TEMPE, Ariz.--Sun Devil Athletics will welcome seven new members to the Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame during ASU’s football game on September 29 against Oregon State.
Seven former student-athletes from six different sports will make up the 2017 class. Derrick Rodgers (football), Katie Burkhart (softball), Ashley Kelly (gymnastics), Jackie Johnson (track), Desiree Davila-Linden (track & field/cross country), Cain Velasquez (wrestling) and Francisco Sanchez (swimming) will be honored at halftime of the Sun Devils-Beavers game at Sun Devil Stadium.
The Hall of Fame Luncheon will take place on Friday, Sept. 28 at The Pera Club (1 E. Continental Dr., Tempe, AZ 85281) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The luncheon will include a formal ceremony into the SDA Hall of Fame by the ASU Athletic Heritage Committee. Tickets are $50 per person or $500 for a table of 10. Register for the luncheon at https://sundevilclub.com.
The Hall of Fame was established in 1975 to honor the school's most distinguished student-athletes in all sports. The ASU Athletics Hall of Distinction, inaugurated in 1982, recognizes outstanding contributions from coaches and administrators. Student-athletes become eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame 10 years after their senior class has graduated.
2018 Inductees
Derrick Rodgers – Football – 1996
Liberal Studies (BLS) 2014
Derrick Rodgers took a very unconventional path to Arizona State and eventually the NFL. Following high school, Rodgers served a four-year stint in the Air Force. He then played one season of football at Riverside (Calif.) Community College before joining the Sun Devils in 1996. His impact was felt immediately, as he finished third on the team with 56 tackles on the season, behind only Scott Von der Ahe and Pat Tillman. Rodgers led the team with 23 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, four forced fumbles, and a safety. Rodgers earned consensus first-team all-America honors in his first and only season of Division I football. Rodgers’ stellar season helped him become the third round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 1997 NFL Draft. Rodgers played with the Dolphins from 1997-2002, and then the New Orleans Saints in 2003 and 2004. Rodgers recorded 345 tackles during his eight-year NFL career. In his rookie year, Rodgers started 14 of 15 games and recorded 56 tackles, five sacks, forced three fumbles and recovered one. Over his career, he averaged 43 tackles per season.
Katie Burkhart – Softball – 2005-08
Interdisciplinary Studies (BA) 2008
Star pitcher that led Sun Devil Softball to its first national championship in 2008. Went 41-5 with a fantastic 0.75 ERA in 2008, including a shutout in the championship against Texas A&M. Burkhart is the ASU all-time wins leader with 118, and strikeouts leader with 1,670, more than 400 more than second place. Sits in the top three spots for strikeouts in a single season for her 2006-07-08 seasons and has three of the top six spots for wins in a single season. Pitched an ASU best three perfect games in her career including two during the 2008 season. Twice was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. Went No. 1 overall in the National Pro Fastpitch Senior Draft, the first top pick in ASU history. Named first-team all-America in 2007 and 2008. Was a nine-time Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week and once a USA Softball National Player of the Week.
Ashley Kelly – Gymnastics – 2003-06
Nutrition (BS) 2006
A five-time All-American between 2004 and 2006, Kelly is one of the most decorated gymnasts ever at ASU. Kelly won the NCAA Championship on beam in 2004, just the eighth different Sun Devil gymnast to take home an individual championship. Kelly earned an All-American nod in each of the five exercises. In 2004 she was named firs team for all-around and beam and second team for vault and floor exercise. In 2005, Kelly picked up the event she was missing, and was named an all-American on the uneven bars. Kelly was named to an all-Pac-10 team during each of her seasons as a Sun Devil. Kelly scored a perfect 10 eight times across various events. Her eight perfect scores are the second most ever by an ASU gymnast, trailing only Maggie Germaine.
Jackie Johnson – Track & Field – 2004-08
Kinesiology (BS) 2007
One of the most decorated and best all-around athletes ever at ASU, Jackie Johnson is a seven-time individual national champion. Johnson was an all-around great athlete and made her name in the heptathlon and pentathlon. A four-time heptathlon national champ (2004-06-07-08) and three times in the pentathlon (2006-07-08), she helped the ASU women’s track and field team take home the team national championship in 2007. Her name appears in the top 10 records at ASU in an astounding ten different events between indoor and outdoor track and field. She tops the record books in the javelin throw, the heptathlon and pentathlon. Johnson was a member of the 2008 US Olympic Team in Beijing in the heptathlon, but strained her hamstring and was forced to withdraw from competition.
