NATCHITOCHES – One of the largest classes in the Northwestern State N-Club Hall of Fame's history will enter the school's athletic shrine in October.
 
The Hall will welcome 16 total inductees – two of whom could not make their initial ceremony – into its Class of 2024 during its 9 a.m. Oct. 26 induction ceremony ahead of the Homecoming football game against Lamar.
 
Entering the Hall are a pair of track and field All-Americans, a two-time All-American linebacker and a handful of Southland Conference champions across a smattering of sports.
 
Linebacker Jamall Johnson is the seventh of nine Demon football players to earn multiple All-American honors, doing so in 2003 and 2004. He is joined in the induction class by fellow linebacker Kurt Rodriguez, who owns the school freshman record in tackles (111) and topped the 400-tackle mark in a three-time All-Southland Conference career.
 
Sprinter Edgar Cooper helped lead Northwestern State to a pair of conference championships and earned All-American honors in 1987 as part of NSU's 4x100 meter relay team. He is one of two track and field All-Americans entering the hall, joined by javelin standout Samantha Ford Hatten, a 2003 All-American who twice qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
 
Inductees who captured Southland Conference team championships during their NSU careers are tennis' Olga Bazhanova Moore, football wide receiver Nathan Black, men's basketball's Michael Byars-Dawson, women's basketball's Diamond Cosby, soccer's Hillarie Marshall Coleman, softball's Shannon Straty and baseball's Troy Conkle and Brad Hanson. High jumper Janice Miller Moore, an individual Southland champion in her signature event, rounds out the 2024 competitive-ballot inductees.
 
That group will be joined by Distinguished Service Award winner Carlos Treadway, a standout football tight end, in the 2024 class. Joining them for the induction are 2023 electees Gene Tennison (football) and Matt Donner (baseball).
 
Johnson made the most of his two-year Northwestern State career after transferring from Delta State. He earned consecutive All-American honors in 2003 and 2004, collecting Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year accolades as a senior in 2004 when the Demons captured the conference championship.
 
Johnson notched 217 tackles in two seasons after winning a national championship at the Division II level with Delta State in 2002. A member of the Top 100 Demons of All-Time selected in 2007, Johnson played 10 seasons in the Canadian Football League after signing a free-agent contract with the Cleveland Browns in 2005.
 
He had 600 career tackles in the CFL, including a pair of 100-plus tackle seasons, won a Grey Cup with the BC Lions and was a 2009 CFL All-Star and a two-time CFL East Division All-Star.
 
Johnson's career followed that of Rodriguez, who will be inducted posthumously.
 
A four-year letterman who made started all 46 of his career games from 1999-2002, Rodriguez is the program's third-leading tackler with 408 career stops and earned All-Southland Conference and All-Louisiana honors six times in his career.
 
A member of two FCS Playoff teams in 2001 and 2002, Rodriguez was named to the Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time roster in 2007. His 111 tackles as a freshman were the most of legendary coach Sam Goodwin's 17-year tenure. Rodriguez' impact lives on as the namesake of the Kurt Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship.
 
Rodriguez' teammate, Nathan Black, gives the football program a third member of the Class of 2024.
 
Black helped the Demons reach the FCS Playoff semifinals in 1998 and another playoff berth in 2001 while leaving as the school's leader in career receptions with 109, a mark that remains sixth in program history. His 944 receiving yards during his senior year of 2001 stood as a school record for 17 years.
 
A two-time All-Southland Conference selection, Black tied the school record with 13 catches and 222 yards in a 2001 FCS Playoff loss to eventual national champion Montana. Like Johnson and Rodriguez, Black was selected to the Top 100 Demons of All-Time roster in 2007.
 
Cooper and Hatten tie together the legacy of All-American track and field athletes at Northwestern State across different eras and different disciplines.
 
Cooper was a four-time all-conference sprinter who helped the Demon 4x100 relay team earn All-American honors in 1987. He also helped the Demons capture the 1985 Gulf Star Conference and 1987 Southland Conference team championships.
 
A two-time team captain, Cooper was a Dean's List student and a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society.
 
Hatten added to the lore of NSU throwers by qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships on two occasions in the javelin, earning All-American honors in 2003. That season was a busy, decorated one for the-then Samantha Ford as she won the Southland Conference javelin title and competed in the Pan-American Games that same year.
 
Hatten saved her best throw for when it mattered most, throwing a personal-best 162-7 at the NCAA meet, a mark that was second-best in school history at the time and still ranks fourth. She also competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing 11^th in her signature event and owns the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational record with a throw of 170-10, set in 2009 as an unattached competitor.
 
