Tasha Gales (Women's Basketball: 1999-2003)

Teams had to literally adjust their game plans to try to stop former Morehead State star Tasha Gales. A member of the Eagle women’s basketball program from 1999-03, the Columbus, Ohio native finished as one of the top scorers, rebounders and shot blockers in program history.
 
Gales scored 1,602 points as an Eagle, good enough for fourth in program history at the conclusion of her career. That still ranks sixth. She also corralled 822 career rebounds, which still ranks ninth in program history.
 
The 6-2 center also had a knack for turning opponent shots away. She ranks third in career blocked shots at MSU with 205, with her figure being the school career record when she finished in 2002-03. In addition, Gales still ranks sixth in most field goals made (645) and eighth in free throws made (301).
 
After sitting out as a redshirt in 1998-99, Gales’ first season produced 16.7 points and 9.1 rebounds. She also led the team as a redshirt junior in 2001-02 with 16.9 points and 7.0 rebounds. She helped lead the Eagles to a 21-win season and a 16-win campaign her final two seasons.
 
Gales earned First-Team All-OVC in 2001-02 and was Honorable Mention All-OVC her other three seasons.
 
Gales signed with MSU in 1997 after being ranked as one of the top 100 recruits in the nation out of Columbus’ Whetstone High School.

Off the court, Gales’ story is just as meaningful as her accomplishments. She came to Morehead State alongside her high school sweetheart, Rick Thompson, and their relationship remained a steady part of her journey as a student-athlete. The two later married in 2005, and welcomed their son, Xzavier in 2008. Tragically, Gales passed away in 2011, but her legacy continues to live on through her family and the countless people she impacted throughout her life.

Though she is no longer with us, her influence remains deeply felt, and she is being honored posthumously for the remarkable legacy she left on Morehead State Women’s Basketball.

Brian Hutchinson (Director of Athletics/Administration: 1999-2019)

As a student leader and as Morehead State Athletics’ long-time leader, Brian Hutchinson left a lasting legacy and made a profound impact on the direction of Eagle athletics. He served as the department’s director of athletics from 2004-19.

Under Hutchinson’s guidance, Eagle teams won 23 conference championships. He also helped spearhead improvements in a wide range of other areas, including fundraising, facility improvements, academic progress, increased budgets and targeted marketing and branding campaigns.

In 2012, the athletic department took a monumental step forward in serving the academic needs of its student-athletes. With Hutchinson’s vision, the former wellness center was converted into the 7,000-square foot EAGLE Center (Eagle Athletics Guided Learning and Enhancement). The facility includes more than 40 computer stations, learning labs and tutoring areas.

In conjunction with the EAGLE Center and its staff, Morehead State Athletics received an NCAA pilot-program grant for accelerating academic success to bring MSU up to fully-funded status for the grant. Under Hutchinson’s leadership tenure, 14 student-athletes earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (now College Sports Communicators) and 25 additional were named academic all-district. In addition, Morehead State earned the Ohio Valley Conference Institutional Academic Achievement Award seven times in Hutchinson’s time and nearly every program won a conference or respective coaches association team academic honor.

During his tenure, MSU teams or individuals made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, including two victories by the men’s basketball program (2009 and 2011). Soccer advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times (2008, 2010 and 2013), while volleyball qualified twice (2011 and 2013). Women’s golf, which Hutchinson helped re-establish as a program in 2007 after a 24-year hiatus, participated in an NCAA regional in 2011 and baseball was in an NCAA regional after the 2015 and 2018 seasons. Soccer's appearance in 2008 was MSU's first team appearance for any sport in NCAA postseason play since the 1983-84 season.

In addition to winning the two OVC Tournament titles, the volleyball program claimed six OVC regular-season titles in Hutchinson’s time and was 67-3 in conference play from 2011-13. The football program also claimed Pioneer League South Division titles in 2004 and 2005, and the Morehead State cheer program won 21 of its national championships with Hutchinson leading the department.

More than 60 individuals won a major postseason award from the OVC or PFL (i.e. Player of the Year, Coach of the Year) and more than 300 were named to an all-conference team.

Hutchinson was also extremely active with the NCAA, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and OVC leadership teams throughout his tenure. He served on the NCAA Division I Council, where he was the inaugural OVC representative, and the Competition Oversight Standing Committee. He represented the Pioneer Football League as a member of the Division I Football Championship Committee and the Football Championship Subdivision Central Regional Advisory Committee and served as chair of the championship committee during the 2016-17 season. He also served on the Division I Football Issues Committee (2013-14), the Division I Recruiting and Personnel Issues Committee (2008-11), the FCS Governance Committee (2006-08), the FCS Division I Football Issues Committee (2006-08). Hutchinson served as president of the NACDA FCS Athletic Directors Association in 2013-14 and was a member of the FCS Athletic Directors Association Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Academic All-Star Team Selection Committee. Among his professional opportunities with the OVC and PFL, he served on the Board of Directors of Athletics, was the chair of the OVC board in 2006-07 and the PFL board in 2007-08 and served as OVC chair again in 2015-16.

