The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is proud to welcome eight new members into its prestigious Hall of Fame.
 
The class of 2024 consists of Sonoma State's Amy Apodaca and Derek Bell, Cal State Dominguez Hills' Kevin Pillar, Cal State LA's Carol Dunn, Cal State Monterey Bay's Cori Reinhardt, Cal Poly Pomona's Xenia Anastasiadou, Cal Poly's Ozzie Smith, and David Yanai, formerly of Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills.
 
"First off, I would like to thank our Hall of Fame Committee for putting forward this incredible 2024 class," said CCAA commissioner Allen Hardison. "These former CCAA student-athletes, coaches, and administrators epitomize everything that is great about college athletics, and we are so proud to have these individuals in our Hall of Fame. As you can see by the names chosen in this class, it is a massive achievement to be selected to the Hall of Fame in one of the most competitive conferences in the country. On behalf of all of us at the CCAA, congratulations to the 2024 CCAA Hall of Fame class."
 
Four of the 2024 inductees made their name on the diamond. Kevin Pillar, Ozzie Smith, and Derek Bell all go in as baseball players, and Reinhardt for softball. Yanai will be inducted as a coach and Dunn as an administrator. Anastasiadou is the first women's tennis inductee, and Apodaca will be the fourth women's soccer student-athlete named to the CCAA Hall of Fame.
 
The CCAA Hall of Fame was created in 2013-14 in conjunction with the celebration of the conference's 75th Anniversary. It now includes 49 members from 14 current and former member institutions. These individuals will be the eighth CCAA Hall of Fame class. The conference office will work with each inductee and their respective institution to find the time and a location to honor their induction.   Amy Apodaca, Sonoma State
Women's Soccer, 1996-99
There was no better player roaming the middle of the pitch in the CCAA in the late '90s than Sonoma State's Amy Apodaca.
 
As a four-year starter for the then-Cossacks, Apodaca led Sonoma State to three conference titles and an NCAA runner-up finish. She became the first SSU student-athlete to earn All-American honors in three seasons, as she collected the distinction every year after her sophomore season.
 
In 1998 as a junior, she became firmly entrenched in the midfield, and that is when Sonoma had its best season in program history. The team got out to a 20-0 start, with Apodaca's nine goals and five assists leading the way. It reached the NCAA Division II Championship game and finished as the national runner-up. Their 22 wins set an NCAA Division II record for most wins in a season. Individually, Apodaca earned her second straight First Team All-American honor.
 
In 1999, she added CCAA Player of the Year honors to her list of accolades. Despite moving back to defender to fill the needs of the team, she still posted eight goals and two assists to earn the recognition with the conference's top honor. She closed her career with 23 goals and 54 points, ranking in each category's top 10 CCAA totals. She is still tied for the SSU record with 85 matches played. 
  Derek Bell, Sonoma State
Baseball, 1998-2000
Twenty-four years after he last laced up the cleats for Sonoma State, Derek Bell's name is still all over the CCAA record books. The power-hitting shortstop was a three-time All-CCAA selection and the 2000 CCAA Player of the Year.
 
That season has gone down as one of the greatest in conference history. Despite missing the first seven games, Bell hit .382 with 23 home runs, 71 RBI, and a .816 slugging percentage. His 23 home runs shattered the previous Sonoma State record by 10 and were the third-most in the over 60-year history of the CCAA.
 
Bell succeeded not just individually, but he also helped Sonoma State capture a pair of conference championships. In the final year of the Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC), SSU won the conference title before capturing the CCAA Tournament Championship during its first season in the conference. Sonoma went 112-69 in his three seasons with two NCAA Regional appearances.
 
The switch-hitter was voted the West Region Player of the Year, first team ABCA/Rawlings All-America, and runner-up for NCAA Div. II National Player of the Year. Bell was selected to compete in a home run derby at the Division I College World Series, where he placed third against Div. I competition.
 
