FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind) Athletic Hall of Fame will officially welcome seven new members at the 2025 CASPY Awards on Thursday, April 24.

The USF Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2025 includes:

• Eric Wagoner (2007) – Football Athlete/Coach
• Nick Ferrer (2018) – Football
• Breanna Pryor (2019) – Softball
• Bryce Lienhoop (2019) - Men's Basketball
• Brooke Ridley (2016) - Women's Basketball
• Caren Hernandez (2019) – Cross Country/Track and Field
• Heather Jones (2016) - Women's Soccer

The annual CASPY Award Ceremony is scheduled for April 24 and will be held in the North Campus Auditorium on the campus of Saint Francis.

Below are brief profiles of the members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025, presented in alphabetical order:

Nick Ferrer (2018) – Football

Nick Ferrer was a standout player who played a key role in leading the USF football team to consecutive NAIA Football National Championships in 2016 and 2017. As a senior, Ferrer became the first quarterback from USF and only the third player from the Cougars to be selected as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Player of the Year.

Ferrer finished his career with an impressive record of 39 wins and 4 losses as the starting quarterback for USF, having started every game since the beginning of the 2015 season. During his senior year, he led the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) and ranked among the top five in the NAIA in several categories, including passing touchdowns, career passing yardage, and fewest interceptions. He was a two-time MSFA Mideast League Player of the Year in 2015 and 2017. Ferrer also led USF to 23 consecutive wins, setting a USF record, which included winning the 2016 NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) Championship. Furthermore, Ferrer was recognized as an NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete and was nominated for the CoSIDA All-Academic Team.

Caren Hernandez (2019) – Cross country/Track and Field

During her time as a Cougar, Caren Hernandez made a significant impact in the USF record books. In her senior year, she competed in the 1,000m run at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships and currently holds nine top-10 times in both indoor and outdoor track and field events.

In the indoor circuit, Hernandez set the USF record in the 1,000m run with a time of 3:01.08 in 2019. She currently ranks sixth in the mile run (5:21.92), sixth in the 5,000m run (19:39.71), ninth in the 800m (2:26.09), and tenth in the 600m (1:48.87). 

During her time on the outdoor track and field team, Hernandez recorded the fifth fastest time in school history in the 1,500m with a time of 4:46.40. She also ranks sixth in the 5,000m run (18:48.92) and tenth in the 800m (2:25.76).

Additionally, Hernandez holds the 12th fastest time in Saint Francis women's cross country history with a time of 19:41.6.

Heather Jones (2016) - Women's Soccer

Heather Jones was a member of the USF women's soccer team from 2011 to 2015, where she earned numerous accolades and helped lead the Cougars to four consecutive conference tournament appearances.

As a three-time NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, Jones finished her career ranked second in program history with 53 goals and third all-time with 115 total points. She also recorded an impressive 20 game-winning goals during her time as a Cougar. Additionally, Jones was named to the All-Mid-Central First Team in her first three seasons and received All-Crossroads League First Team honors during her senior year. She was also recognized as an NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete.

Bryce Lienhoop (2019) - Men's Basketball

Bryce Lienhoop was a standout player on the Saint Francis men's basketball team from 2015 to 2018. He earned the distinction of being a three-time NAIA All-American, with impressive recognition as a member of the NAIA Division II All-America First Team in 2018. Over the course of his career, he accumulated 1,929 points and 1,080 rebounds, becoming the first player at USF and the 24th player in Crossroads League/Mid-Central College Conference history to achieve at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

During his senior year, Lienhoop set the USF record for career rebounds and ranked first with 413 offensive rebounds. Additionally, he was among the top five players in program history in several categories, including career scoring, career games played, field goals made, blocked shots, and career field goal percentage.

Breanna Pryor (2019) – Softball

Breanna Pryor, a notable name at the USF CASPY Awards, was recognized as the 2020 Female CASPY Performer of the Spring. She distinguished herself as a member of the Saint Francis softball team, earning All-Crossroads League First Team honors four times. Pryor also finished her career ranked first in the USF career list for hits, singles, runs scored, and stolen bases.

During her senior season, she broke the Cougars' career hits record and concluded her time as a Cougar with a total of 241 hits, placing her 21st on the conference's career hits list in 2019. Additionally, she set a new USF record with 131 stolen bases, which ranked fourth on the conference career list at that time. In 2019, she also earned a Crossroads League Golden Glove award for her defensive skills as a second baseman.

Brooke Ridley (2016) - Women's Basketball

Brooke Ridley had an exceptional four-year career as a member of the USF women's basketball team. She played a crucial role in leading the Cougars to three NAIA National Championship appearances and contributed to an outstanding 38-0 season, culminating in the victory of the 2014 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship. During Ridley's time with the team, the Cougars only lost 27 games.

In her senior season, Ridley achieved the distinction of being the second First-Team NAIA Division II All-American in the program's history. This was her third All-American selection, as she had previously been named to the third team during the 2014-15 season. Ridley became only the second USF women's basketball player to earn the title of three-time NAIA All-American. She finished her career ranked among the top 10 in scoring average in NAIA Division II and was the second player in program history to score over 2,000 career points while also pulling down over 1,000 career rebounds. Ridley concluded her career ranked second all-time with 2,017 career points and third with 1,091 career rebounds. Additionally, she set a USF career record for defensive rebounds with 728.

Eric Wagoner (2007) – Football Athlete/Coach

Eric Wagoner was a four-year letter winner on the USF Cougar football team, contributing to an impressive overall record of 51-4. During his time with the team, the Cougars secured four league championships, made four playoff appearances and played in three NAIA Football National Championship games. 

After his playing career, Wagoner returned to USF as an assistant coach, where he served as the Defensive Coordinator and Special Teams Coordinator for 12 seasons. In 2016, he was recognized as the NAIA Coordinator of the Year by Football Scoop after his defense finished second in the nation in scoring defense and rushing defense. In the 2017 season, Wagoner's defense led the nation in scoring defense and ranked first in both total defense and rushing defense. The following year, in 2018, his defensive unit again excelled, finishing second in the NAIA for rushing defense.

As the Special Teams Coordinator, Wagoner's team led the MSFA in kick returns five times over a seven-year stretch, and they returned eight kicks for touchdowns during that time. Throughout his 12 seasons coaching at Saint Francis, a total of 33 players earned All-Conference honors, including 23 First-Team selections. Wagoner also coached three AFCA All-Americans and the 2016 MSFA Defensive Player of the Year.

Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.