WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Five of Wake Forest’s all-time greats who accounted for three ACC Player of the Year awards and a number of All-America honors as well as the longtime Faculty Athletics Representative comprise the 2016 induction class to the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
Former baseball star Jamie D’Antona, football greats Chris Barclay and Ryan Plackemeier, soccer standout Michael Parkhurst and Provost Emeritus Dr. Ed Wilson are the five newest members of the Hall of Fame.
D’Antona, Plackemeier and Wilson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame the weekend of September 16-17. The trio will be honored during halftime of Wake Forest’s home football game with Delaware on September 17.
Both Barclay and Parkhurst will be inducted at a future Hall of Fame ceremony when their schedules permit. Barclay is currently the running backs coach at Western Kentucky University and the Hilltoppers play at Miami (OH) on September 17which will preclude him from attending the ceremony. Parkhurst is currently playing in MLS with the Columbus Crew and will be playing in a match vs. Orlando City FC at the Citrus Bowl on September 17.
D’Antona was a baseball star for the Demon Deacons, earning All-American honors as a junior in 2003. The Trumbull, CT native led the ACC in RBIs in 2001 and 2003 and was the ACC home run champ in 2003 when he named the ACC Player of the Year. D’Antona was a second round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2003 Draft and made his debut with the Diamondbacks in 2008.
Plackemeier won the Ray Guy Award in 2005 as a senior when he led the nation in punting average at 47.2 yards per punt. A consensus All-American, Plackemeier was a three-time first team All-ACC selection and is Wake Forest’s all-time leader in punting average at 45.3 yards per kick. Plackemeier led the ACC in punting for three consecutive seasons from 2003 through 2005 before being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2006. He spent two full seasons with the Seahawks and finished his career with Washington.
Wilson is known to many Wake Forest graduates as “Mr. Wake Forest.” A 1943 graduate of Wake Forest College, Dr. Wilson served in the Navy in World War II before earning a doctorate at Harvard and returning to Wake Forest in 1959. He served as the Faculty Athletic Representative from 1988 through 2003 and today carries the title of Provost Emeritus.
Barclay is Wake Forest’s all-time leading rusher, accumulating 4,032 yards from 2002-05. As a senior in 2005 he was named the ACC Player of the Year after leading the ACC in rushing with 1,127 yards. Barclay left Wake Forest as the career leader in scoring, rushing touchdowns, all-purpose yards, 200-yard games and 1,000-yard seasons.
Parkhurst has been a fixture in professional and international soccer for more than a decade. An All-American in 2004, the Cranston, RI native was a two-time All-ACC pick in 2003 and 2004 and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. He was the MLS Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the league’s Defender of the Year in 2007. Parkhurst has made 25 career starts with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Jamie D’Antona
D’Antona earned ACC Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2003 when he hit .360 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs. Those numbers also earned him first team All-America honors from both Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The third baseman from Trumbull, CT led the ACC in home runs in 2003 and in RBIs in both 2001 and 2003.
D’Antona broke into the Demon Deacon lineup and finished his rookie year with a .360 average, 17 homers and 77 RBIs. He was the ACC Rookie of the Year, the Collegiate Baseball Freshman of the Year, and a member of the All-ACC Tournament team and the All-Knoxville Regional team. He finished his career with a .352 average, 58 home runs and 242 RBIs. He ranks sixth in ACC history in career home runs and seventh with 242 career RBIs.
Ryan Plackemeier
Plackemeier won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter during his senior season in 2005. A three-time first team All-ACC punter from 2003 through 2005, Plackemeier was a consensus All-American as a senior. In 2005, he led the nation in punting and set the school record with a 47.2 yards per kick average.
The Bonsall, CA native led the ACC in punting in 2003 and 2004, becoming just the fifth Demon Deacon to earn three first team All-ACC awards in football. Plackemeier’s 45.26 career punting average is both the school record and the ACC record. A seventh round draft choice of the Seattle Seahawks in 2006, he played three seasons in the NFL and now resides in the Winston-Salem area.
