STEPHENVILLE, Texas -- Tarleton State Athletics' 2026 Hall of Fame class will be inducted on May 2, on campus at Tarleton State University in Stephenville. Five new members are being inducted into the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame; Texan Football's Derek Thomas, Dr. Steve Simpson, Texan Track and Field's Euphemia Edem, the late Dr. Ron Newsome, and the 2004-05 Texan Men's Basketball Team.

There are a limited number of tickets on sale for the 2026 Hall of Fame Ceremony, which will be held at the Barry B. Thompson Student Center ballrooms. Tickets for the dinner and ceremony will only be available through Monday, or until the max allotment is reached, whichever comes first. Tickets can be purchased here.
 
Thomas will become the 190th member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, one of the best linebackers in Texan Football history. He is the 75th football player to enter as an individual, and the 78th football member altogether.
 
Thomas shined at linebacker for the Texans for four seasons from 2000-03. He was named an NCAA Division II Second Team All-American in 2003 and a D2 honorable mention All-American in 2002. Thomas was named the Lone Star Conference Linebacker of the Year in 2003, and also First Team All-LSC. Twice he was First Team All-Conference (also 2002), earning three total All-Conference honors. He was twice the team's Defensive MVP, a Cactus Bowl Selection, a team captain and the Buddy Fornes Recipient.
 
Thomas ranks second in program history in career tackles for loss with 65, and had the ninth most tackles for loss in a single season in program history with 24.5 in 2002.
 
Simpson will become the 191st member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, a vital member of Tarleton State athletic training, sports medicine and kinesiology for decades.
 
As of induction, Simpson has been involved with Tarleton State for roughly 40 years, 35 with the athletic department in athletic training. He served as the head athletic trainer for 18 years, Director of Sports Medicine for 32 years, and a Regents Professor since 2019.
 
Simpson has serviced all of Tarleton State's programs for decades, treating numerous Hall of Famers, producing several athletic trainers across the nation, and winning several awards such as the O.A. Grant Excellence in Teaching Award, Barry B. Thompson Service Award, Engaged Faculty Award, Jack and Louise Arthur Teaching Excellence Award, and the NATA Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2009. He has also been inducted into the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame and the Texas State Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Honor. Tarleton State's Kinesiology Lab was named in his honor in 2021.
 
Edem will become the 192nd member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame. She will also become the 33rd track and field individual to enter the Hall of Fame, and the 36th overall.
 
Edem was a national champion for Tarleton State Track and Field, setting the NCAA Division II national record with her leap of 6.56m in the long jump. She became the first female national champion in school history with a then-school, facility, and LSC record leap, breaking a 31-year-old record.
 
Edem also took bronze in the triple jump to help the Texans finish 15th in the NCAA championships. Edem completed the 2015 outdoor season undefeated in the long jump claiming six straight first-place finishes. She also received the David Noble Award as Outstanding Female Field Athlete with a meet-high 28 points at the Lone Star Conference meet, plus received a school record five straight athlete of the week honors from April 1 to April 29 during the outdoor season. Edem became the first Texan athlete in 14 years to win field athlete of the year honors from the Lone Star Conference.
 
Newsome will become the 193rd member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame posthumously.
 
Affectionately known as the "Sports Doctor" and voice of Tarleton State Athletics for 15 years, Newsome spent nearly 30 years at Tarleton State before retiring in 2008 and passing in 2012. Newsome logged thousands of miles traveling with the university's football and basketball teams, and witnessed some of the athletic program's most memorable moments as he provided play-by-play, including Tarleton State's trip to the 2001 NCAA football quarterfinals, plus the 2005 and 2006 Elite Eight basketball tournaments.
 
Through the years, Newsome gave much time and energy to the Texan Club, serving as its executive director and primary fundraiser for several years. "The Sports Doctor" remained connected to the university after his retirement and served as a familiar voice for fans who tuned into both radio and streaming online broadcasts. Newsome also served as defensive coordinator under head coach Bobby Fox with the Texan football squad before teaching in the Department of Health and Physical Education, and in 1988, he was named the athletic director, a role he held until 1993.
 
The 2004-05 Texan Men's Basketball Team will become the 194th member of the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame. This is the eighth team of student-athletes and the first Texan men's basketball team inducted. The other seven teams in are the 1959 Track and Field Sprint Relay team, the 1977 Football team, the 1978 Football team, the 1986 Football team, the 1991 Track and Field Mile Relay team, the 1992 Track and Field Women's 2-Mile Relay Team and the 1992 Women's Basketball team.
 
The 2004-05 Tarleton State Men's Basketball team made the school's first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance in any sport after the men won the NCAA Division II South Central Region Championship. Tarleton State advanced to the Elite Eight in Grand Forks, North Dakota, falling just short of the national championship game. The Texans won the South Central Region Championship, their first ever regional championship. They entered as the seventh seed, but walked away with a championship after beating three straight nationally ranked opponents; No. 11 Central Missouri State in the first round 75-72, No. 19 Pittsburg State in the semifinals in overtime 65-59, and No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce on their home floor in the championship game, 75-70.
 
David Stephens earned All-American accolades, along with South Central Regional First Team, LSC Player of the Year, LSC Defensive Co-Player of the Year, and LSC First Team. LaShon Sheffield was named the South Central Region Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, LSC Newcomer of the Year and LSC Second Team. Cornell Jones was named to the South Central Region All-Tournament Team and an honorable mention on the LSC Team. The Texans went 25-9 overall, earning their fourth-straight 20-win season. They got hot late, winning nine of 10 games to make the Final Four for a truly historic run.
 
Entering the Hall of Fame as part of the 2004-05 team is head coach Lonn Reisman, assistant coaches Chris Reisman and Rodney McConnell, graduate assistant Kris Howell, student assistants Dustin Streitz and Wesley Haynes, athletic trainer Chris Aguilar, and the 13-man roster of Derek Atwood, Nic Gamble, Rich Francis, Chris Johnson, Durrell Johnson, Cornell Jones, Jake McWilliams, Dustin Minter, J.D. Robinson, James Rowland, LaShon Sheffield, David Stephens, and Randall Williams.  
 
For more information on the Tarleton State Athletics Hall of Fame, visit TarletonSports.com/HallOfFame.