After graduating from Sonoma State, Bell was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and spent time at spring training. He played five seasons of professional baseball before beginning coaching full-time at his alma mater with his former coach, John Goelz. Bell is currently an assistant coach at Cal State Monterey Bay. 
  Carol Dunn, Cal State LA
Director of Athletics, 1988-2005
Carol Dunn proudly and loyally served Cal State LA for 24 years, including the last 17 as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics (1988-2005). Her experience spanned over three decades, where she helped lead the Golden Eagles to achieve some of the most recognized moments in department history.
 
Cal State LA intercollegiate teams made a combined 78 appearances in the NCAA postseason, including 12 different programs earning postseason berths. The Golden Eagles also claimed 33 individual national championships during her tenure. The women's track & field team finished national runners-up in the indoor and outdoor seasons.
 
Dunn did not just go through the motions on the job; she looked for ways to create a pathway for success for those who came behind her. Upon taking over as athletics director in the summer of 1988, Dunn made it a top priority to ensure gender equity in Cal State LA’s intercollegiate athletic program. She was known for her goal-oriented and proactive management style. Dunn developed a model compliance program and a strong academic advising program for student-athletes.
 
In addition, she created the Division’s first comprehensive community service program, which included all CSULA student-athletes and teams giving back to the local community. Fundraising was a key component of Cal State LA's success under Dunn, especially in athletic scholarships. During her tenure, overall fundraising increased 10-fold.
 
Nationally, she was a well-respected administrator and served on numerous NCAA committees, including a five-year term on the prestigious NCAA Council from 1995-2000. Dunn also assumed roles as the chair of the NCAA Division II Amateurism Project Team and the NCAA Initial Eligibility Waiver Committee. At the conference level, she served as the President of the CCAA in the 1992-93 and 1998-99 academic years. She was also a chair of the CCAA legislative committee and a member of the CCAA Executive Council Board of Directors.
 
In 2001, Dunn was honored by her peers in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics as one of the Athletic Directors of the Year. In 1991, she was named to the list of “2,000 Notable American Women,” and in 1999, she earned Cal State LA's Distinguished Woman Award.
  Kevin Pillar, Cal State Dominguez Hills
Baseball, 2008-11
Kevin Pillar has been the epitome of what fans think of when they think of NCAA Div. II Baseball: hard-nosed, a battler, and someone trying to seize their opportunity. When that moment presented itself to Kevin Pillar in the form of being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, he ran with it to build an 11-year MLB career, which is still going. Pillar has become a household name across the baseball world, but he can look back at Cal State Dominguez Hills for giving him that opportunity. 
 
Pillar played four seasons in Carson, setting the school record with a .367 career batting average. However, his name would stretch beyond the Toros’ record books and into NCAA lore during his junior season when he recorded a 54-game hitting streak, the longest in Div. II history. His streak was five games longer than the previous record and eight times he got a hit in his final at-bat to keep it going. He led CSUDH to regional appearances in his sophomore and junior seasons as the Toros posted a 75-43 record in this run (.636 win%).
 
The West Hills, Calif., native earned many awards in his collegiate career, including All-CCAA, All-West Region, and All-American honors. Pillar also demonstrated himself to be a well-rounded student-athlete as he was named a first team selection on the prestigious ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District squad. He capped off his senior season and collegiate career with the Rawlings/ABCA National Gold Glove Award.
 
Pillar was then drafted in the 32nd round of the 2011 draft and reached the majors just two years later. He played seven seasons with Toronto and has been with six other ball clubs. Most recently, he was with the Atlanta Braves when he helped the team win an MLB-best 104 games in 2023. Pillar has a career 16.1 WAR with 106 home runs, 423 RBI, and a .257 batting average. He was named Wilson's Defensive Player of the Year in center field in 2015 and received MVP votes in 2019.
 
He graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2011 after majoring in Mathematics and Business.   Cori Reinhardt, Cal State Monterey Bay
Softball, 2012-15
To be the best in the conference in any facet of the game is an ultimate achievement, but to be the best in areas that are regularly the deciding factor between a win and a loss are genuinely Hall of Fame worthy. Cal State Monterey Bay's Cori Reinhardt can make that claim above all others as she is the first and only student-athlete to earn CCAA Pitcher of the Year and CCAA Player of the Year honors in the same season.
 