Competing between that All-American pair, the then-Janice Miller was a decorated high jumper who nabbed the 1992 Southland Conference Outdoor high jump championship after a pair of runner-up finishes in 1989 and 1991.
 
Her 5-8¾ clearance at the 1991 SLC Outdoors stood as the NSU school record for seven years and surpassed the school mark of 5-8 she set as a freshman in 1989. A versatile athlete, Moore also had NSU's best times in the 100 (12.65) and 200 (24.9) as a junior in 1991. She and fellow N-Club Hall of Famer Peggy Lewis were the inaugural inductees on the Lady Demon Wall of Honor, launched by then-coach and eventual NSU President Dr. Chris Maggio.
 
Bazhanova Moore was a dominant piece of the NSU tennis program, captaining the team as a senior in 2012.
 
A two-time All-Southland doubles player, Moore and her partner Adna Curukovic helped lead the Lady Demons to the 2010 Southland Conference regular-season and tournament championships and the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history. The pair's success led them to a No. 64 ITA Collegiate ranking while on the singles side, her win at No. 1 clinched the SLC Tournament crown to send NSU to its first NCAA Tournament.
 
Competing as Olga Bazhanova, she earned a pair of Southland Conference All-Academic team accolades and finished her carer 64-20 in doubles – the third-most wins in program history – and 47-31 in singles, the 11^th-most wins in program history. Those marks stand sixth and tied for 16^th currently. During her career, NSU posted a 67-21 dual-match record, including a 35-10 mark in SLC play.
 
Conkle and Hanson played nearly a decade apart in Natchitoches but share the distinction of being two-time, first-team All-Southland Conference selections.
 
Conkle did so in 1992 and 1993, hitting .343 with 11 doubles and 41 RBIs as the Demons captured the 1993 Southland Conference crown as part of a 40-14 season. Starting 108 of his 109 career games, Conkle completed his NSU career with a .338 batting average. Primarily a shortstop, Conkle also pitched, going 1-1 with a save in seven career appearances. He combined with Steve Smith on a no-hitter against Baptist Christian in 1992.
 
Eight years after Conkle's career concluded, Hanson took over as the Demons' back-to-back, first-team all-conference pick.
 
A career .374 hitter, which ranks second in school history, Hanson earned consecutive all-conference selections as an outfielder who also ranks fifth in school history with a .591 slugging percentage. After hitting .381 as a junior, Hanson batted .368 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs as a senior, helping NSU win the 2002 Southland Conference regular-season title.
 
In his two seasons, Hanson helped the Demons produce an 81-34 mark with a 33-18 Southland Conference record.
 
Like the Demon baseball duo, Byars-Dawson played a pivotal role at Northwestern State after starting his career elsewhere.
 
A transfer from the University of Miami, Byars-Dawson earned All-Southland Conference honors in each of his two seasons at Northwestern State and was a leader on the 2000-01 Demon team that earned the school's first NCAA Tournament berth.
 
The Southland Conference Tournament MVP that year, Byars-Dawson led the Demons in scoring in both of his seasons, including a 15.8 points per game average in 2000-021. A 38-percent 3-point shooter for his career, his two free throws with 10 seconds remaining provided the winning margin in the SLC Tournament title game against McNeese, a 72-71 NSU win. Byars-Dawson was part of the "Fab 50" Division I-era (1977-present) group selected as part of the All-Century Team chosen in 2012-13.
 
Cosby was a two-time All-Southland selection, nabbing first-team honors in 2004-05, following a second-team berth for the 2003-04 league champions.
 
A prolific shooter who remains seventh in program history with 174 career 3-pointers, Cosby left as NSU's all-time leader in free-throw percentage (82.3) – a mark that was sixth in SLC history and remains seventh currently. Cosby ranked second in the SLC in scoring at 16.2 points per game in 2003-04 as the Lady Demons reached the NCAA Tournament, and she led NSU with 17 points in the NCAA Tournament loss at Duke.
 
A year later, Cosby averaged 15.4 points per game overall – 17.6 ppg in league games – to earn first-team all-league honors. She remains 23^rd in program history with 1,231 points – averaging 12.4 points per game.
 
Coleman was a four-time All-Southland Conference selection, including three straight first-team nods to start her career. As a freshman, Coleman earned all-tournament honors as Northwestern State won the event and clinched its first NCAA Tournament berth.
 
A first-team All-Louisiana and All-Southland pick as a sophomore in 2001, Coleman also helped NSU to another SLC Tournament crown and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002. A defender, Coleman helped NSU post a 42-32-9 overall record and a 27-13-8 SLC mark in her career.
 
