Courtesy: Vermont Athletics
BURLINGTON, Vt. – The University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame has unveiled its Class of 2020. The group includes Marqus Blakely ’10 (basketball), Colleen Clark ’10 (swimming), May Kotsopoulos ’10 (basketball), Courtnay Pilypaitis ’10 (basketball), Viktor Stålberg ’09 (hockey), Mike Trimboli ’09 (basketball), and former NBA head coach Herb Brown ’57 will be a special inductee. The athletic department announced the class on Monday.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Vermont will not host an induction ceremony this year but the Class of 2020 will be honored next year as a part of a joint celebration with the Class of 2021.
Marqus Blakely ’10
Blakely was a two-time America East Player of the Year and an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention selection as a sophomore and junior. He graduated with the second-most steals (226), third-most field goals (673), third-best field goal percentage (.571), third-most rebounds (1,044), and the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,875 career points. The three-time America East Defensive Player of the Year, Blakely paced Vermont in the America East Championship Game as a senior with 24 points, 18 rebounds and five assists on his way to earning the Reggie Lewis Most Outstanding Player award. He still holds three of the top-10 seasons for most field goals made and led the team in scoring in his final two seasons. After UVM, he signed with the Houston Rockets and has enjoyed a 10-year career with stints in the NBA G League, Japan, Philippines, and South Korea.
Herb Brown ’57
Brown served as a basketball coach in the college and professional ranks for over 50 years. He got his first head coaching job at Stony Brook from 1964-69 where he won the 1968 Knickerbocker League Championship and Coach of the Year honors. He worked his way up the coaching ladder and was the head coach for the Detroit Pistons from 1975-78 with two playoff appearances. He won three NBA Championship rings in 1992 and 1993 as a scout for the Chicago Bulls and again in 2004 as an assistant coach with the Pistons under his younger brother, Larry Brown. Brown’s stints as an NBA assistant coach include time with the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, and Atlanta Hawks. Brown won gold medals with Team USA at the 2001 Maccabiah Games and the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships. Off the court, he was the recipient of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) International Basketball Achievement Award for his work in countries such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, China, and Lithuania.
Colleen Clark ’10
Clark is the only Catamount to ever earn the America East Most Outstanding Swimmer award, given to the swimmer with the highest point total at the conference’s championship meet. She still holds the school record in the 200-yard (1:47.51) and 500-yard freestyle (4:49.09), plus the 800-yard (7:22.94) freestyle relay. As a junior, she set the America East record in the 500-yard relay that stood for seven years. She was lauded with an All-Conference nod in each of her four seasons and broke 12 school individual and relay records by the end of her career. Clark was the 2010 recipient of the David Alexander Award – awarded to the America East senior who accumulated the most total points at the conference championship meet over four years.
May Kotsopoulos ’10
Kotsopoulos closed out her career as one of the best to ever sport the Green and Gold. Upon graduation, she ranked in the top-five all-time in six categories including games played (2nd – 129), steals (3rd – 243), and three-point field goals (3rd – 187). A four-time member of the America East All-Defensive Team, Kotsopoulos was named Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. She guided the Catamounts to back-to-back America East Championships and NCAA Tournament berths as a junior and senior. The 2009-10 Cats went 27-5 and upset No. 7 Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to pick up the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament win. She was later invited to training camp by the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and played two seasons professionally in Greece’s top division. She was also a member of Greece’s National Team in 2012.
Courtnay Pilypaitis ’10
Pilypaitis is the school’s all-time leader in assists (636), three-pointers made (260), and games played (131). She recorded the second-most steals (279) and made the second-most free throws (473) in program history. Currently, she stands at No. 3 on the career scoring list (1,993 points) and rebounds (905). She earned America East Rookie of the Year honors in 2007 and received the conference’s Player of the Year award a year later. Pilypaitis was also named to the America East All-Conference First Team three times. Alongside classmate Kotsopoulos, she helped the Cats to two America East Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009 and 2010. Following her time in Burlington, she played professionally for two years in Lithuania and won back-to-back Lithuanian Cups and BWBL Championships. She was also a member of the Canadian National Women’s Basketball team, having most recently played with Team Canada in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Viktor Stålberg ’09
During his junior year at Vermont, Stålberg was a First Team All-American and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top NCAA men’s hockey player, with 24 goals and 22 assists. He led the Catamounts to their second ever Frozen Four appearance in 2009. Stålberg’s 24 goals in 2009 ranked fifth in the nation and he led the team in goals, assists, and points. Following his junior year, he turned pro and joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009-10. He has played 12 professional seasons, including eight years in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 alongside former Catamount Patrick Sharp. He also represented Sweden in the 2012 IIHF World Championships and the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Mike Trimboli ’09
Trimboli, one of four Catamounts to ever score over 2,000 career points, was the America East Rookie of the Year and made the CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-America Team in 2006. He graduated as the program’s all-time leader with 624 assists and currently ranks in the school’s top-10 in 10 categories. He led the team in assists each season and was UVM’s leading scorer as a freshman, sophomore, and junior. He was a two-time America East All-Conference First Team selection and made the All-Conference Second Team twice. Trimboli earned NABC All-District honors as a sophomore and was a USBWA All-District pick as a senior. Following his time in Burlington, he played professionally in Poland and Slovakia.