Feature stories  Brad Evans / Ben Orloff / Jessy Cardey / Selanee Henderson Pendelton / Skye Green / John O'Brien / Michael Sabatino

IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine has added seven former Anteater standouts to the Athletics Hall of Fame.  

The 2023 class includes Jessy Cardey (women's water polo), Brad Evans (men's soccer), Skye Green (women's track & field), Selanee Henderson Pendelton (women's golf), John O'Brien (men's water polo), Ben Orloff (baseball), Michael Sabatino (men's track & field).  

The class will be celebrated at a ceremony on Jan. 28 and introduced later that night at the men's basketball game against CSUN at the Bren Events Center. Hall of Fame induction ceremony information will be announced soon.

Orloff, the current head coach of the baseball team, joins Brian Pajer (men's swimming) and Bob Ernst (men's water polo, swimming, rowing), Trevor Kronemann (men's tennis) and Tom Spence (baseball), as the only inductees that competed as a student-athlete at UCI and went on to serve as the head coach of an Anteater team.  

Cardey holds the distinction of becoming the first women's water polo player to be inducted.   

"The Hall of Fame is such a point of pride and this class exemplifies all of the qualities that great Anteater student-athletes should be celebrated for," Director of Athletics Paula Smith said. "The group represents the best of Anteater Athletics and the success our program has had over the decades."  

The UCI Athletics Hall of Fame began in 1983 and re-established after a 13-year hiatus in 2020.  There are 93 inductees over 20 different sports. Four individuals have also received the Alumnus of Merit Award, which had been announced in conjunction with the Hall of Fame.  

JESSY CARDEY / 2010-14 / WOMEN'S WATER POLO  

Jessy Cardey was UCI's first four-time All-American and a two-time Big West Player of the Year (2011, 2012) as well as named Big West Freshman of the Year in 2010. She ranks second all-time in UCI career goals with 224 goals, which ranks fourth among all Big West players. She is second in the UCI records for single season goals with 74 in 2012 and holds the record for scoring streak at 36 games. The utility player was a member of three Big West Tournament Championship teams, earning Big West Tournament MVP in 2012 and 2010. The four-time All-Big West first team honoree, was also named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team three times (2011, 12, 14). Cardey was named Big West Player of the Week three times in her career.  

BRAD EVANS / 2003-06 / MEN'S SOCCER  

Brad Evans is the only Anteater men's soccer player to be named Big West Player of the Year three times, twice as Offensive and once as Midfielder. He was the program's first All-American in 2006 where he scored eight times and assisted on three for 19 of his 73 career points that stand in a tie for second-most in UCI history. His 31 goals stand as second-most in program history as does his 10 game-winners to go along with 11 assists. Evans was selected by the Columbus Crew 15th overall in the second round of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. He was a member of the MLS Cup winning team in 2008 before being selected by the Seattle Sounders and enjoy a nine-year career where he played 249 matches and scored 28 goals helping them win their first MLS Cup in 2016. He also became the first Anteater to don the U.S. Men's National Team jersey playing 27 games overall and scoring one important goal to help them win a World Cup Qualifier in extra time at Jamaica helping the U.S. secure a spot in the 2014 World Cup.   

SKYE GREEN / 1994-97 / WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD  

Skye Green was a two-time NCAA Championship qualifier, earning All-America honors in the 400m hurdles as a senior in 1997. The team captain was the Big West champion in the 400m hurdles and runner-up in the 100m hurdles that same year. She is still the school record holder in 400H (57.11), the only Anteater in program history to run a sub-58 second race. Currently, she ranks ninth in the 100H (14.04) and owns UCI's eighth best 400m time at 55.62 seconds. In 1997, Green was nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year, and was awarded the NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, the Association of Sports Broadcasters Award and Post-Graduate Scholarship, and earned UCI Lauds and Laurels distinction. She continued to compete both domestically and internationally after graduating from UCI with degrees in environmental engineering and English, running in the U.S. Track and Field Championships in 1998 and 1999, finishing 13th in 1998.   

SELANEE HENDERSON PENDLETON / 2004-08 / WOMEN'S GOLF  

Selanee Henderson-Pendleton became the second UCI women's golfer to be named All-America, earning Golfweek All-American honorable mention honors after being named Big West Player of the Year in 2006.  She is one of three UCI players to win the Big West individual title and was named first-team All-Big West all four years, one of eight Big West players all-time to accomplish the feat. She helped UCI to four consecutive Big West titles and participated at the NCAA Championships twice in her career. Henderson won six individual tournament titles, most in program history and ended her career with 23 Top 10 finishes. She was selected Big West Golfer of the Month six times in her career. She competed at the 2007 U.S. Women's Open, won a bronze medal as a member of Team USA at the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok and was a member of the American team for the 2007 Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship.  

JOHN O'BRIEN / 1979-82 / MEN'S WATER POLO  

John O'Brien was the starting goalkeeper on UCI's 1982 NCAA Championship team that ended the season 30-0. He was the NCAA Tournament Co-Most Outstanding Player after totaling 11 saves in the win over the Cardinal. He was a first-team All-America and picked up All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association honors as well as PCAA All-Tournament accolades. O'Brien was a member of two PCAA title teams in 1980 and 1982, helping the Anteaters finish third at the NCAA Championship in 1980 and fourth in 1981. While at UCI, the Anteaters went 92-28-2.   

BEN ORLOFF / 2006-09 / BASEBALL  

From 2006-09, Ben Orloff helped UC Irvine reach the NCAA Tournament all four seasons, advancing to the College World Series in 2007 and winning UCI's first Big West title in 2009, the year the Anteaters were ranked No. 1 in the nation and hosted an NCAA Regional. He was the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award winner as the best shortstop in the nation as well as named Big West Player of the Year and All-America. He was a two-time All-West Region honoree, an ABCA Gold Glove Award winner, named to the NCAA All-Regional Tournament team twice, and All-Big West three-times. Orloff is UCI's all-time leader in games played (241), at-bats (877), hits (281), runs scored (178), and dots nearly every other category with the second-most stolen bases (62), 14th-most doubles (38), 17th-most walks (80), and exactly 100 RBI. He was hit by a pitch 43 times, the second most in UCI history, and his 86 sacrifice hits are the most in NCAA history, including 34 in 2007, still an NCAA single season record. Orloff, who earned UCI Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year distinction as a senior, was selected in the 9th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Houston Astros.   

MICHAEL SABATINO / 1974-79 / MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

Michael Sabatino was a member of UCI's talented 1976 NCAA Division II National Champion Track and Field team.  He was a three-time NCAA Division II National Champion, winning the pole vault title in 1975 (16-4), 1976 (16-6) and 1977(17-0) and earning All-American honors. He held the school record in the pole vault from 1976-1994 with a mark of 17 1 ½ and is still second all-time. Sabatino placed 13th in the 1976 Olympic Trials after graduating with a bachelor of arts in the School of Fine Arts.