Eight Gannon University athletic greats who excelled in eight different sports will be enshrined in January as members of the Gannon University Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

The Class of 2023 will be inducted at an awards banquet on Saturday, January 28, at Gannon's Yehl Alumni Ballroom in the Waldron Campus Center. A reception starts at 5 p.m. followed by dinner.

Tickets are $60. Children are welcome to attend at a cost of $25 for ages 6 to 12. Ages 5 and under are free. Individual tickets, along with tables, may be purchased HERE. Seating is limited to the first 250 registrants.

The price includes admission to the January 28 women's basketball game (1 p.m.) and men's basketball game (3 p.m.) against Edinboro at Highmark Events Center, in addition to the reception and dinner ceremony.

For more information, call Kelly Bommer at 814-871-7926 or send her an email to Bommer001@gannon.edu.

Here's a closer look at the inductees:

Frank Brown, Men's Soccer (1983-86, 1988 graduate): A high-scoring defender, Frank Brown was a key member of several outstanding Gannon soccer teams in the mid-1980s. During his four seasons from 1983-86, he helped the Golden Knights go a combined 68-13-1.

He was an unsung hero on teams that featured Gannon Hall of Famers Gerry van DeMerwe and Rob van Rheenen, who rank first and third, respectively, on Gannon's career points list. However, Brown was an impact player offensively and defensively.

Brown still ranks 12th in Gannon's glorious men's soccer history with 35 career goals and ranks 14th with 78 points. He was also Gannon's most skilled defensive player.

As a junior, he was an integral part of the 1985 Gannon team that went 20-0 during the regular season and reached the NCAA Division II quarterfinals. Coached by Gannon Hall of Famer Rob Russo, the 1985 Gannon team was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.  

Brown served as the team captain his senior year. He was a three-time selection to the Atlantic Region All-Star Team, making that squad in 1984, 1985, and 1986.  He helped the team reach the NCAA playoffs each of those three years.

Brown was also a standout student. He graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting with a 3.65 grade-point average.

He was hired as a Special Agent with the U.S. Treasury Department in 1988 and served more than 30 years before retiring in 2019. He currently works part-time as an Investigator for a Cleveland law firm.

He attended North Olmsted (Ohio) High School where he starred for the soccer team. He was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.

Frank and his wife, Monica, have two sons, Kyle and Logan.

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Samantha "Mani" Brueckner, Women's Soccer (2012-15, 2016 graduate and 2017 Master's degree): Mani Brueckner was the most prolific offensive player in the history of the Gannon women's soccer program.

The 5-foot, 7-inch forward/midfielder holds Gannon career records with 45 assists, 137 points, and 77 matches started. She has 13 more points than any other Gannon player. One of the premier passers and playmakers to wear a Golden Knights uniform, Brueckner had more than twice as many career assists as the next closest Gannon player. She had the top three single-season, assist totals in Gannon history with 13, 13, and 11. She also ranks third with 46 career goals.

Brueckner's senior season was unforgettable. She set Gannon single-season records with 18 goals and 44 points while helping the Golden Knights to a program-record 18 victories.

Brueckner started every game of her college career as the Golden Knights compiled a 50-24-3 record, including an 18-3-0 mark in her senior season.

She received numerous awards during her career. She made five NCAA Division II All-America teams, including two first-team accolades (NSCAA and CCA) as a senior, and she received eight All-Region honors (two each year), seven of which were first-team selections.

Brueckner was the PSAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year after the 2012 season. She was also voted the PSAC Player of the Year in 2013 and 2015, and she was named All-PSAC First Team four times.

Also an outstanding student, the Engineering major was an Academic All-American three times, making the First Team in 2015, the Second Team in 2013, and the Third Team in 2014. She landed spots on the Academic All-District Region First Team in each of those three years.

Brueckner came to Gannon after starring at Mars Area High School in Valencia. She was a two-time All-State player in high school and helped her team to a state championship during her senior season.

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Calvin Graham, Men's basketball (1965-67): Cal Graham was one of the finest forwards to put on a Gannon uniform in the university's glorious basketball history.

He averaged 9.4 rebounds per game in a two-year GU career that spanned 1965-66 and 1966-67. That still ranks him seventh on Gannon's all-time list. (He ranked third when he left Gannon.)

