General | August 15, 2016

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan Division of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Hall of Fame Committee have announced the class of 2016 – Kenny Cunningham (men's basketball), Jeff Kraft (men's gymnastics), Pat Locanto (baseball), Shannon Pickell, (women's basketball) and Zakiya Pope (volleyball).

The 2016 WMU Athletic Hall of Fame induction and banquet will be held on Friday, Sept. 23 at the Fetzer Center. The event begins with a 5:30 p.m. social, followed by the induction and dinner at 6:15 p.m. Individual tickets are available for $40. Inductees will then also be honored on Saturday during the Western Michigan – Georgia Southern game.
 
Kenny Cunningham
Basketball, 1979-80
Toledo, Ohio

• Amassed 1,207 points in two seasons, ranking 15th all-time in WMU history
• First Team All-MAC in 1979-80 and Second Team All-MAC in 1978-79
• Led MAC in scoring in 1980 at 24.2 points per game, third highest single season average in program history
• 630 points in 1980 ranks fourth all-time at WMU in a single season
• Drafted by Utah Jazz in 1980

 
Jeff Kraft
Gymnastics, 1994-96
Portage, Mich.

• Three-time National Qualifier
• Finished sixth in the pommel horse at Nationals in 1995, earning Third Team All-American
• Held meet and season records in the pommel horse, breaking his own records three times over the course of his career
• Ranked as high as second nationally in the pommel horse during his career

 
Pat Locanto
Baseball, 1966-68
Dearborn Heights, Mich.

• Career .337 batting average
• Led the MAC in batting average (.410) in 1967
• Hit walk-off home run against Ohio to give WMU one of its two MAC Championships earned with Locanto on the team ('66, '67)
• Two-time First Team All-MAC selection ('67, '68)
• First Team All-District IV ('68) and Second Team All-District IV ('67) selections
• Played professionally in the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals organizations

 
Shannon Pickell
Basketball, 1985-88
Newaygo, Mich.

• Held single-season scoring record (19.9 ppg) for 19 years from 1998-2007
• Fifth-most points in a single season (538) in WMU history
• First Team All-MAC in 1987
• Finished career with 1,327 points (12.3 per game), 573 rebounds, 547 field goals, 473 free throws and 70 assists
• Fourth all-time in program history in career field goal percentage and single season field goal percentage
• Member of 1984-85 MAC Championship team
• Member of 1985 Indoor MAC Championship team, where she finished third overall in the heptathlon with a then WMU record 4,250 points

 
Zakiya Pope
Volleyball, 1998-01
East Lansing, Mich.

• Led WMU to MAC Regular Season and MAC Tournament Titles in 2000
• Named MAC Player of the Year and MAC Tournament MVP in 2000
• First Team All-MAC in 2000 and Second Team All-MAC in 2001
• Named to the WMU Volleyball All-Decade Team (1994-03)
• First Team Academic All-MAC in 2000 and 2001
• Seventh all-time in program history in total blocks (352) and tied for eighth in blocks per set (1.05)
• Tied for fifth all-time in career attack percentage (.326) ninth all-time in attack percentage in a season (.353)