Hutchinson was also instrumental in major facility projects. Fundraising was completed in 2018 to construct the Rex Chaney Golf Practice Pavilion and a new film study lab for men’s and women’s basketball in the Academic-Athletic Center. Hutchinson was instrumental in the purchase and implementation of two Daktronics video boards in Johnson Arena. The project also paved the way for a full-time video coordinator position and streaming of more than 75 events per year on the Ohio Valley Conference Digital Network and now ESPN+. Significant improvements were also made to the primary athletic training facility, the Phil Simms Weight Training facility, the lobby area of Johnson Arena, all locker rooms and coaching staff offices. Hutchinson also oversaw the addition of beach volleyball to the MSU Athletics competition slate and the construction of the beach volleyball competition and practice facility, Giovanni's Breadstick Beach.

Hutchinson was instrumental in leading a new branding strategy for the department. MSUEagles.com, in partnership with Sidearm Sports, consistently ranks as one of the most popular sites among all campus web pages, and Hutchinson launched and helped shape a targeted social media campaign that still continues to exponentially gain new fans, followers and annual donors. The athletics X (Twitter) account currently boasts more than 40,000 followers.

In addition to his athletics leadership role, he chaired the search committee for a new chief of police and director of recreation and wellness. Through his unique position in athletics and with the campus, Hutchinson was heavily involved in the current campus master plan steering team and the information technology infrastructure project steering team. He also served on the President’s Leadership Council. Hutchinson also served one academic year as the Interim Dean of Students and a short stint as the Acting Vice President for Student Life.

Prior to leading as the director of athletics, Hutchinson served as the department’s associate athletic director from 2001-04. He led many of the department’s internal operations and had sport oversight for several programs. Hutchinson also held positions of director of athletic development and marketing (1999-01), director of athletics development for the MSU office of development (1998-99) and regional development officer (1996-98).

A native of Louisa, Ky., Hutchinson earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from MSU in 1996 and received his MA in Education (Recreation and Sports Management) in 2001. He was the president of the student government association and a member of the MSU board of regents during his time as an undergrad. Hutchinson is also a proud member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.

Hutchinson and his wife, Elizabeth, whom he met at MSU in 1993 and is also a two-time MSU alum, have two sons, Benjamin '22 (Sarah '21) and Riley (Lauren). They welcomed their first grandchild, Sophia, in 2025.

Cherelle Lampkins (Volleyball: 2000-2003)

Among the countless superstars and Hall of Fame inductees ever to play for Morehead State volleyball, Cherelle Lampkins is still in a class of her own. Lampkins is still the only player in Morehead State history to record 1,500+ career kills and 2,000+ career digs.
 
The Muncie, Ind., native was the 2003 runner-up for OVC Player of the Year and finished her career fourth all-time in NCAA Division I women's volleyball history with 2,082 digs. That figure also broke both the Morehead State and OVC career records for digs.
 
During Lampkins career, which spanned both the end of Mike Swan’s MSU coaching tenure (1998-02) and the beginning of Dr. Jaime Gordon’s (2003-22), she helped the Eagles win 81 matches and claim the 2003 OVC championship.
 
At the time she finished her career, Lampkins ranked 10th all-time in the OVC and sixth at Morehead State in career kills with 1,585. It’s been more than 20 seasons since she wrapped up her playing time, but Lampkins is still seventh in career kills in the MSU record book. She also still ranks third in single-match total attacks when she produced 80 swings against Oklahoma in 2003.
 
Lampkins had the unique distinction of playing in two different eras in NCAA volleyball. She started her career in 2000 during the original 15-point-per-set or sideout era. In 2001, the NCAA changed to a rally scoring format, first using a 30-point-per-set format from 2001-07 during the final three seasons of Lampkins’ career at Morehead State.
 
In digs, Lampkins still owns three of the top seven single-season dig totals in program history, including her junior campaign in 2002 when she scooped 543 opponent attacks. She is one of only three players in program history to record three 500+ dig seasons, joining Kristina Schoo and Leslie Schellhaas Litmer (inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2023).
 