Dr. Ed Wilson
Dr. Ed Wilson, known affectionately to many as “Mr. Wake Forest,” has been a fixture on both the old campus and the Reynolda campus since 1943. A native of Leaksville, NC, Wilson enrolled at Wake Forest at age 16 and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in English in 1943. He went on to serve as an officer in the US Navy during World War II before earning his Ph.D from Harvard in 1952. Dr. Wilson returned to Wake Forest in 1959 as a professor of English and continued in that role while adding additional duties as Provost. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies as an undergraduate, Dr. Wilson would serve as Wake Forest’s NCAA Faculty Representative from 1988 to 2003. A former president of the ACC, Dr. Wilson maintains an office in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library and carries the title of Provost Emeritus.
Chris Barclay
Barclay, Wake Forest’s all-time rushing leader, was the Atlantic Coast Conference football Player of the Year in 2005 when he carried the ball 218 times for 1,127 yards. He broke into the Demon Deacon lineup as one of just three true freshmen to see action in 2002. He led the team in rushing in 2003 with 1,192 yards and earned second team All-ACC honors. As a junior in 2004, Barclay had 1,010 yards on 243 carries and was named first team All-ACC. He capped his career in 2005 with another first team All-ACC selection and his recognition as the league’s Player of the Year.
For his career, Barclay finished with 4,032 rushing yards and set school records at the time for career points (240), rushing touchdowns (40), all-purpose yards (4,930), 200-yard rushing games (3) and 1,00-yard rushing seasons (3). He was the first player in ACC history to lead the league in rushing yards during the regular season in three consecutive seasons and was also the first ACC player with three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Named team MVP as both a junior and senior, Barclay is one of just three Demon Deacons to earn the award in back-to-back seasons, joining Norm Snead (1959-60) and Brian Piccolo (1963-64).
Michael Parkhurst
A three-year soccer letterman from 2002-04, Parkhurst was an All-American in 2004 and a first team All-ACC pick in 2003 and 2004. As a junior in 2004, he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year as the Deacons contributed 11 shutout victories.
As a professional, Parkhurst was the MLS Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the league’s Defender of the Year in 2007. A participant for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2008 Olympics, Parkhurst was a member of two CONCACAF Gold Cup squads and has made 25 career appearances for the USMNT. At the professional level, he won the MLS Fair Play Award in 2007 and 2008. The Cranston, RI native is a four-time MLS All-Star and was the ninth overall pick in MLS by the New England Revolution in 2005 Draft. Parkhurst was recognized as the MLS Humanitarian of the Year in 2006 and 2008.
Former baseball star Jamie D’Antona, football greats Chris Barclay and Ryan Plackemeier, soccer standout Michael Parkhurst and Provost Emeritus Dr. Ed Wilson are the five newest members of the Hall of Fame.
D’Antona, Plackemeier and Wilson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame the weekend of September 16-17. The trio will be honored during halftime of Wake Forest’s home football game with Delaware on September 17.
Both Barclay and Parkhurst will be inducted at a future Hall of Fame ceremony when their schedules permit. Barclay is currently the running backs coach at Western Kentucky University and the Hilltoppers play at Miami (OH) on September 17which will preclude him from attending the ceremony. Parkhurst is currently playing in MLS with the Columbus Crew and will be playing in a match vs. Orlando City FC at the Citrus Bowl on September 17.
D’Antona was a baseball star for the Demon Deacons, earning All-American honors as a junior in 2003. The Trumbull, CT native led the ACC in RBIs in 2001 and 2003 and was the ACC home run champ in 2003 when he named the ACC Player of the Year. D’Antona was a second round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2003 Draft and made his debut with the Diamondbacks in 2008.
Plackemeier won the Ray Guy Award in 2005 as a senior when he led the nation in punting average at 47.2 yards per punt. A consensus All-American, Plackemeier was a three-time first team All-ACC selection and is Wake Forest’s all-time leader in punting average at 45.3 yards per kick. Plackemeier led the ACC in punting for three consecutive seasons from 2003 through 2005 before being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2006. He spent two full seasons with the Seahawks and finished his career with Washington.
Wilson is known to many Wake Forest graduates as “Mr. Wake Forest.” A 1943 graduate of Wake Forest College, Dr. Wilson served in the Navy in World War II before earning a doctorate at Harvard and returning to Wake Forest in 1959. He served as the Faculty Athletic Representative from 1988 through 2003 and today carries the title of Provost Emeritus.