A versatile defender who finished with 50 career points (20 goals, 10 assists), Coleman led the 2001 NSU squad with six goals, including a pair of game winners.
 
Straty was the backstop and backbone of three straight Southland Conference softball championship teams in her final three seasons at NSU.
 
A three-time All-Southland pick – first-team in 1999 – Straty batted .302 for her career, which placed her fourth in school history at the end of her career. Her nine career triples were second in program history, her 94 RBIs fourth and her 265 total bases were fifth in school history at the end of her Hall of Fame career.
 
Treadway will be the first Distinguished Service Award winner enshrined since 2020. A two-time All-Southland Conference tight end, Treadway has carried the NSU brand worldwide in his position as the Executive Vice President of Ford Credit and CEO of Ford Credit Europe.
 
A 2022 Long Purple Line inductee, Treadway earned first-team All-Southland Conference and All-Louisiana honors as a senior and played seven games as a true freshman for the 1988 Southland Conference champions.
 
An involved member of both the NSU Alumni Association and Demons Unlimited Foundation board, Treadway caught 44 passes for 575 yards and four touchdowns in 39 career games and was named one of the 13 honorary captains on the 2007 Northwestern State All-Century Team.  
 
N-Club Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Bios
 
Olga Bazhanova Moore (tennis, 2009-12) – Nominated for her playing career (she subsequently was assistant, then head coach for three seasons before moving to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2017) ... All-Southland doubles player in 2010 and 2012, two-time All-Southland Academic, All-Louisiana second team in 2012 ... No. 1 singles and doubles player in her final three seasons, team captain as a senior ...  part of a nationally-ranked doubles pairing with Adna Curukovic, leading the 2010 squad to SLC regular season and tournament titles and the program's first NCAA Tournament berth while posting the fewest losses in the country with a 21-2 record, climbing to No. 64 in the ITA Collegiate rankings ... she won the clinching No. 1 singles match to get NSU the NCAA Tournament berth ... owns a career doubles mark of 64-20, third all-time ending her career, now sixth on dual match doubles victories list in school history ... 47 career singles wins (47-31) was 11^th at end of her career and is tied for 16th in program history. She was 17-2 in doubles in 2010 and 2012 ... NSU had a 67-21 dual match record, 35-10 in SLC, in her career.
 
Nathan Black (football, 1998-2001) – Acrobatic and speedy pass catcher who helped 1998, 2001 teams reach FCS playoffs (1998 squad won Southland title and reached playoff semifinals) … 944 yards receiving as a senior was a school record, broken in 2018 by Jazz Ferguson … sixth all-time with 109 career catches, school record when he graduated …his 52 catches in 1999 is seventh all-time and was also a school record at the time…  had three of the top eight single-season receiving yards totals in school history … set single-game receiving school records with 13 catches (tied Jerry Wheeler's 1982 total) and 222 yards in FCS playoff battle with eventual 2001 national champion Montana … All-Southland twice, first team as a sophomore, second team as a freshman … overcame 2000 ACL surgery after injury in the 2000 season opener that ironically opened the door for Terrence McGee to return punts … played parts of three seasons in the NFL with Carolina and the Saints, appearing in five regular-season game with three catches … chosen for Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time roster selected in 2007 football centennial celebration.
 
Michael Byars-Dawson (men's basketball, 2000-02) – Two-time All-Southland Conference shooting guard (third team in 2000-01, second team in 2001-02) who transferred from Miami and led NSU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance as the 2001 Southland Tournament MVP … led Demons in scoring both seasons (13.2 in 2000-01, 15.8 as a senior) … career 14.5 scoring average while making 38 percent (94-247) on 3-pointers, recording 130 assists (second on the team both seasons), 116 steals (second, then first with 61), and shooting 41 percent overall and 71.4 percent on FTs … started all 63 games … tied single-game steals record (8) vs. Texas State as a junior … in 2001 Southland tournament, averaged 15.6 in three wins (one at UTA), scored 22 (9-13 on FGs) with no turnovers and five rebounds in championship game 72-71 win over top-seeded McNeese, clinching it with two FTs with 10 seconds left … had lengthy overseas pro career … made "Fab 50" from Modern Era (since 1977, when NSU joined NCAA Division I) on All-Century Team chosen in 2012-13 basketball centennial celebration.
 
