Six to be inducted in 2026 TTU Sports Hall of Fame class
Induction will take place Friday, Nov. 6, as part of Homecoming weekend festivities
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The 2026 induction class of the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame features a wide range of talents over five different sports and the field of broadcasting, and all of them are legends in their own right.
Their years of service and success in the Purple and Gold will forever be enshrined in the Golden Eagles' hall on Homecoming weekend on Nov. 6 as Tennessee Tech welcomes Dylan Bosheers (baseball), Cody Dodd (volleyball), Roger Ealey (broadcasting), Misty Garrett (women's basketball), Kim Spangler Klein (women's golf) and Howard Stidham (football).
The induction will take place on Friday, Nov. 6, as part of Homecoming weekend, and the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will also be recognized at halftime of the Homecoming game against VMI on Nov. 7.
DYLAN BOSHEERS (Baseball | 2012-15)
One of the highest-decorated players in Tennessee Tech baseball history, Bosheers became the program's first All-American, earning four spots following the 2014 season, then put his name all over the record book in 2015.
A two-time All-OVC first-team selection, the Lawrenceburg native ended his career with first-place ranks in doubles and assists; second in hits, runs and games played; third in RBI and hit-by-pitches; fifth in walks and seventh in home runs.
After an All-Freshman team nod in 2012 and an All-OVC second-team pick in 2013, Bosheers broke out as a junior, hitting .368 with 86 hits, 14 doubles, 11 home runs, 56 RBI and 66 runs scored with a .965 fielding percentage at short. He was named to the ABCA All-South Region First Team, as well as All-America nods from Collegiate Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the American Baseball Coaches Association and College Sports Madness. He was also a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award and a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.
In his final season at Tech, Bosheers posted 20 doubles, 43 RBI, nine home runs, 69 hits, 50 runs and a .337 batting average before being selected in the 15th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.
CODY DODD (Volleyball | 2012-15)
One of the best to ever suit up for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team, Cody Dodd put up impressive numbers as she totaled 1,261 kills in her career with 776 digs, 284 blocks and 128 service aces.
In her final campaign, en route to her selection as the 2016 Tennessee Tech Female Athlete of the Year, she led the Ohio Valley Conference in kills with 515 – the third-most in a single season in the rally scoring era; 52 service aces – the second-most in a single season in the rally scoring era; and 607 points – the third-most in a single season in the rally scoring era.
Nationally, that season, Dodd ranked 17th in kills and 10th in service aces and points in the NCAA.
That year, she was also one of 36 athletes selected to participate in the U.S. Collegiate National Team program that trained and competed with the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships in June.
Dodd was also named the 2015 winner of the Katherine Brown Female Athlete of the Year Award, presented by the Cookeville Sports Council.
In her career, the Cookeville native was twice named All-Ohio Valley Conference, was a six-time OVC Offensive Player of the Week selection and was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team in 2015.
Her name is all over the Tennessee Tech volleyball record book. In her career, she ranks seventh in kills (1,261), ninth in attacks (3,462), eighth in service aces (128), 10th in service aces per set (0.30), 11th in points (1,546) and 10th in points per set (3.62).
ROGER EALEY (Broadcaster | 1985-2025)
A career that spanned five different decades, Roger Ealey's name and voice resonated throughout the Upper Cumberland for generations as the Voice of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.
A Tech tenure on the airwaves that started in late 1980s as a color commentator alongside veteran voice Gene Davidson, Ealey soon after took the reins as play-by-play broadcaster for TTU women's basketball before eventually taking over all play-by-play duties.
Ealey's run of greatness included covering Tennessee Tech sports for close to 40 years, describing the action of nearly every Golden Eagle football game as well as just about all of the men's and women's basketball contests throughout his career. His time at Tech also consisted of broadcasting several baseball, softball and volleyball games where he routinely depicted those program's competing in postseason settings.
Ealey's contributions inside the arena of Tennessee Tech Athletics reverberated throughout the Ohio Valley Conference as Ealey was named the winner of the prestigious 2012-13 OVC Media Award, given to a media member who exhibits the highest commitment to covering the conference. He went on to broadcast Golden Eagle games for another dozen years before his retirement in 2025.
Ealey's talent and presence earned him the opportunity to call play-by-play for several TSSAA State Championship football games on the statewide radio and television network. In addition to his time broadcasting within the high-school ranks around the area, Ealey was an on-air fixture for half a century in the Upper Cumberland.
