Meet the Parkland College Athletics 2019 Hall of Fame Class
Bailey, Hawkins, Munch, Neaville, Robinson, Sykes
Parkland College will induct six new members to its Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, January 25, during halftime of the Cobras men's basketball game at 3 p.m. central time. The Hall of Fame Class includes five NJCAA All-Americans and were members of four teams that reached the NJCAA National Tournament.
Dating back to the inaugural class of 2007, the Parkland Hall of Fame now has 86 inductees that range from players, team, coaches and administrators. To see the full list of Hall of Famers, click here.
Will Bailey, '95 Men's Basketball
Will Bailey played for the Men's basketball team during the '94-'95 season. During his first season, Will helped lead Parkland to a #1 ranking and to the NJCAA National tournament. During the '95 season, Will averaged 18 points per game, led the country in assists, and was 1st Team All-Conference.
Following his time at Parkland College, Will played for the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he led his team in assists and helped the Blazers to the NIT, where he was UAB's top defensive player of that season. He earned his Bachelors in Criminal Justice and became a Graduate Assistant Coach for UAB from 1999-2001 where he was part of the '99 appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Bailey went on to coach at Maine, Chicago State, and seven seasons as assistant coach of East Tennessee State University, helping the Buccaneers earn 6 conference titles, 3 NCAA Tournament berths and an NIT appearance. Following his time at ETSU, Will coached at La Salle University where he helped them reach an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and was ranked 4th in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage thanks to Will's instruction.
Coach Will Bailey is now at St. Louis University where he has helped the Billikens move from last to first place. During last year's season, they won the Atlantic 10 Championship and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Neeley Hawkins, '05 Softball
Neeley (Hupp) Hawkins played for the Cobra softball team during the '04-'05 season. During her first season, Neeley and the team finished 5th in the NJCAA National Tournament. During the '05 season, Neeley was a critical member of the NJCAA National Runner-Up team which. Neeley was named NJCAA 2nd Team All American and was part of the 2005 Parkland Softball team induction into the Class of 2012 Parkland Hall of Fame.
Following her two years at Parkland, Neeley transitioned to Eastern Illinois University where she earned a B.S. in Family Services in 2007. Post-graduation, she spent several years working in health care and real estate before shifting her focus to raising two daughters, Elynn and Ivy. Neeley currently lives in Findley, OH with her husband and two daughters and enjoys watching both of her girls pursue their own achievements.
Devon Munch, '08 Men's Soccer
Devon played for the Parkland College men's soccer team during the '07-'08 seasons. During his two seasons, he played in 40 games with a starting role at center defense. He scored 3 goals and had 7 assists for a Parkland career total of 10 points.
During the '08 season, Devon helped lead the Cobras to a 17-1-2 record finishing the season ranked 13th in the NJCAA Division 1 rankings, a first for Cobra men's soccer. He became the first ever men's soccer player to receive NJCAA All-American recognition. He was also awarded First Team All-Region 24, Region 24 Defender of the Year, and First Team All-MWAC.
Following Parkland, Devon continued his education in Ontario studying Criminal Justice. After graduated, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces, served 3 years as an infantryman in the Royal Canadian Regiment, 1st Battalion. He now resides in his hometown of Pickering, Ontario, Canada where he works as a Special Operations Response Team member for the City of Toronto.
Matt Neaville, '06 Men's Basketball
Matt Neaville played for the men's basketball team during the '05 and '06 seasons, and was Freshman and Conference Play of the year in the '05 season. During his '06 season, Matt averaged 26.2 points per game, ranking 4th in the country for scoring, and had a 90% shooting average from the free throw line, ranking 2nd in the country. He set the NJCAA record for most three-pointers in one game with 17, and clenched the highest scoring record for Parkland College after scoring 58 points in a single game. He was NJCAA 3rd team All-American, and is proud to still own the scoring record for Parkland.
After earning his Associates Degree in General Studies from Parkland, Matt earned a basketball scholarship at Union University in Jackson, TN. During his first season at Union University, Matt averaged 24.3 points per game and 153 three-pointers, leading the NAIA in scoring, and set the record for three-pointers at Union University. Matt was named NAIA 3rd team All-American and Transouth Newcomer of the Year. During the '09 season, Matt averaged 19 points per game, was named Transouth Play of the Year, NAIA First team All-American, led Union University to a regular season championship and Transouth Conference Championship, and graduated with his Bachelors in Sports Management and Marketing.
After graduation, Matt went on to play professional basketball in the NBA Pro Am, Mexico, IBA, NBA D-league Pre-Draft Camp, WMPBA, and the CBA. He retired in 2013, and now owns the Neaville Basketball Academy and teaches Physical Education at Urbana High School and has a 9 year old son named Jaden.
Rachel Robinson, '07 Volleyball
Rachel played for the Parkland College volleyball team during the '06-'07 seasons. In her first season, Rachel played 65 sets, had 126 kills, 17 digs and 51 blocks. During the '07 season, she played 150 sets, had 377 kills, 108 digs and 153 blocks. She was named Parkland Female Athlete of the Year, MWCAC Play of the Year, 2nd Team All-American, 1st Team All-Conference, and Academic All-American.
After Parkland, Rachel played Division 1 volleyball for the University of Evansville as a middle blocker from '08-'10. Rachel graduated Cum Laude with her B.S. in Business Administration, and currently lives in Boise, ID with her two dogs working as a packaging consultant for Container and Packaging. She spends her time being active, collecting antiques, and exploring the west.
Jennifer Sykes, '09 Volleyball
Jennifer played volleyball for the Parkland Cobras during the '08-'09 seasons. During the '09 season she played in 143 sets, had 1451 assists, and 10.15 assists/set. Her other accolades during the '09 season including being named first team All-American, MWAC Player of the Year, All Region Team, First Team All-Tournament at the NJCAA national tournament, and National All-American Scholar Athlete.
Jennifer went on to play volleyball at Bradley University during the 2010 season where she had 250 assists, 6.94 assists/set, and 1.9 digs/set.
Jennifer graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a B.S. in Biology, then went on to Palmer College of Chiropractic and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2018 as a Doctor of Chiropractic, and is practicing in Racine, WI.