Troy Conkle (baseball, 1992-93) – Two-time first-team All-Southland shortstop who helped 1993 Demons win the Southland title in a 40-18/18-6 season … he is one of only two consecutive first-team All-Southland players from the 1990s not already in the N-Club HOF … overall, one of only four Demons to have twice earned All-SLC first team honors, with the other three appearing on the ballot for the first time in 2020 … others are 2001 senior Jordan Robison, 2002 senior Brad Hanson, 1995 senior Matt Donner while joined by N-Club HOF members Reggie Gatewood, Terry Joseph, Brian Lawrence, and Kyle Shade as the only Demons to make first-team All-Southland in back-to-back seasons … also combined with outfielder Steve Smith for a no-hitter against Baptist Christian as a junior, going 1-1 with a save in seven appearances … the win came against conference foe Southwest Texas … hit .333 with 11 doubles and 30 RBI in 1992, then .343 with 11 more doubles and 41 RBI as a senior, helping Jim Wells' 1993 club go 40-14 overall/18-6 SLC in a conference championship season. His career average was .338 in 109 games, 108 starts.
 
Edgar Cooper (track and field, 1984-88) – An all-conference sprinter in all four seasons, and an All-American as part of the NCAA eighth-place 4x100 relay team in 1987, Cooper helped the Demons win the 1985 Gulf Star Conference championship and the 1987 Southland Conference championship ... a team captain as a junior and a senior ... Cooper ran the third leg on the 1987 4x1 team ... a Dean's List student and a Blue Key National Honor Society member, he has coached a high school track team to a state championship and a high school basketball team to the state finals, and is a school principal.
 
Diamond Cosby (women's basketball, 2001-05) – Two-time All-Southland, first-team in 2004-05 as a senior, second team in the Lady Demons' last Southland championship season, 2003-04 … finished her career as Lady Demons' all-time leader (now second) and sixth (now seventh) all-time in conference history in free throw aim (82.3 percent, 191-232) … led Southland in FT aim as a junior (.835) and senior (.821), one of only three players to lead the league twice and one of only two to do it back-to-back … All-Southland Tournament in 2004 when NSU won that crown and advanced to the NCAA Tournament … seventh at NSU in career 3-pointers (174) … 23^rd all-time in scoring (1,231 points, 99 games, 12.4 ppg) … led Lady Demons in scoring as a senior (15.4), a rate that jumped to 17.4 in 16 SLC games … her 16.2 average led NSU's championship 2003-04 team and was second in the SLC … led the team with 17 points in NCAA Tournament loss to Duke in Cameron Indoor Arena on ESPN … averaged 11.0 ppg as a sophomore, when she was second in the SLC in 3-point aim (.423, a career best) … shot 35.9 percent (174-485) in her career on 3s … NSU was 80-37 overall/56-16 in the SLC in her career.
 
Samantha Ford Hatten (track and field, 2003-2006)  A two-time national meet qualifier and 2003 NCAA All-American in the javelin … won the 2003 Southland Conference javelin championship and later competed in the Pan-American Games that year … set her collegiate personal best of 162-7 at the NCAA meet, finishing 12^th … returned to the national meet in 2006, finishing 15^th in her specialty event … her personal best mark of 162-7 was No. 2 at NSU when her career ended and remains the fourth-longest throw in school history … competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing 11^th … competing unattached at the 2009 Leon Johnson Invitational, she set a meet record in the javelin with a mark of 170-10.  
 
Brad Hanson (baseball, 2001-02) – Twice first-team All-Southland in left field for back-to-back conference champions under John Cohen (2001) and Mitch Gaspard (2002) … career .374 batting average is second in school history … fifth in career slugging percentage (.591) … Hanson joins 2001 teammate Jordan Robinson, 1995 senior Matt Donner, 1993 senior Troy Conkle and N-Club HOF members Reggie Gatewood, Terry Joseph, Brian Lawrence, and Kyle Shade as the only Demons to make first-team All-Southland in back-to-back seasons … led 2002 Demons with .368 batting average (7 home runs, 46 RBI) after hitting .381 (second to David Quattrociocchi's .401) as a junior, when he had 8 homers and 52 RBI  … his 60 runs scored in 2002 is fifth on the single-season top 10 … Demons were 38-17/19-8 in 2001, 43-17, 14-10 in 2002, for an overall 81-34 mark and a 33-18 league slate in his two seasons.
 
