MARYVILLE – Maryville College Athletics added eight new members to its Wall of Fame during Thursday night's ceremony at the Clayton Center for the Arts.
This year's inductees are:
- Jeremy Cason '11 – Men's Golf
- Tony Ierulli '80 – Football/Baseball/Head Baseball Coach
- Missy Barker Johnson '90 – Softball
- Jack Llewellyn '68 – Men's Basketball/Baseball
- Jay Malone '91 – Football
- Beverly Stepp Meyer '93 – Women's Soccer
- Kiera Payne '13 – Women's Basketball
- Brent Watts '01 – Men's Basketball
Jeremy Cason was a two-year member of the men's golf team at Maryville. He ranks third all-time in program history with a scoring average of 76.26. He was a member and key contributor on the squad's 2011 Conference Championship team. He remains on the short list of Scots with multiple tournament victories for his collegiate career. Cason majored in Business and Organizational Management and is now the Head Golf Professional at the Wade Hampton Golf Club in Cashiers, North Carolina.
Tony Ierulli was the second-ever J.D. Davis Award recipient in 1980. The two-sport star helped lead Maryville football to its most successful four-year era. As a linebacker, he anchored the Scots defense and led the squad to a 28-7 record during his time at Maryville College. He was even named a team captain for his senior season in 1979. As a catcher on the baseball team, he led the Scots in hitting in three straight seasons and was a key contributor on the 1977 NCAA Division III Tournament team. This honoree graduated from Maryville College in 1980 with a degree in Physical Education and a minor in History. Following graduation, Ierulli spent 45 years as a collegiate football coach, including an eight-year stint at his alma mater, where he served as the head football coach and Assistant Athletics Director. He is the third-winningest football coach in Maryville College history.
Missy Barker Johnson was a four-year member of the Maryville softball team, playing second base and pitching for head coaches Wes Moore and Shannon O'Brian. During her junior and senior years, she led the Scots to back-to-back 20-win seasons. She was named Team Defensive Player of the Year as a junior before earning Team MVP honors as a senior. In a 1990 tournament, she pitched five games in one day and led Maryville College to two victories over Georgia Tech. She was a Business Management major who went on to obtain another degree in Interior Design Management. While working full-time, she started a grass-roots Non-Profit Organization called Kingdom Design Ministries. KDM is now celebrating its 16th year serving children who have experienced tragedy. For her work with KDM, Johnson received the Maryville College Alumni Citation Award, the highest honor bestowed on an alum.
Jack Llewellyn was a two-sport athlete at Maryville College, playing basketball and baseball for legendary coach Boydson Baird. He was even a captain on the basketball team. A world-renowned sports psychologist, speaker and corporate coach, this gentleman is the founder and president of the Atlanta-based Center for Winning Performance. He has authored 12 books and has published numerous research articles over his career. He was the Atlanta Braves sports psychologist for 16 years, helping them win a World Series and 14 division titles during his tenure. He also advised U.S. athletes at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Llewellyn is credited as the first sports psychologist to work in baseball and has started sports psychology courses at Old Dominion University, Mankato State University and Florida International University.
Jay Malone was a 1991 J.D. Davis Award recipient. He was a four-year letterman and three-year starter for the Scots, and he earned Division III South Region recognition for his performance as a senior. Maryville improved its record each year he was a member of the squad, and he even stayed on as an assistant coach in 1991, helping the Scots post a record of 7-3. Following his graduation from Maryville College, he has been a physical education teacher and head football/boys and girls track & field coach at Maryville Junior High School for 33 years. His football teams have posted an .830 winning percentage and have won 12 East Tennessee Middle School Football Conference championships. Malone has coached his squad to five undefeated seasons and has been named Conference Coach of the Year five times. As a track & field coach, he has coached 16 state champions.
Beverly Stepp Meyer was a four-year member of the women's soccer team at Maryville College from 1989-1992. Her freshman season was the second season of the women's soccer program, and the first to record a winning record at 11-6-0. She played her first two seasons under head coach Jerry Litton before she was a member of the first two squads coached by legendary head coach
Pepe Fernandez back in 1991 and 1992. For her career, she recorded 25 goals and 17 assists and helped lead the Scots to a 51-17-1 record. Since graduating in 1993, Meyer went on to obtain degrees in secondary education from Maryville College and both radiologic technology and radiation therapy from Emory University. This mother of three gingers most recently completed a Master's Degree in dosimetry from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and she is employed as a Senior Medical Dosimetrist with Varian Medical Systems, working from her home here in Maryville.
Kiera Payne was a four-year member of the Maryville College women's basketball team and a two-time Great South Athletic Conference champion. The Scots produced a record of 86-23 during her time at Maryville, and she scored more than 900 points and recorded over 500 rebounds. Following her graduation from Maryville College, she earned a master's degree in special education from Ball State University. Payne now works as a Special Education Teacher.
Brent Watts played four years at Maryville College for legendary head coach Randy Lambert. During his tenure at Maryville College, Watts scored more than 1,300 career points and helped lead the Scots to an 85-23 record, losing just four home games in that stretch. Maryville made the NCAA tournament three of his four years, including a Sweet 16 run his junior season. In 2000-01, his senior campaign, he was named the Great South Athletic Conference Player of the Year as well as an NABC All-South Second Team member. Following graduation with a degree in International Business, he earned his MBA from the University of Tennessee and now owns Red Heritage Medical, the largest Native American-owned medical supplier to the federal government.