Lampkins was nationally ranked in digs per game in each of her four years (14th in 2003, eighth in 2002, fifth in 2001 and 26th in 2000), finishing with a 4.59 career average.
 
Lampkins twice earned First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors (2001 and 2003) and was named second-team in 2002. She earned OVC Defensive Player of the Week five times in her career.
 
She was the 2004 Kentucky state winner of the NCAA Woman of the Year award and was a Second-Team Academic All-District recipient in 2003. She earned OVC Commissioner’s Honor three times. Lampkins earned Morehead State Dean's List in six semesters, was selected to Who's Who among Students in America's Universities and Colleges (2003-04) and was nominated for the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
 
Lampkins earned her bachelor’ degree in exercise science from MSU in 2004. She went on to earn her Masters Degree in wellness management from Ball State. After graduate school, Lampkins went on to work for 12 years as a corporate fitness center director and personal trainer for Eli Lilly and Company before transitioning into her current role in sales. She currently works for Fitness & Exercise Solutions, selling commercial fitness equipment to a variety of markets throughout the Midwest and beyond.

Additionally, she works part-time as a coach for Orangetheory Fitness. In 2024, she moved to Hermosa Beach, Calif., where she continues both her sales and coaching careers.


Anthony "Rav" Ravizee Sr. (Football: 1994-1997)

A native of Lynch, Ky., Anthony "Rav" Ravizee, Sr., is one of the most prolific ball carriers in Morehead State football history.
 
He still ranks second in career rushing yards with 2,930 and holds the second-highest single-season rushing total in program history when he toted the ball 210 times for 1218 yards in 1997, while also scoring 13 times.
 
During his sophomore campaign in 1995, he became only the fourth-ever MSU player to gain more than 1,000 rushing yards in a season. He accomplished all these accolades despite only being a running back for three seasons; He played defensive back as a freshman.
 
Ravizee is the only running back in Morehead State program history to achieve multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons and is only the second-ever player to accomplish that feat.
 
His 121.8-yard per game average in 1997 still ranks third on the MSU single-season chart, while his 100.9 average in 1995 is sixth. He was the go-to guy in the Eagles’ offense. Both those seasons, he averaged more than 20 carries per game. He was third in the OVC in rushing yards in 1995, his first season as a running back. Ravizee was top-20 in the country in 1997, for all running backs.
 
When Morehead State discontinued its athletic-based financial aid in the mid 1990s, Ravizee was a main factor in a quick resurgence of the program following two struggling seasons. He helped the Eagles to six wins in 1996 and seven in 1997.

Ravizee returned to Morehead State in the Fall of 2024 to complete his bachelor’s degree. He currently lives in Lexington, Ky., with his wife Jessica and they have four children. He is currently working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, providing oxygen for veterans in the area.


Donte Sawyer (Football: 2000-2003)

During his time as an Eagle from 2009-12, Donte Sawyer was one of the most electrifying and standout wide receivers and kick returners to ever don an Eagle uniform – all this from a guy who didn’t start playing wide receiver until his junior high school season.
 
From Acworth, Ga., Sawyer set the Morehead State career records for catches (199) and yards (2,555), categories he still ranks second in both. He was a two-time First-Team All-Pioneer League selection as well. His quarterback throughout his career, Zach Lewis, was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2024.
 
While he redshirted his first season in 2008, it didn’t take long for Sawyer to become the Eagles’ go-to receiver and among the PFL’s top targets. By his redshirt sophomore campaign in 2010, he piled up 457 yards in the aerial game and had 468 kick return yards in being named Honorable Mention All-PFL.
 
Sawyer’s redshirt junior season saw him set the then-MSU single-season record with 12 touchdown receptions, while he also established the then-career record when he caught his 16^th career TD catch against Butler. Sawyer led the team with 60 catches for 904 yards and had 715 return yards with one touchdown.
 
Sawyer’s final season was his best. In 2012, he hauled in 81 passes for 1,024 yards, both MSU single-season records at the time. He led the Pioneer Football League in receptions per game (7.4) and all-purpose yards (159.0) per contest, while ranking second in receiving yards (93.1) and kick return average (26.2). Sawyer recorded four 100+ yard efforts.
 
Sawyer returned two kicks for scores that season, including an incredible “Music City Miracle”-esque return for a TD in his last-ever MSU game versus Valparaiso.
 
He earned Third-Team Football Championship Subdivision All-American by Beyond Sports College Network (BCSN), First-Team All-PFL honors from College Sports Madness and was the national Player of the Week by BSCN and College Football Performance Awards.
 
Sawyer also was an admirable student at MSU, picking up PFL Honor Roll awards three seasons.