Buffalo, NY - The Canisius Athletic Department and the university's Office of Alumni Engagement welcomed its 59th class into the Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, September 27, during the inaugural Griff Weekend. This year's inductees include Amanda (Cavo) Bevilacqua '09 – women's basketball, Caren Jachimiak '80 – women's basketball and volleyball, – baseball, Samantha Good '13, MS '16 – volleyball, Josh Heidinger '10 – hockey, Megan Oosting '12, MS '14 – women's lacrosse, Kelly Reinwald '12 – women's soccer and the 1993-96 men's basketball teams have been selected as the 59th induction class to the Canisius University Sports Hall of Fame.
Additionally, Canisius graduate and long-time athletic department supporter John A. Christiano '57 was presented with the Rev. Paul J. Dugan, S.J., '45 Award, an honor that recognizes individuals for their significant contributions to Canisius athletics.
To be eligible for the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame, a former student-athlete must have completed his/her eligibility at least 10 years prior to induction, be a graduate of the University, been acclaimed as an undergraduate as one of the outstanding athletes in the history of the school and, since graduation, the student-athletes' life must have continued to reflect favorably on the University. Non-athletes may be inducted if they have made outstanding contributions to Canisius University athletics.
The Canisius Sports Hall of Fame, which began in 1963, now boasts 215 individual members with the addition of this year's group.
Amanda (Cavo) Bevilacqua '09 – One of the best 3-point shooters in MAAC women's basketball history, (Cavo) Bevilacqua is the 17th former women's basketball player to be inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. A four-year letterwinner from 2005-09, (Cavo) Bevilacqua made 267 career 3-pointers in her 122 games as a Golden Griffin, a number which ranks first all-time in the Canisius women's basketball record book and places her second all-time in MAAC history following the 2023-24 season. One of 23 1,000-career point scorers in Canisius' history, the New Hartford, N.Y., native scored 1,329 career points during her time in Blue and Gold, which ranks 10th all-time.
One of four women's basketball players in Canisius history to make seven 3-pointers in a game, (Cavo) Bevilacqua was a two-time All-MAAC Third-Team selection (2007-08 and 2008-09) and she is one of four players in program history to be recognized as the MAAC Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year, an award she won following the 2005-06 campaign. A two-time team captain and a three-time MAAC All-Academic Team honoree, (Cavo) Bevilacqua started all 33 games in 2008-09, where her 10.1 points per game scoring average ranked third on the team that went 24-9 overall and earned the program's first appearance in the WNIT.
Caren Jachimiak '80 – A former two-sport student-athlete at Canisius, Jachimiak is this Hall of Fame class's honoree off the "veteran's ballot" which is reserved for former student-athletes and coaches that graduated more than 20 years ago. A four-year varsity letterwinner for the Canisius women's basketball team from 1976-80, Jachimiak still holds the program record for rebounds per game at 18.1, which she set during the 1976-77 campaign. She also holds two of the program's top-10 single-season scoring average records as well, after she posted 22.2 points per game in 1976-77 and 19.8 points per game in 1975-76.
The first Canisius women's basketball player to score more than 30 points in a game, she is also the only player in school history to record 30-or more rebounds in a game after she pulled down 34 boards in a game during the 1976-77 season. Jachimak also earned two varsity letters as a member of the Canisius volleyball program, as she was a part of that program for the 1977 and 1978 seasons.
Sean Jamieson '11 – The 2011 MAAC Player of the Year, and a two-time All-MAAC First Team selection, Jamieson is the 27th former member of the baseball program to be voted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame. Jamieson hit .361 for his two-year career on Main Street, where he wore the Blue and Gold in 2010 and 2011, and he was also recognized as a two-time Canadian Baseball Network All-Canadian Team selection. The only player to score 60-or more runs in back-to-back seasons, Jamieson set the school record for runs batted in (nine) and total bases (14) in a game against Morehead State on March 22, 2011.
One of 25 college shortstops to be named to the Brooks Wallace Award List in 2011 (the only player in school history to earn that distinction), Jamieson was drafted by the Oakland A's in the 17th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. The first Canisius male student-athlete to be voted the MAAC Male Student-Athlete of the Year after the 2010-11 academic year, Jamieson was also honored for his work in the classroom, as he was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American following his senior campaign.
Samantha Good '13, MS '16 – The first Canisius volleyball player to earn All-MAAC honors in four consecutive years, Good is the sixth former volleyball player to be enshrined into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. A four-year varsity letterwinner from 2009-12, Good was named to the All-MAAC First Team two times (2010 and 2012) and to the All-MAAC Second Team following the 2009 and 2011 campaigns. In 2010, the Rochester, N.Y., native led the MAAC with 348 kills and a .326 attack percentage en route to becoming the first player in school to be recognized as the MAAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Year.
Good never missed a set in her four-year career as a Griff, and she ranks second in program history with 442 career sets played. One of two players in program history to earn Preseason All-MAAC honors on three occasions, Good ranks fifth in school history with her 1,176 career kills, fifth in career attack percentage (.298) and second in career block assists with 336. The only player in school history to lead the team in blocks in four straight seasons, Good helped lead the Blue and Gold to a 13-5 record in MAAC play in 2012, with those 12 wins serving as the most league victories for the volleyball program in a single season in program history.