Graham also was a solid scorer who racked up 658 points in his two seasons.

His biggest season came in 1966-67 when he scored 425 points and pulled down 309 rebounds, a total that ranks 11th in Gannon's history. Graham averaged 15.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game that season. Graham compiled those numbers despite being just 6 feet 3 inches. He used his tremendous leaping ability to score and grab rebounds.

Graham was a key member of a the 1965-66 team that went 20-3 and the 1966-67 team that went 18-9.

He had career highs of 30 points against Tennessee State on Dec. 20, 1966, and 22 rebounds against Alliance on Feb. 15, 1967.

Following his college career, Graham spent the 1967-68 season in the American Basketball Association as was a member of the Pittsburgh Pipers.

He is a native of the Bronx in New York and played at Morris High School. He spent two years at Scott's Bluff Junior College in Nebraska, now known as Western Nebraska Community College, before joining Gannon.

He now serves as President and Owner of Graham & Graham Security, a company that he founded in Sewickley in 1996. It has expanded to more than 200 employees in three states.

Calvin and his wife, Brenda, have two daughters, Micah Southwood and Melva Graham, along with three grandchildren.

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Loren Marz, Baseball (1970-73, 1975 graduate): Loren Marz established himself as one of the premier hitters in Gannon history and remains among the single-season leaders in many categories almost 50 years later.

Following his graduation from Gannon, he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers and had a brief minor league career in 1973. Earlier, he was drafted by Washington Senators in the 48th round of the 1969 MLB June Amateur Draft after starring at Cassadaga Valley Central High School in Sinclairville, New York.

Marz was a power-hitting first baseman who owns three of the top 10 batting averages in program history, along with two of the top three slugging percentages.

His slugging percentage of .867 led the nation in 1973 and is still a Gannon record. That same season he led the nation with nine triples, which is also a program record. His slugging percentage of .833 still ranks third among Gannon players all time.

Marz hit .441 or better in a season three times. His batting averages still rank fourth (.488 in 1972), fifth (.485 in 1971), and 10th (.441 in 1973) in program history.

In the 1970s, college teams played fewer games, so Marz was limited to 70 games in his career. As a result, many of his other totals do not register on Gannon's all-time lists because many players now play 150 to 190 games during their careers. He still ranks third with 10 career triples.

He graduated from Gannon with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1975. He later received a Master's degree in Environmental Chemistry from SUNY College at Fredonia.

He worked as an Operational Meteorologist for the National Weather Service before retiring in 2012. He worked as a Certified Consulting Meteorologist until 2020.

Loren and his wife, Sharon, live in Talbott, Tennessee. They have two sons, Brandon and Stephen.

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Niall Frank McGrath, Men's Wrestling (2007-10, 2010 graduate, 2013 MBA): Frank McGrath established himself as one of the finest wrestlers in Gannon history as a talented heavyweight.

He was a two-time All-American (2008-09 and 2009-10) who placed fifth in the NCAA Championships as a junior and claimed seventh as a senior. He was a three-time National Qualifier who finished as the NCAA Regional runner-up as a junior and senior, and took fourth as a sophomore.

McGrath went 80-25 in four seasons, and his .762 winning percentage ranks fifth in Gannon history. His 28-4 record in dual meets gave him a dual winning percentage of .875, which ranks fourth.

His 29 pins tie him for sixth in Gannon history. He had a career-best 15 pins as a junior when he finished 32-8, including a 10-0 dual-meet record. He went 26-6 as a senior, including a 10-1 mark in duals, and had 10 pins.

McGrath's most high-profile victory was a pin in the final match of the 2007 War on the Shore against Mercyhurst, which gave Gannon a memorable 24-23 victory.

Off the mat, McGrath made the 2009-10 Academic All-American First Team and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team, and he received the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award as a senior. He was also a PSAC Scholar-Athlete as a junior and senior.

He graduated from Gannon with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management in 2010 and earned his Master of Business Administration in 2013.

McGrath is married to Stephanie McGrath, and he works as a Mechanical Sourcing Leader for Wabtec. 

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Diana Carolina Munoz Sanchez, Women's Golf (2013-17, 2017 graduate): Known as Diana Munoz during her golf career, she becomes the first Hall of Fame inductee in the history of the Gannon women's golf program.

The Ibague, Colombia, native set many standards for the Golden Knights' program during her four years.