Desiree Davila-Linden – Track/Cross Country – 2001-04
Psychology (BS) 2006
Desiree Linden, formerly Desiree Davila during her time at ASU, competed at Arizona State from 2001-2004. She was the only freshman on ASU’s starting seven during the 2001 cross country season. Earned her first all-America honors in 2003 by finishing 10th in the 5,000m run in outdoor track. Was also named an all-American in cross country. Was just the third woman to compete in four NCAA Cross Country Championship meets. Following college, she became a marathon and distance running icon. Linden finished second in both the 2010 Chicago Marathon and the 2011 Boston Marathon, both times posting the fastest time by an American woman. Her time of 2:22:38 at the Boston Marathon was the fastest ever by an American woman at the event. Competed in the marathon at the 2012 Olympics, but did not finish due to a stress fracture. Her breakthrough came in 2018, winning the women’s division of the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American woman to win the race in 33 years.
Cain Velasquez – Wrestling – 2003-05
Education (BA) 2005
Transferred to ASU after one year at Iowa Central Community College where he won the NJCAA Heavyweight National Championship. At ASU, he earned all-America honors by placing fifth at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Captured the 2005 Pac-10 conference title and was named Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year. Won 21 consecutive matches in 2005 before falling in the NCAA semifinals. Following his time at ASU, Velasquez became a heavyweight superstar in MMA and UFC. His fighting style of relentlessness and one-punch strength has helped him become a fan favorite. He won 13 of 15 fights to begin his career, all but two were KOs and eight of them were first round KOs. Velasquez was the first Mexican-American to win a heavyweight title in MMA or boxing history. Has the ninth longest combined reign as champion. Having won four title fights, he has been the reigning champ for a total of 1,281 days.
Francisco Sanchez – Swimming 1993-96
Recreation (Tourism) (BS) 2002
Sanchez swam from 1993-1996, and left as the school record holder in the 50 Free (19.32) and the 100 Free (42.82). He is now in eighth place in the 100 free, with six of the top seven times belonging to Cameron Craig. Sanchez finished first in the 50 Free at the 1995 FINA Short Course World Championship, and won the 50 Free and 100 Free at the 1997 edition of the event. He set the championship record at the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games in the 100 Fly, a mark that stood until 2006. Sanchez swam for Venezuela in both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics. He finished seveth in the 50 Free in Atlanta, his highest finish of the five events he participated in.
Seven former student-athletes from six different sports will make up the 2017 class. Derrick Rodgers (football), Katie Burkhart (softball), Ashley Kelly (gymnastics), Jackie Johnson (track), Desiree Davila-Linden (track & field/cross country), Cain Velasquez (wrestling) and Francisco Sanchez (swimming) will be honored at halftime of the Sun Devils-Beavers game at Sun Devil Stadium.
The Hall of Fame Luncheon will take place on Friday, Sept. 28 at The Pera Club (1 E. Continental Dr., Tempe, AZ 85281) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The luncheon will include a formal ceremony into the SDA Hall of Fame by the ASU Athletic Heritage Committee. Tickets are $50 per person or $500 for a table of 10. Register for the luncheon at https://sundevilclub.com.
The Hall of Fame was established in 1975 to honor the school's most distinguished student-athletes in all sports. The ASU Athletics Hall of Distinction, inaugurated in 1982, recognizes outstanding contributions from coaches and administrators. Student-athletes become eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame 10 years after their senior class has graduated.
2018 Inductees
Derrick Rodgers – Football – 1996
Liberal Studies (BLS) 2014
Derrick Rodgers took a very unconventional path to Arizona State and eventually the NFL. Following high school, Rodgers served a four-year stint in the Air Force. He then played one season of football at Riverside (Calif.) Community College before joining the Sun Devils in 1996. His impact was felt immediately, as he finished third on the team with 56 tackles on the season, behind only Scott Von der Ahe and Pat Tillman. Rodgers led the team with 23 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, four forced fumbles, and a safety. Rodgers earned consensus first-team all-America honors in his first and only season of Division I football. Rodgers’ stellar season helped him become the third round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 1997 NFL Draft. Rodgers played with the Dolphins from 1997-2002, and then the New Orleans Saints in 2003 and 2004. Rodgers recorded 345 tackles during his eight-year NFL career. In his rookie year, Rodgers started 14 of 15 games and recorded 56 tackles, five sacks, forced three fumbles and recovered one. Over his career, he averaged 43 tackles per season.