MISTY GARRETT (Women's Basketball | 1998-2002)
A four-year starter for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team, Misty Garrett was part of one of the most successful eras for the program, providing the glue as point guard of a Tech team that won an Ohio Valley Conference championship every season she played, earning regular-season titles in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 and OVC Tournament championships in 1999 and 2000, as well as NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000.
While she wasn't a scorer – finishing her career with 619 points, an average of 5.1 per game and with a career-high of 19 during the 2000-01 campaign -- she made up for it in other ways, setting the program's junior record for assists with 209 in the 2000-01 season and tied Shawn Monday for the sophomore record with 178.
She didn't have to score though, she was on the same teams as Hall of Famers Diane Seng, Janet Holt and Allison Clark. Garrett set them up, they knocked the shots down. Garrett has three games among the program's top 10 in assists as she recorded 14 twice against Southeast Missouri and UT Martin in 2001 and 13 against Eastern Illinois in 2000.
In the career record book, Garrett ranks second in total assists with 665 – eclipsed only by Hall of Famer Shawn Monday Smith – and third in assists per game at 5.5, behind Monday (6.8) and Anita Myers (5.6). Garrett also ranks 15th in steals with 148, 17th in steals per game with 1.2 and 20th in rebounds with 584.
Garrett was a second-team All-OVC selection in 2000-01 and was on the all-tournament team in 2001. She also earned the team's prestigious Frank Porter Award for the 2001-02 season.
KIM SPANGLER KLEIN (Women's Golf | 1997-2001)
A key cog in the most prolific era in Tennessee Tech women's golf history, Kim Spangler Klein helped the Golden Eagles capture back-to-back OVC championships (1999-00 and 2000-01) during her four-year career from 1997-2001. Over the course of her career, Spangler tallied a total of 10 all-tournament nods and helped the Golden Eagles win 14 tournament championships in four seasons, the most tourney titles during a four-year span in program history.
It did not take long for her to leave her mark on the Tech program, earning medalist honors in her first collegiate event, the Tennessee Tech Classic. The sudden-death playoff victory led her to become not only the first Tech freshman to win medalist honors, but also the first Golden Eagle to win a 36-hole event.
Spangler was especially crucial to the first of Tech's back-to-back titles, earning both an All-OVC nod and the 2000 Ohio Valley Conference Golfer of the Year award after claiming medalist honors at the OVC Championships. She was also named to the inaugural 2001 OVC All-Tournament team after helping Hall of Fame coach Bobby Nichols to his second straight title.
She claimed six all-tournament honors in 12 events her senior season, helping the Tech program to a 119-21-5 win-loss record. She received medalist honors at the Tech Lady Classic for the third time in her career, a mark that still sits in a tie for second with her former teammate and Hall of Famer, Kylie Crouch.
After her impressive breakthrough in the 2000 OVC Championships, Bobby Nichols honored Spangler with the team's Most Improved award. She also took home Team co-MVP honors in 2001, sharing the award with Cherry Bevis and Crouch.
With Spangler also serving as co-captain in 2001, the Golden Eagles tied the program record (which was set during the 1999-00 season) with five tournament championships. Spangler earned all-tournament nods in six of the team's 10 tournament victories over her final two seasons.
HOWARD STIDHAM (Football | 1972-75)
Coming in to fill the shoes of legendary Tech linebackers Mike Hennigan and Jim Youngblood was no easy task. Howard Stidham made the best of it, though.
As he completed his Tennessee Tech career, Stidham, a Radcliff, Ky., native stood among some of the best tacklers in the program. In the 1974 campaign, Stidham had 132 tackles – then the fourth-best total in single-season history and still stands eighth today. He followed that up with 108 during the Golden Eagles' Ohio Valley Conference championship run in 1975.
A first-team All-OVC selection in 1975, he was also selected as an honorable mention All-America pick by the Associated Press, then drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 15th round of the 1976 NFL Draft.
He was a member of the 1972 team as a freshman, then claimed another OVC title with the 1975. Stidham was also selected to the Tech Football 100th Anniversary Team.
He finished his Tech career with 323 total tackles, which would have been third overall in program history at the time, trailing only Youngblood (476 from 1969-72) and Tony Plavich (364 from 1972-75).
Nominations for the 2027 induction class are now underway through June 30. To nominate for the 2027 Hall of Fame class, visit here.