Jamall Johnson (football, 2003-04) – A two-time All-American and 2004 Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the outright SLC champions and I-AA playoff team, Johnson made 217 tackles in two seasons, earning two first-team All-Southland and All-Louisiana honors ... Southland Newcomer of the Year in 2003 after helping Delta State win the 2002 Division II national championship and transferring to NSU ... had a long career in the CFL (2005-14), ranking among top tacklers in the league  for the B..C. Lions and Hamilton Tiger-Cats after earning a free agent deal in 2005 with the Cleveland Browns ... made 498 career defensive tackles, another 102 on special teams in Canada, becoming one of only six CFL players ever with two 100-plus tackle seasons, and was a CFL All-Star in 2009, a CFL East Division All-Star in 2009 and 2011, and helped the Lions win the 2006 Grey Cup ... played in 2013 Grey Cup for Hamilton, and was in 10 total playoff games and 122 overall ... chosen for Top 100 Demons of All-Time roster in 2007 centennial celebration ... business administration graduate of NSU is now an actor in Vancouver.
 
Hillarie Marshall Coleman (soccer, 2000-03) – Four-time All-Southland selection, first team in her first three seasons … All-SLC Tournament as NSU won the 2000 Southland regular-season and tourney crowns and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time … Academic All-SLC first team in 2001, when she was also first team All-Louisiana … Lady Demons went 15-8 overall/10-2 SLC in 2000, and 12-6-5/6-2-4 in 2002 (third in regular season) … also won Southland Tournament in 2002 and made another NCAA appearance … overall 42-32-9/27-13-8 SLC career record … the defender has career totals (missing 2002 stats) of 20 goals, 10 assists, 50 points … led 2000 NCAA Tournament team with 10 goals, including four game-winners … helped team post 10 shutouts and only 28 goals against (6 in NCAA loss at Montana) … led 2001 squad with six goals, including game-winners vs. Nicholls and SFA despite a broken leg in the penultimate conference week.
 
Janice Miller Moore (track and field, 1989-92) –  Won 1992 Southland Conference Outdoor high jump title, was SLC runner-up in 1991 and 1989 … won as a senior with 5-6 ½ clearance … 5-8 ¾ clearance to finish second at 1991 SLC Outdoors set a school record that stood for 7 years … also had team's top marks in 100 (12.65) and 200 (24.9) as a junior … 5-8 ½ season's best as a senior at NLU Invitational … missed most of her sophomore year with a stress fracture … set a school record with a 5-8 jump while finishing second at the 1989 SLC Outdoors as a freshman; the clearance equaled the winning mark and shared the SLC record … joined shot putter Peggy Lewis (already in the N-Club HOF) as the inaugural inductees on the Lady Demon Wall of Honor launched by then coach Chris Maggio.
 
Kurt Rodriguez (football, 1999-2002) – The third-leading tackler (408) in school history was a three-year All-Southland and All-Louisiana choice (first team as a sophomore, second team in 2001-02) … broken wrist in October 2001 sidelined him only for one full game … four-year starting linebacker … career totals: 46 games (all starts), 408 tackles, 40 for loss (160 yards), 14 ½ sacks (107 yards), 6 fumble recoveries, 3 interceptions … career high 22 tackles at SFA in 2000 … 138 tackles as a sophomore, 111 in his freshman year, most by any freshman in Sam Goodwin's 17 seasons as head coach …  helped Demons to 2001, 2002 NCAA playoffs … Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time roster member … namesake of Kurt Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship.
 
Shannon Straty (softball, 1997-2000) – A three-year All-Southland conference catcher … first-team All-Southland in 1999, second-team in 1998 and 2000 … helped NSU win three straight Southland Conference championships in 1998, 1999 and 2000 … third-best single-season fielding percentage (.998, 1997) in school history … batted .302 for her career, 4^th in school history at the time … her 9 triples was second on the career list … 265 total bases was fifth on the career list … 94 RBI was fourth.
 
Distinguished Service Award
Carlos Treadway – Two-time All-Southland Conference tight end for the Demons from 1988-92 who has risen to upper level management in Ford Motor Credit, now serving as Executive Vice President of Ford Credit and CEO of Ford Credit Europe … moved to London in November 2021 and previously lived in China for several years … inducted in university's Long Purple Line Alumni Hall of Distinction at homecoming 2022 ... has been actively engaged on NSU Alumni Association and Demons Unlimited Foundation board and in other roles supportive of NSU football and the university … first-team All-Southland and All-Louisiana as a senior, second-team as a junior, honorable mention as a sophomore … played in 7 games as a true freshman on the 1988 Southland championship team that reached the FCS quarterfinals … career: 39 games, 44 catches, 575 yards, 4 TDs … named one of 13 honorary captains on the Demons' all-century team in the 2007 centennial celebration as a tribute to his leadership and value to his teams.