IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine Athletics announced its Hall of Fame Class of 2025, which includes a National Champion, an Olympian, multiple All-Americans and NCAA participants as well as two world-class administrators.

This year's class includes former student-athletes Daniel Bibona (baseball), Carson Clark (men's volleyball), Mike Heckman (men's basketball), Maria Myers (women's tennis), Kari Pestolesi (women's volleyball), Jeff Powers (men's water polo) and Kristina Smith (women's tennis) along with former UC Irvine Chancellor Ralph Cicerone and Athletic Director Dan Guerrero.

Myers and Smith are the first mother/daughter duo to be inducted into the UCI Hall of Fame. The pair are two of four Anteater women's players all-time to advance to the NCAA Championships as individuals.

 "Once again, this class is a sterling example of the success and tradition of UC Irvine Athletics," UC Irvine Athletic Director Paula Smith said. "This is an incredibly talented group of individuals whose leadership and accomplishments athletically as well as academically are the cornerstones of our continued success today."

The class will be celebrated at a ceremony on Jan. 31 and introduced the next day at the men's basketball game against UC Davis at the Bren Events Center.

The UCI Athletics Hall of Fame began in 1983 and re-established after a 13-year hiatus in 2020.  There are 100 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.  

DANIEL BIBONA / 2007-2010 / BASEBALL
Bibona is UCI's only two-time Big West Pitcher of the Year, helping the Anteaters reach the NCAA Tournament in each of his seasons, including advancing to the College World Series for the first time as Division I in 2007. He posted a 12-1 record and 2.63 ERA along with 108 strikeouts as a senior when the Anteaters reached the nation's No. 1 ranking en-route to a Big West title. Bibona is a two-time All-American as well as named All-West Region twice, twice listed on the Golden Spikes Award Watch List, claimed two NCAA Regional All-Tournament honors, and was twice honored as an All-Big West selection. The lefthander threw 64 games on the mound, 49 as a starter, racking up the second most strikeouts in Anteater history at 332 and touting a career record of 31-7 and a 3.06 ERA. Bibona is one of only two Anteaters to strikeout over 100 batters in a season twice with a high of 14 strikeouts in a game in 2009. He was also the first Anteater to take home the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award as well as being named Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2010. Bibona was drafted in 2010 by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 8th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

CARSON CLARK / 2009-12 / MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
UCI's first four-time AVCA All-American, earning first team twice (2012, 2010) and second team two times (2011, 2009). The opposite became the first player in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) history to be named to the all-conference first-team all four years. The 2009 MPSF Newcomer of the Year helped UCI to National Championships in 2009 and 2012, earning Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championship as a senior. He holds the school record in kills (1,881) and aces (183). He was selected as National Player of the Week as well as MPSF Player of the Week three times during his career. Clark played for the United States Volleyball Men's National Team following his collegiate career, winning gold medals at the 2010 & 2012 Pan American Cup. In 2014, he was a member of the U.S. team that won a gold at the NORCECA World Championship Qualifier and played on the World Championship team. Clark played professionally in France, Poland and Greece.

MIKE HECKMAN / 1965-69 / MEN'S BASKETBALL
Heckman was a member of the initial class of students at UCI when the University opened in 1965. He played on the freshman team his first year (freshmen weren't eligible to compete on varsity in those days) before becoming a three-year varsity starter. He led UCI to back-to-back NCAA Division II tournaments in 1968 and 1969, earning NCAA All-Tournament honors. Heckman topped the Anteaters with a 19.5 scoring average in 1967-68 and was the team's leading rebounder in 1967-68 and 1968-69. He still ranks No. 7 in UCI career rebounds (768) and 20th in scoring (1,244 points). Heckman, who earned Southern California Collegiate Player of the Week, was selected in the14th round of the1969 NBA Draft by the NBA's San Diego Rockets.

MARIA MYERS / 1980-83 / WOMEN'S TENNIS
Myers competed in singles at the NCAA Championships two consecutive years (1982,1983), advancing to the second round in 1982. She was 26-12 in singles in 1982, leading the Anteaters to a 23-9 record overall. In 1983, she led UCI to a 19th-national ranking, compiling a 21-11 record, which included a 5-4 win over 15^th-ranked Oklahoma State. Myers also competed in singles and doubles at the 1981 AIAW Regional Championships. She is tied for fourth in dual match career wins with 71 and third in doubles wins with 63.