From her freshman season, she excelled on the diamond for the Otters, earning the 2012 CCAA Freshman of the Year honor and a spot on all three All-America teams. She led the conference with a .462 batting average and a .517 on-base percentage. She also went 23-4 in the circle with a 2.26 earned run average and a .219 opponent batting average.
 
Reinhardt would only get better over her next two seasons. She earned multiple all-region honors and collected her first CCAA Player of the Year and All-West Region Player of the Year awards in 2014 after hitting .327 with 35 RBI and going 21-9 with a 2.20 ERA. Her culminated in an All-America selection, but it was nothing compared to what would come in the 2015 season.
 
During her senior campaign, the Riverside native hit .417 to register a .400 batting average for the third time in her career. She had 43 RBI, with 51 runs scored and a 1.090 OPS. She walked twice as many times as she struck out (39-20) and registered a 19-game hitting streak. As a pitcher, she set a CSUMB record with 30 wins (30-4) and had a 1.81 ERA.
 
Reinhardt is still ranked among the CCAA all-time pitching leaders in career wins (eighth, 86), saves (ninth, 8), and innings (third, 382.0). She is also eighth all-time in batting average (.409), seventh in doubles (54), sixth in on-base percentage (.494), fifth in walks (108), and third in RBI (168). Her 44 games of reaching base safely is still the third-longest in conference history.
  Ozzie Smith, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Baseball, 1974-77
He will forever be known as "The Wizard" for his incredible glove work at shortstop, but before Ozzie Smith was etching his name in the MLB record books, his name was being written onto lineup cards in the CCAA.
 
Ozzie Smith suited up for Cal Poly for four seasons from 1974-77 and left with a CCAA-record of 110 stolen bases. He is still ranked second all-time, and his 44 steals in a season (1977) still ranks fourth. His outstanding performance helped lead the Mustangs to a then school-record 41 wins and a berth in the NCAA Div. II Regional. He was twice named to the All-CCAA team.
 
He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1977 and spent four years with the Padres before playing 15 seasons in St. Louis. During his 19-year Major League career, he was a 15-time All-Star and won 13 consecutive Gold Gloves. He holds the National League record for the number of times he was the fielding percentage leader (seven), career assists (8,375), and career double plays (1,590).
 
Upon his retirement, the Cardinals retired his No. 1 jersey in 1996. Smith was inducted into Cooperstown in his first season of eligibility and was the sole member of the 2002 Hall of Fame class. Besides the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame, Smith has also been inducted or honored in other halls of fame and recognitions. In 1999, he ranked No. 87 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and finished third in voting at shortstop for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
 
In 2002, Smith received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Cal Poly. In 2003, the Ozzie Smith Plaza at the Cal Poly Sports Complex was named in his honor.
  David Yanai, Cal State Dominguez Hills & Cal State LA
Men's Basketball Coach
No coach in history has encapsulated the spirit of what CCAA men's basketball is meant to be than David Yanai. Hardworking, forward-thinking, and committed to his student-athletes, Yanai worked 28 seasons in the CCAA, spending time at Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills.
 
He collected over 400 wins in his tenure and is still one of only three CCAA men's basketball coaches to hit that milestone. Yanai, the first Japanese-American head basketball coach at any level of college basketball, spent his first 19 seasons as head coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where his Toro teams advanced to the 1981, 1987, and 1989 NCAA Tournaments.  In addition, he guided CSUDH to the 1979 NAIA National Championship Elite Eight after winning the NAIA District III Championship in only his second year in Carson. Individually, he claimed the 1979 District Coach of the Year, the 1987 NCAA West Region Coach of the Year, and two consecutive CCAA Coach of the Year Awards (1987 and 1988).
 