She became Gannon's first-ever PSAC Women's Golfer of the Year as a senior in 2016-17 after she tied her own program record by winning three tournaments during the season. Her highest profile victory came in the PSAC Championships, where she finished with a two-day, 36-hole total of 5-over-par 147 at Hershey Country Club. She won by four strokes.

In the process she led Gannon to its second PSAC team title in her four years with the program. She also helped the Golden Knights win the PSAC Championship as a freshman.

Munoz was a top-10 finisher in the PSAC Championships in each of her four years. She placed 10th as a freshman, ninth as a sophomore, and second as a junior before winning the title as a senior. She was selected as a PSAC All-Star three times, including First Team honors as a junior and senior, and Second Team accolades as a sophomore.

She holds the Gannon program record with seven tournament victories. As a junior, Munoz became the first Gannon woman to become an NCAA Individual Qualifier. She helped the Golden Knights to a team berth as a senior when she averaged 78.6 strokes in 23 rounds.

The Environmental Engineering major was a four-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a four-time winner of the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award. She also was a Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American as a freshman.

Munoz capped her senior year by being named the 2016-17 Gannon Female Senior Student-Athlete of the Year.

She is currently an engineer with Leaaf Environmental in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Diana Rocco, Women's Diving (2008-12, 2012 graduate, 2013 Master's degree): Diana Rocco was a record-setting diver who was a five-time All-American with the Gannon swimming and diving program.

She qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, and reached All-America status five times. In the 2009 Nationals, she placed ninth in one-meter diving and 10th in three-meter diving. In 2010, she finished 13th in one-meter diving. In the 2011 NCAA Championships, she placed 10th in one-meter and 13th in three-meter diving. She qualified again for Nationals as a senior.

More than a decade after her career ended, she still owns the Gannon record for one-meter diving for 10 dives (402.30), three-meter diving for six dives (270.60), and three-meter diving for 11 dives (414.40).

A Physician Assistant major, she was a four-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a three-time Athletic Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award winner. As a junior, she was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America At-Large Third Team and the Capital One Academic All-District II At-Large First Team. As a freshman, she was named a Scholar All-American by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).

She is from Cranberry Township, where she attended Seneca Valley High School and was a three-time team MVP. She qualified for the PIAA Championships three times after recording top-three finishes in the WPIAL three times. 

Rocco earned Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences in 2012 and her Master's in Physician Assistant Studies in 2013.

She is currently a Physician Assistant in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Rocco and her fiancé, Rod Smith, are planning an April 2023 wedding.

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Don R. Sherman Jr., Water Polo, Swimming and Diving Head Coach, Administrator (1996-2018): Don Sherman was a key figure in the history of the GU aquatics programs.

He coached the men's and women's swimming programs for almost a decade, and he started the men's and women's water polo programs and coached both teams for more than a decade. He also served as the Associate Athletic Director for 15 years until his retirement after spending more than two decades with Gannon Athletics.

He coached the men's and women's swimming and diving programs from 1997 to 2005 and led both of those teams to a 10-1 dual record during his final season in 2004-05.

In 2001, Sherman founded the Gannon men's and women's water polo programs. He coached the two teams for a combined 26 seasons – 14 as the women's coach and 12 as the men's coach. He compiled 312 career water polo victories, finishing with 175 wins with the women's team and 137 victories with the men.

Sherman was named Collegiate Water Polo Association Western Division Women's Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2007, and was the CWPA D-II Men's Championship Coach of the Year in 2014 when led the men to a title.

He led the Gannon women's team to a 9-1 record in the CWPA D-II Championships while recording three titles (2004, 2005, 2013). He was the CWPA Division II Women's Eastern Water Polo Championship Coach of the Year in each of those three years.

He served on the CAA Women's Water Polo National Championships Committee and the NCAA Water Polo Rules Committee from 2010-13.

He was previously inducted into the Erie County Aquatics Hall of Fame in 2017.

Sherman became Gannon's Associate Athletic Director in 2004 and served in that role until his retirement in 2018.

A graduate of Erie Technical Memorial High School, Sherman received his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Sports Management from Slippery Rock University.

Don and his wife, Christine, have one son, Cody, two daughters, Cara, and Kimberly Stefaniak (Adam Stefaniak) and one grandchild, Cecilia Stefaniak.