, and 2014, and second-team honors in 2015, and a two-time Big South All-Tournament Team pick (2012 and 2014).
Quolas, who was a two-time NFCA All-Region second-team selection (2013 and 2014), ranked eighth nationally in 2014 with a 1.29 ERA, which was tied for the fourth-best single-season ERA in CCU history. She also recorded 192 strikeouts in 2014, the third-most all-time in CCU's single-season history.
During her time at CCU, she held the school record for the most pitching appearances in a single season with 39 in 2012, which still ranks fifth all-time in CCU history. She also ranks second (26 in 2014), fourth (24 in 2012), and seventh (22 in 2013) in CCU's single-season history in wins.
Quolas posted a career record of 90-38 in the circle with a 2.04 ERA over 805.1 innings pitched and hit .297 with 27 home runs and 117 RBIs.
In the circle, she ranks second all-time in CCU's career record books in wins (90), innings pitched (805.1), pitching appearances (143), and complete games (100). She also ranks third in CCU's career record books in strikeouts (584) and seventh in ERA (2.04).
At the plate, she holds the CCU career school record for most times hit-by-pitch (29), ranks fifth in sacrifice hits (47), sixth in home runs (27), and 10th in doubles (33), RBIs (117), and games played (228).
Since graduating from Coastal in 2015, she has coached softball at Youngstown State (2015-17), George Mason (2017-18), George Washington (2018-21), and East Carolina (2021-present).
Latesha "Teka" Simpson – Women's Track & Field (2012-16)
A two-time 2013 NCAA honorable mention All-American in both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays, Simpson was also a two-time 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary Round qualifier.
In outdoor track & field, Simpson was named the 2014 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Most Outstanding Field Performer. She was an eight-time Big South Outdoor Track & Field Champion (2013 - HJ, 4x100, 4x400; 2014 - LJ, 4x100; 2015 - HJ, LJ, 4x400) and an 11-time All-Big South Conference performer in outdoor track & field (2013 (3), 2014 (4), 2015 (4)).
In indoor track & field, she was a 2015 Big South Indoor Track & Field Individual Champion in the high jump and a seven-time All-Big South Conference performer in indoor track & field (2013, 2014 (2), 2015 (4)).
Part of two of the all-time marks on the school's performance list in the indoor 4x400 meters, including the school record at 3:41.93, she is also second all-time in CCU history in the indoor high jump (1.68 meters), fifth all-time in the indoor long jump (5.75 meters), fifth in the indoor 200 meters (24.49), sixth in the indoor 300 meters (40.40).
Simpson was also a member of the school-record outdoor 4x100-meter relay team (44.48), 4x200-meter relay team (1:36.37), and 4x400-meter relay team (3:34.09), and ranks second all-time on the school's performers list in the outdoor high jump (1.73 meters) and long jump (6.04 meters) events. She also ranks fourth all-time on the school's performance list in the outdoor 200 meters (23.87) and sixth in the outdoor 100 meters (11.67).
Named to both the 2010-19 Big South All-Decade Team for Women's Indoor Track & Field and the 2010-19 Big South All-Decade Team for Women's Outdoor Track & Field for both sprints and jumps, Simpson is a certified personal trainer.
Married to former Chanticleer track & field standout Reggie Nelson, she is working to become a physical therapist assistant at Piedmont Central College.
Jacques Watson – Men's Track & Field (2007-12)
A 2008 NCAA All-East Region selection, Watson was a four-time NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary Round qualifier in the high jump event (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011) and competed at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, placing 14th overall with a leap of 2.10 meters.
Watson was a three-time Big South Outdoor Track & Field Champion in the high jump (2008, 2010, and 2011) and a four-time All-Big South Conference performer in outdoor track & field in the men's high jump (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011).
Named to the 2010-19 Big South All-Decade Team for Men's Outdoor Track & Field in jumps, Watson set the Big South Conference and Coastal Carolina program record in the high jump event with a mark of 2.25 meters at the Florida Relays in 2010, which still stands to date. His record-setting mark was the third-best in the NCAA in 2010.
Watson is a certified nutrition coach, fitness nutrition specialist, weight loss specialist, and certified personal trainer by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). He is the owner of the DDH Fitness Lifestyle, a wellness and fitness service based in Columbia, S.C.
Will Garland – Honorary (1974-2014)
A staple at CCU from 1974 to 2014, Garland made major contributions to the University and specifically the athletics department.
The senior vice president for administration and finance (2007-14) under President David A. DeCenzo, Ph.D., and chief financial officer for Chancellor Edward M. Singleton, Garland was also a faculty member in the College of Business Administration and the director of the interdisciplinary studies degree program. Garland also served as assistant dean of academic affairs (1977-79) and associate chancellor for fiscal affairs and administration (1979-84).
In 2000, Garland was elected to the Horry County School Board. He also served as board chairman.
Garland successfully guided Coastal's finances and supported the athletic department funding during two separate stints. He helped to make Coastal one of the beneficiaries of the Horry County Penny Sales Tax for Education, which began in 2007, and was also instrumental in the planning, construction, and opening of CCU's HTC Center in August 2012.
A loyal supporter of Coastal Athletics since the 1970s, Garland made a significant donation helped establish the Will and Audrey Garland Student-Athlete Learning Center, now called the Garland Academic Enhancement Center, which is located in Kearns Hall. This center houses all athletic academic advisors as well as an academic learning lab and daytime study hall.
Garland passed away at the age of 78 in August 2020.