After nearly two decades with the Toros, Yanai took over the program at Cal State LA, where he led the Golden Eagles to the 1998 and 2000 NCAA Division II Tournament. All told, Yanai coached 55 CCAA All-Conference selections, two CCAA Athletes of the Year, one NABC All-American, and one NCAA Division II Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He is the all-time winningest coach in Cal State Dominguez Hills history.
 
In 2021, Yanai was awarded the  John R. Wooden Award’s “Legends of Coaching” honor, which recognizes coaches who exemplify Coach Wooden’s high standard of coaching success and personal integrity. Yanai was the first-ever Division II coach to receive this distinction and just the fifth from the West Coast. He joins an illustrious list that includes the likes of coaching luminaries Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma, Tara Vanderveer, and Steve Fisher.
  Xenia Anastasiadou, Cal Poly Pomona
Women's Tennis, 1986-88
The greatest women's tennis player to ever pick up a racquet in the CCAA was Cal Poly Pomona's Xenia Anastasiadou.
 
In her three seasons at CPP, she earned three All-CCAA honors and was named an All-American each season. In her sophomore and junior seasons, she won back-to-back NCAA Div. II Women's Tennis Singles Championships, becoming only one of two student-athletes ever to accomplish this feat.
 
Her success helped Cal Poly Pomona win the 1987 CCAA Championship and place third at the NCAA Championships in each of her three seasons. 
 
Xenia Anastasiadou was ranked No. 1 going into her senior season when she was taken from this world too early by a car crash in Diamond Bar at the age of 22. Anastasiadou was a native of Athens, Greece. 

PAST CCAA HALL OF FAME CLASSES

Class of 2014 [story]			.	Class of 2015 [story]		.	Class of 2016 [story]
Nicole Duncan Chance, Cal State LA				Rudy Carvajal, Cal State Bakersfield			Angela Collins, Cal State Northridge
Bob Hiegert, CCAA, Cal State Northridge				Sonja Garnett, San Francisco State			Julia Cuder, UC San Diego
Carmelita Jeter, Cal State Dominguez Hills				Michael Krukow, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo			Shannon Donnelly, Stanislaus State
Darlene May, Cal Poly Pomona				Ruth Van't Land-Parkes, Cal Poly Pomona			Joseph Patrick Douglass, Cal State Bakersfield
Kim Morohunfola, Cal State San Bernardino				Gary Torgeson, Cal State Northridge			Jarin Todd, Sonoma State
John Scolinos, Cal Poly Pomona							Kathy Welter, Cal State Bakersfield
Class of 2017 [story]				Class of 2019 [story]			Class of 2020 [story]
Cecilia Barnes, Cal State Bakersfield				Petra Babbitt, Cal State LA			Scott Householder, CSU San Bernardino
Kevin Gallaugher, Cal State Dominguez Hills				Frank Cheek, Humboldt State			Leora Juster, UC San Diego
Lance Harter, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo				Samantha Middleborn, CSU San Bernardino			Kei Kamara, Cal State Dominguez Hills
Debra Larsen, Cal Poly Pomona				Chanel Parker, Cal State Dominguez Hills			Chaunte Mitchell, Stanislaus State
Karen Miller, Cal Poly Pomona				Joel Stallworth, Stanislaus State			Lizzy Prescott, Cal Poly Humboldt
				Chris Wondolowski, Chico State			Jim Sackett, Cal Poly Pomona
Class of 2023 [story]				Class of 2024 [story]
Tony Alfaro, CSU Dominguez Hills				Xenia Anastasiadou, Cal Poly Pomona
Karenee Demery, Stanislaus State				Amy Apodaca, Sonoma State
Kim Ford, CSU San Bernardino				Derek Bell, Sonoma State
Sherri Howard, Cal State LA				Carol Dunn, Cal State LA
J.J. Jakovac, Chico State				Kevin Pillar, Cal State Dominguez Hills
Violet Palmer, Cal Poly Pomona				Cori Reinhardt, Cal State Monterey Bay
Chrissy Stalf, Cal Poly Humboldt				Ozzie Smith, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
				David Yanai, CSUDH & Cal State LA