KARI PESTOLESI / 2007-10 / WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Pestolesi was an AVCA honorable mention All-American in 2009, one of seven UCI women's players to gain that recognition all-time. The three-time AVCA All-West Region selection was one of 13 Big West players to ever be named first-team All-Big West all four years and was honored as the 2007 Big West Freshman of the Year. Pestolesi is UCI's only AVCA National Player of the Week (9/1/09) and was voted Big West Player of the Week three times (8/31/09, 11/24/08, 10/8/07). She ranks second all-time in UCI kills (1,602), third in attack attempts (4,567) and digs (1,491) and fourth in aces (131). She was a member of the USA Volleyball National Beach Training Team in 2008, competing in the World University Beach Volleyball Championships as a member of Team USA. The outside hitter played one season of professional volleyball in Switzerland as a member of the VMS (Volley Franches Montagnes), where she was a Swiss Cup Finalists and winner of the CEV Cup Championship.

JEFF POWERS / 1998-2002 / MEN'S WATER POLO
Powers was a three-time All-American (2000, 2001, 2002), helping the Anteaters win a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship title in 2000, as UCI finished the season 20-7 overall and fourth in the nation. He earned All-MPSF honors three times and was selected MPSF Player of the Week twice in his career.  Following UCI, he was a three-time Olympian, earning a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games after he scored a late goal in the semifinal to send USA to the gold medal game. It was Team USA's first medal in 20 years. He was named to the All-World Team in 2009 and was a member of the United States team that qualified for the 2013 FINA World Championship. Powers was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2019.

KRISTINA SMITH / 2010-13 / WOMEN'S TENNIS
Smith was honored as the 2013 Big West Player of the Year, leading the team to an NCAA appearance as well as advancing to the NCAA individual competition. The 2013 team won a Big West regular season title with a perfect 9-0 record and holds the record for most wins by a Big West school with a record of 23-5. Smith and the Anteaters advanced to the NCAA second round in 2013, the lone post-season victory. Smith was also a member of UCI's 2010 Big West Championship team, winning the title as the No. 3 seed and advancing to the NCAAs. She is third in career dual match wins at 75, including 33 at No. 1 and is seventh overall in doubles with a 59-32 record. Smith was honored as a two-time Big West first team selection in singles and once on the second team, garnering first team in doubles as a senior. Smith was named Big West Player of the Week five times in her career, tied for 11th most all-time. The 2013 Arthur Ashe award winner was ranked as high as 85th in singles.

RALPH CICERONE / 1998-2005 / UC IRVINE CHANCELLOR
Cicerone served as UC Irvine's Chancellor from 1998-2005 and was instrumental in supporting the Student Referendum that brought back baseball and added women's water polo, women's golf and indoor track, some of UCI's most successful programs. An avid baseball supporter, the baseball field was re-named in his honor in 2009. Cicerone was a leading expert on the causes of ozone depletion and of global climate change.  He was President of the National Academy of Sciences, an independent, nonpolitical organization, chartered in 1863 by Congress and President Abraham Lincoln, as advisors to the nation on science for the benefit of all.


DAN GUERRERO /1992-2002 / ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
Guerrero was the Director of Athletics from 1992-2002 and along with Cicerone, a driving force in the Student Referendum that brought back baseball and the construction of Anteater Ballpark as well as added women's water polo, women's golf and indoor track. He oversaw facility enhancements to the soccer stadium and the construction of a 64-meter competitive swimming pool as well as the Anteater Recreation Center.  In his time, UCI won 10 conference title and boasted of 40 All-Americans, 10 Academic All-Americans and 334 all-conference honorees…While at UCI, he was honored as the NACDA Athletics Director of the Year in 2001-02 and was  named a member of the 1999 Sports Ethics Fellows by the Institute for International Sport, served on several NCAA and Big West committees, including holding the position of second vice President of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association, member of the John McLendon Postgraduate Scholarship Committee, National Consortium for Academics an Sports Executive Board and a board member of the National Minority Opportunities Athletic Association.