Josh Heidinger '10 – A four-year letterwinner who played 141 career games for the Griffs, Heidinger is the 13th former hockey player to be inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. Heidinger collected 132 career points during his playing career which spanned from 2006-10, a number that ranks fourth in the program's Division I history. The Griffs' Division I era record holder with 95 career assists (fourth in program history overall), Heidinger shares both the Division I program record for assists in a season by a freshman (26) and assists in a game with four helpers against AIC on Feb. 21, 2010.
A 2006-07 Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team selection, Heidinger led Canisius in scoring in 2006-07 after he posted eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points. The owner of 12 career power-play goals, Heidinger closed out his rookie campaign on Main Street by being voted the 2006-07 Canisius Male Rookie of the Year.
Megan Oosting '12, MS '14 – A three-time All-MAAC First Team honoree, Oosting is the fifth former women's lacrosse player in school history to be voted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. A four-year letterwinner for the Blue and Gold from 2009-12, Oosting graduated from the program as the school's career leader in goals scored (154) and draw controls (201). Her 188 career points on 154 goals and 34 assists ranks eighth all-time in the program's record book.
Oosting is one of four players in school history to score 55-or more goals in a single season, tallying 58 during her senior season. The 2012 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Midfielder of the Year, Oosting also garnered IWLCA All-West/Midwest Region Second Team accolades, making her the second player in the program's history to receive regional All-America distinction. During the 2012 campaign, she was honored as the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week one time and the league's Defensive Player of the Week twice, making her the first player in school history to win both the MAAC's top offensive and defensive player of the week awards in the same season.
Kelly Reinwald '12 – The only four-time All-MAAC First Team selection in program history and the school's only player to win multiple all-region honors, Reinwald is the fourth former women's soccer player in school history to be voted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame. A four-year letterwinner from 2008-11, Reinwald is the program's all-time leader in points (107) and assists (35).
Reinwald scored 36 goals in 79 games as a Griff, which ranks third in the program's record book. The 2010 MAAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, Reinwald scored 34 points during her junior season after registering 11 goals and 12 assists in 21 games. That season, Canisius went 14-7 overall and 7-2 in MAAC play before advancing to the 2010 MAAC Women's Soccer Championship game, just the second league championship appearance in program history. In the classroom, she was a three-time MAAC All-Academic honoree and earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors on two different occasions.
The men's basketball teams from 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96 will be inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame as one group in the team category. In those three years, under the direction of Canisius Hall of Fame coach John Beilein, the Griffs won 62 total games and 29 MAAC regular-season games, marking the best three-year stretch in program history. The 1993-94 edition of the Griffs went 22-7 overall and 12-2 in MAAC play en route to the team's first MAAC regular-season conference championship. In that season, which culminated with the team's first berth into the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in nine years, the Griffs won 16-straight games from Jan. 15 through March 5, the longest win streak in program history. The following season (1994-95), Beilein's third year at the helm of the team, Canisius won 21 games, highlighted by a comeback road win over nationally-ranked Cincinnati, and a second-straight berth into the NIT.
In the 1995 NIT, Canisius defeated Seton Hall in the opening round before going on the road and beating Bradley, 55-53. In the tournament's quarterfinal round, the Griffs secured a trip to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden by defeating Washington State 89-80 in front of 8,883 fans in The Aud. Canisius' run in the NIT ended in the semifinal round when the team lost to Virginia Tech, 71-59, on March 27, 1995.
The 1995-96 Griffs won 19 games, but went just 7-7 in MAAC regular season play. As the No. 4 seed in the 1996 MAAC Men's Basketball Championship at Marine Midland Arena (now KeyBank Center), the Griffs ripped off three wins in three days, highlighted by the Blue and Gold's 52-46 win over Fairfield in the championship game, to secure the program's first, and only, MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament title. That win allowed Canisius to appear in the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, the program's first NCAA berth in 39 years. There, the Blue and Gold lost to Utah in the first round by a final score of 72-43.
Including Beilein, five of the 26 players that appeared on a Griffs roster between 1993-94 through 1995-96, have already been inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. Those previously enshrined are Darrell Barley '96, Dana "Binky" Johnson '94, Micheal Meeks '96, Javone "Bam" Moore '97 and Craig Wise '96.
John A. Christiano '57 – An ardent supporter of the Golden Griffins for over 70 years, John A. Christiano is this year's recipient of the Rev. Paul J. Dugan, S.J., '45 Award, presented annually to individuals whose acts or efforts have significantly benefited Canisius athletics.
Christiano, a longtime basketball and hockey season ticket holder, is a fixture at Canisius sporting and fundraising events. A lifelong donor, Christiano continues to give back to the Canisius community with his generous philanthropy. He played a key role in helping the hockey program build its state-of-the-art locker room inside LECOM Harborcenter. Mr. Christiano's family ties to Canisius run deep as well, as sons, Jon '80, and Michael '83 and daughter, Lisa '86, also earned their undergraduate degrees from the University.