Katie Burkhart – Softball – 2005-08
Interdisciplinary Studies (BA) 2008
Star pitcher that led Sun Devil Softball to its first national championship in 2008. Went 41-5 with a fantastic 0.75 ERA in 2008, including a shutout in the championship against Texas A&M. Burkhart is the ASU all-time wins leader with 118, and strikeouts leader with 1,670, more than 400 more than second place. Sits in the top three spots for strikeouts in a single season for her 2006-07-08 seasons and has three of the top six spots for wins in a single season. Pitched an ASU best three perfect games in her career including two during the 2008 season. Twice was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. Went No. 1 overall in the National Pro Fastpitch Senior Draft, the first top pick in ASU history. Named first-team all-America in 2007 and 2008. Was a nine-time Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week and once a USA Softball National Player of the Week.
Ashley Kelly – Gymnastics – 2003-06
Nutrition (BS) 2006
A five-time All-American between 2004 and 2006, Kelly is one of the most decorated gymnasts ever at ASU. Kelly won the NCAA Championship on beam in 2004, just the eighth different Sun Devil gymnast to take home an individual championship. Kelly earned an All-American nod in each of the five exercises. In 2004 she was named firs team for all-around and beam and second team for vault and floor exercise. In 2005, Kelly picked up the event she was missing, and was named an all-American on the uneven bars. Kelly was named to an all-Pac-10 team during each of her seasons as a Sun Devil. Kelly scored a perfect 10 eight times across various events. Her eight perfect scores are the second most ever by an ASU gymnast, trailing only Maggie Germaine.
Jackie Johnson – Track & Field – 2004-08
Kinesiology (BS) 2007
One of the most decorated and best all-around athletes ever at ASU, Jackie Johnson is a seven-time individual national champion. Johnson was an all-around great athlete and made her name in the heptathlon and pentathlon. A four-time heptathlon national champ (2004-06-07-08) and three times in the pentathlon (2006-07-08), she helped the ASU women’s track and field team take home the team national championship in 2007. Her name appears in the top 10 records at ASU in an astounding ten different events between indoor and outdoor track and field. She tops the record books in the javelin throw, the heptathlon and pentathlon. Johnson was a member of the 2008 US Olympic Team in Beijing in the heptathlon, but strained her hamstring and was forced to withdraw from competition.
Desiree Davila-Linden – Track/Cross Country – 2001-04
Psychology (BS) 2006
Desiree Linden, formerly Desiree Davila during her time at ASU, competed at Arizona State from 2001-2004. She was the only freshman on ASU’s starting seven during the 2001 cross country season. Earned her first all-America honors in 2003 by finishing 10th in the 5,000m run in outdoor track. Was also named an all-American in cross country. Was just the third woman to compete in four NCAA Cross Country Championship meets. Following college, she became a marathon and distance running icon. Linden finished second in both the 2010 Chicago Marathon and the 2011 Boston Marathon, both times posting the fastest time by an American woman. Her time of 2:22:38 at the Boston Marathon was the fastest ever by an American woman at the event. Competed in the marathon at the 2012 Olympics, but did not finish due to a stress fracture. Her breakthrough came in 2018, winning the women’s division of the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American woman to win the race in 33 years.
Cain Velasquez – Wrestling – 2003-05
Education (BA) 2005
Transferred to ASU after one year at Iowa Central Community College where he won the NJCAA Heavyweight National Championship. At ASU, he earned all-America honors by placing fifth at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Captured the 2005 Pac-10 conference title and was named Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year. Won 21 consecutive matches in 2005 before falling in the NCAA semifinals. Following his time at ASU, Velasquez became a heavyweight superstar in MMA and UFC. His fighting style of relentlessness and one-punch strength has helped him become a fan favorite. He won 13 of 15 fights to begin his career, all but two were KOs and eight of them were first round KOs. Velasquez was the first Mexican-American to win a heavyweight title in MMA or boxing history. Has the ninth longest combined reign as champion. Having won four title fights, he has been the reigning champ for a total of 1,281 days.
Francisco Sanchez – Swimming 1993-96
Recreation (Tourism) (BS) 2002
Sanchez swam from 1993-1996, and left as the school record holder in the 50 Free (19.32) and the 100 Free (42.82). He is now in eighth place in the 100 free, with six of the top seven times belonging to Cameron Craig. Sanchez finished first in the 50 Free at the 1995 FINA Short Course World Championship, and won the 50 Free and 100 Free at the 1997 edition of the event. He set the championship record at the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games in the 100 Fly, a mark that stood until 2006. Sanchez swam for Venezuela in both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics. He finished seveth in the 50 Free in Atlanta, his highest finish of the five events he participated in.