Barclay is Wake Forest’s all-time leading rusher, accumulating 4,032 yards from 2002-05. As a senior in 2005 he was named the ACC Player of the Year after leading the ACC in rushing with 1,127 yards. Barclay left Wake Forest as the career leader in scoring, rushing touchdowns, all-purpose yards, 200-yard games and 1,000-yard seasons.
Parkhurst has been a fixture in professional and international soccer for more than a decade. An All-American in 2004, the Cranston, RI native was a two-time All-ACC pick in 2003 and 2004 and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. He was the MLS Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the league’s Defender of the Year in 2007. Parkhurst has made 25 career starts with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Jamie D’Antona
D’Antona earned ACC Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2003 when he hit .360 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs. Those numbers also earned him first team All-America honors from both Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The third baseman from Trumbull, CT led the ACC in home runs in 2003 and in RBIs in both 2001 and 2003.
D’Antona broke into the Demon Deacon lineup and finished his rookie year with a .360 average, 17 homers and 77 RBIs. He was the ACC Rookie of the Year, the Collegiate Baseball Freshman of the Year, and a member of the All-ACC Tournament team and the All-Knoxville Regional team. He finished his career with a .352 average, 58 home runs and 242 RBIs. He ranks sixth in ACC history in career home runs and seventh with 242 career RBIs.
Ryan Plackemeier
Plackemeier won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter during his senior season in 2005. A three-time first team All-ACC punter from 2003 through 2005, Plackemeier was a consensus All-American as a senior. In 2005, he led the nation in punting and set the school record with a 47.2 yards per kick average.
The Bonsall, CA native led the ACC in punting in 2003 and 2004, becoming just the fifth Demon Deacon to earn three first team All-ACC awards in football. Plackemeier’s 45.26 career punting average is both the school record and the ACC record. A seventh round draft choice of the Seattle Seahawks in 2006, he played three seasons in the NFL and now resides in the Winston-Salem area.
Dr. Ed Wilson
Dr. Ed Wilson, known affectionately to many as “Mr. Wake Forest,” has been a fixture on both the old campus and the Reynolda campus since 1943. A native of Leaksville, NC, Wilson enrolled at Wake Forest at age 16 and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in English in 1943. He went on to serve as an officer in the US Navy during World War II before earning his Ph.D from Harvard in 1952. Dr. Wilson returned to Wake Forest in 1959 as a professor of English and continued in that role while adding additional duties as Provost. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies as an undergraduate, Dr. Wilson would serve as Wake Forest’s NCAA Faculty Representative from 1988 to 2003. A former president of the ACC, Dr. Wilson maintains an office in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library and carries the title of Provost Emeritus.
Chris Barclay
Barclay, Wake Forest’s all-time rushing leader, was the Atlantic Coast Conference football Player of the Year in 2005 when he carried the ball 218 times for 1,127 yards. He broke into the Demon Deacon lineup as one of just three true freshmen to see action in 2002. He led the team in rushing in 2003 with 1,192 yards and earned second team All-ACC honors. As a junior in 2004, Barclay had 1,010 yards on 243 carries and was named first team All-ACC. He capped his career in 2005 with another first team All-ACC selection and his recognition as the league’s Player of the Year.
For his career, Barclay finished with 4,032 rushing yards and set school records at the time for career points (240), rushing touchdowns (40), all-purpose yards (4,930), 200-yard rushing games (3) and 1,00-yard rushing seasons (3). He was the first player in ACC history to lead the league in rushing yards during the regular season in three consecutive seasons and was also the first ACC player with three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Named team MVP as both a junior and senior, Barclay is one of just three Demon Deacons to earn the award in back-to-back seasons, joining Norm Snead (1959-60) and Brian Piccolo (1963-64).
Michael Parkhurst
A three-year soccer letterman from 2002-04, Parkhurst was an All-American in 2004 and a first team All-ACC pick in 2003 and 2004. As a junior in 2004, he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year as the Deacons contributed 11 shutout victories.
As a professional, Parkhurst was the MLS Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the league’s Defender of the Year in 2007. A participant for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2008 Olympics, Parkhurst was a member of two CONCACAF Gold Cup squads and has made 25 career appearances for the USMNT. At the professional level, he won the MLS Fair Play Award in 2007 and 2008. The Cranston, RI native is a four-time MLS All-Star and was the ninth overall pick in MLS by the New England Revolution in 2005 Draft. Parkhurst was recognized as the MLS Humanitarian of the Year in 2006 and 2008.
