2024 Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Morningside University has announced that the M Club class of 2024 will consist of Mike McCune, Janel (Gillies) Bennett, Mackenzie Neely, Danny Rudeen, and Kyle Schuck.  Jim Carver will also be honored as the 2024 Alumni Coach of the Year.  The honorees will be recognized as part of Morningside's homecoming weekend, with a brunch on October 12 in the Yockey Family Community Room.  Check-in will begin at 9 a.m., with brunch beginning at 9:30 and the ceremony starting at 10 a.m. Individuals wishing to attend the brunch and induction ceremony may register at msidemustangs.com/m-club/register.

Mike McCune, 1991, was a two-sport athlete during his years in Morningside maroon as a member of the baseball and football teams. A four-year letterwinner in football at quarterback and fullback, McCune's accomplishments on the diamond far overshadowed those at what was then Roberts Stadium. With a starting role at third base in his first two seasons, left field as a junior, and first base as a senior, McCune etched his name in the Morningside record books as a relief pitcher, setting the season record for saves at 9, a best in Morningside's Division II era, and still holding the the career saves record, with 20 saves. 

McCune was the career doubles record holder, with 37 doubles, at the time of graduation, adding a .285 average, with three triples, 15 home runs, 82 RBIs, 81 runs, and 27 stolen bases to his stat line. He earned first-team All-North Central Conference honors in his junior and senior seasons for his work on the mound and honorable mention nods in his first two seasons at third base. 

Janel (Gillies) Bennett, 2004, was a standout in the founding years of Morningside's women's soccer program, playing in the 2000-2003 seasons. Scoring 21 goals in the team's inaugural campaign, Gillies quickly became the program's leading scorer, resetting the single season record her junior year and going on to set the career mark, which remains on the books, at 67 goals. She also tallied 30 assists across her career.

Gillies, who earned honorable mention all-conference honors from the Great Plains Athletic Conference in the 2003 season,  also holds the single game records for points, with nine, for goals, with four, and career records for consecutive games with a goal, at 10, and consecutive games with a point, at 12 contests, and shares the postseason record for assists in a game, with two.

Mackenzie Neely, 2013, was a force at the plate and a wall behind it as a member of the Morningside softball team. She was able to pair offensive totals of 201 hits, 69 runs, and 162 RBIs with defensive totals of 743 putouts and 19 runners caught stealing for a career fielding percentage of .981 in 852 total chances.

Neely was a four-time first team all-conference selection by the GPAC, earning the title of first team NAIA All-American in 2010 and second team honors in 2011. She was part of teams that claimed GPAC postseason tournament titles in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013; regular season championships in 2010 and 2011; and that qualified for the NAIA's postseason play in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Danny Rudeen, 2014, dazzled on the hardwood of Allee Gym, playing in 125 games in his career, scoring 1,974 total points to reach the no. 2 spot on Morningside's all-time scoring list while holding the single-season scoring record until as recently as the completion of the 2024 season. Shooting an even 50 percent from the field, he also added impressive totals  534 rebounds, 289 assists, and 110 steals to his stat line while making 428 free throws in 516 attempts. He also still holds Morningside records for season (191), career, and consecutive (38) free throws.

Rudeen, who was part of the 2014 GPAC Tournament Championship team, was a GPAC first team all-conference honoree in 2012, 2013, and 2014, an NAIA honorable mention All-American in 2013 and second team All-American in 2014, and a College Sports Communicators third team Academic All-American in 2012 and first team Academic All-American in 2014.

Kyle Schuck, 2014, tallied 2,987 yards and 171 total receptions in his four seasons at Olsen Stadium, averaging 72.9 yards and 4.2 receptions per game. He reached paydirt 46 times in his career, crossing the goal line 20 times in both his junior and senior seasons. 

Schuck was a GPAC second team all-conference selection in 2011, with first team accolades coming in 2012 and 2013. He was selected as the GPAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2013, was the 2013 NAIA Player of the Year and Morningside's first team All-America selection, and was a 2013 AFCA first team All-American. He was also selected as a Beyond Sports Network All-American in 2012 and 2013. He was also part of teams that took GPAC titles in 2011, 2012, and 2013 and that made NAIA Football Championship Series runs in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Jim Carver, 1966, is the 2024 Alumni Coach of the Year, marking a 42-year career as a head football coach at the high school level where he compiled a 224-151-4 record. His tenure included stops at Durant, Quimby, and Willow, all in Illinois, before landing as the long-time skipper at Alburnett Community School District. 

Carver was the first Iowa High School Athletic Association Character Counts Boys Coach of the Year in 2006 and was inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2001. He was the Tri-Rivers Coach of the Year in 1980, 1987, and 1991 and was a three-time district coach of the year. He was selected as an assistant coach for the Iowa Shrine All-Star Football Classic in 2003 and for the top spot in 2007 and has also coached baseball, men's wrestling, men's and women's track and field, and softball during his career.