STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Athletics' 2027 Hall of Fame class will be inducted on April 10, on campus at Tarleton State University in Stephenville. Six new members are being inducted into the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame; Texan Women Basketball's Shelby Adamson, Texan Baseball's Bryan Conger, Texan Women's Tennis' Lance Drake, Texan supporter Mark McKenzie, Texan Volleyball and Track and Field's Nikki McNorton, and Texan Football's Melvin Modesty.
 
This class will become the 195th, 196th, 197th, 198th, 199th and 200th members of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
"I want to congratulate all of our incoming Tarleton State Athletic Hall of Fame members, who we had the pleasure of announcing their induction at our Legends Game at football earlier this season," Vice President and Director of Athletics Steve Uryasz said. "The Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame is a very exclusive and prestigious club to be a part of. There have been so many elite student-athletes, coaches and more to don the Purple and White, and these six have been recognized as being the best of the best. Congratulations to Shelby, Bryan, Lance, Mark, Nikki and Melvin for your upcoming induction, and thank you to all for representing Tarleton State well."
 
Adamson will become the 195th member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, one of the best players in Texan Women's Basketball history. Adamson will become the 19th women's basketball player to enter as an individual, and the 20th overall member.
 
Adamson played four seasons at Tarleton State form 2008-12, helping the Texans go 87-33 (.725) overall with a 46-12 LSC record, making the NCAA Tournament three times. Adamson and the Texans won two LSC championships and an LSC Tournament Championship. She is second on the program's all-time assist list at 463, third in career steals at 256, and sixth in points at 1,544. She owns the program record for career free throw makes (587) and had the most in a single-season by a Texan at 212 in 2010-11.

Adamson's top individual accolades included being named D2CCA First Team All-Region (2011-12), D2CCA Second Team All-Region (2010-11), twice the LSC Academic Player of the Year (2010-11, 2011-12), twice First Team All-LSC (2010-11, 2011-12), Second Team All-LSC (2009-10), All-LSC Honorable Mention (2008-09), LSC Defensive Player of the Year (2009-10), LSC Freshman of the Year (2008-09), and an LSC Scholar Athlete (2011-12).
 
Conger will become the 196th member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, one of the best head coaches in Tarleton State Baseball's history. He will be the 19th member in the Hall of Fame from the baseball program, the 10th coach overall, and the third baseball coach (Jack Allen, Cecil Ballow). He also played for the Texans, as well, as a right-handed pitcher from 1993-95.
 
 
Conger was the first coach in the program's modern era to lead the Texans to an outright Lone Star Conference Championship. He spent 10 seasons as the head coach of Texan Baseball from 2009-19 and enjoyed three championship seasons in his last six years. He was also part of four of Tarleton State's NCAA Regional Tournament appearances, leading three as the
head coach. He ended his coaching career with 288 career wins, which is second only to Hall of Fame Coach Jack Allen for the most in program history.
 
Tarleton State made its debut in the national poll for the first time under Conger with a No. 15 ranking by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on March 7, 2011. The 2017 Texans matched that record high ranking by moving back to No. 15 in March of their season.
 
Drake will become the 197th member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, the winningest head coach in Texan Women's Tennis' history. He will be the fourth member in the Hall of Fame from the women's tennis program, and the 11th coach overall.
 
Drake was at the helm of the Texans from 2000-19. Prior to his arrival in August 2000, the team had an under .500 overall record as a senior college, but the tide would turn under Drake's leadership. He led Tarleton State to 11 NCAA regional tournaments since 2003, including the program's only Elite Eight appearance in 2006. Drake has coached four different players to the Lone Star Conference Player of the Year award, as well as six LSC Sportsmanship Players of the Year and several Wilson/ITA Central Region Championships, ITA South Central Region Most Improved awards, ITA Rookies of the Year, Academic All-LSC selections, LSC Freshmen of the Year, Academic All-Americans, and the Division II ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award winners for the Central Region.
 
In addition to his reputation of boasting elite talent on the court, Drake's players earned the reputation of getting the job done in the classroom. During his tenure, nine of his teams received the ITA Academic All-America Team Award after finishing the season with an overall team grade point average of at least 3.20. Eight players earned academic All-America recognition and more than 50 were academic all-conference honorees. He also had over 30 players named to the ITA All-Academic team.
 
McKenzie will become the 198th member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, one of the best supporters of Texan Athletics in recent memory.
 
Over the last decade, few individuals have had a greater impact on Tarleton State Athletics through support, generosity, and vision. McKenzie has consistently invested in initiatives that elevate both the student-athlete and fan experience. His contributions have helped make possible numerous projects and traditions across the department, including support of the Plowboy Shootout, championship rings for Tarleton State Football, and countless other promotions designed to create memorable experiences for Tarleton State fans. Through NIL support and direct giving, he has championed opportunities across a wide range of programs. His commitment, generosity, and belief in Tarleton State Athletics have helped provide stability and momentum during one of the most transformational periods in program history—the transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I.
 
McNorton will become the 199th member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, entering as a two-sport athlete, a star for both the volleyball and track and field teams. McNorton will enter the HOF as the 10th volleyball player and the 34th track and field individual, 37th track and field member overall.
 
For Texan Volleyball, McNorton was a Daktronics Second Team All-American in 2012, the LSC Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, twice First Team LSC (2011, 2012), twice making the LSC Championship All-Tournament Team (2011, 2012), and four times the LSC Defensive Player of the Week. McNorton is sixth on program's all-time hit percentage list (.286), and sixth on the program's all-time blocks list (360), one of nine players all-time in the 300-block club. Single-season marks include playing the tied-most sets (137) and posting the second most total blocks (196). She led the team in kills in 2012 at 325 and led team in blocks in both 2011 (196) and 2012 (164).
 
For Texan Track and Field, McNorton was a two-time All-American. She won the high jump at the LSC meet for the second consecutive year clearing 1.72m. She qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in the high jump and the 100m hurdles, finishing 19th in the nation in the hurdles running 14.07 and captured her second All-American status in the high jump finishing sixth with a season best jump of 1.75m. McNorton recorded four top-three finishes in the high jump, three being first place, along with three provisional marks. She also recorded six top-three finishes in the 100m hurdles. McNorton was a bronze medal winner at the 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship Meet in the high jump. She also earned all-region and all-conference honors.
 
Modesty will become the 200th member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, one of the best tight ends in Texan Football history. He is the 76th football player to enter as an individual, and the 79th football member altogether.
 
Modesty was the Higgs MVP winner in 1986, leading the team in receiving that year with 528 yards on 25 receptions with three touchdowns. He made the All-Conference team three times from 1984-1986, twice TIAA First Team and once TIAA Second Team. He played in 32 career games, recording 1,014 receiving yards, seven touchdowns, and 50 receptions.
 
Modesty was part of the 1986 Texan Football Team that was inducted into the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022. Academically, Modesty was an Academic All-American in 1986, and made Academic All-Conference three times.
 
Ticket information for the April 10 Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be announced in 2027.