Charlotte Athletes Honored As Members Of 2025 Athletics Hall Of Fame Class

July 2, 2025 CStandard

Standout former student-athletes Gabe Garcia, Rephel Martin, Chris Haney, Larry Ogunjobi are members of this year’s Athletics Hall of Fame class.

The 2025 inductees will be honored formally during a ceremony Friday, Sept. 12, and recognized during halftime of the Charlotte 49ers Sept. 13 football game against Monmouth University. Register to attend the Sept. 12 ceremony.

Garcia, men’s soccer, 1989-91, was the program’s first All-American, during his four-year career. Charlotte’s third all-time leading scorer, Garcia led Charlotte to a combined 47-22-9 record, the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid and a national ranking peak of No. 4 in the nation.

Leading the 49ers in goals and points in each of his final three seasons, Garcia totaled 39 career goals, 19 assists and 97 total points. He scored a career-best 14 goals as a junior and netted 10 goals as a senior. With 13 goals scored as a sophomore, Garcia is one of only three 49ers to lead the team with double-digit goals in three straight seasons. His 14 goals as a junior tied for fifth all-time in a single season. For his efforts, Garcia was named a 1991 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Second Team All-American.

Haney, baseball, 1988-90, was a two-time first team All-Sun Belt Conference selection. He won the 1989 Sun Belt Conference ERA title and was named team MVP in 1990.

As for his 49ers’ career, Haney ranks first all-time for the 49ers with 20 career complete games, and his 1.83 ERA in 1989 ranks as third-best in school history. He ranks second all-time with nine complete games in 1990 and third with a pair of shutouts in 1990. He ranks fourth all-time in career shutouts and sixth with a career 3.35 ERA. He holds a school record with 12 innings pitched in a game vs. VCU in 1989.

Martin, men’s track and field, 1997 to 2000, was the program’s first male All-America, earning Conference USA Indoor Track Athlete of the Year honors in 2000. Excelling in the triple jump, Martin won the event in C-USA three times and the long jump twice. In 2000, he swept both the indoor triple jump and long jump titles and added a victory in the long jump with a runner-up finish in the triple jump at the outdoor league championships.

At the 2000 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Martin became the first 49ers male athlete to compete at the NCAA Championship. He finished seventh in the triple jump with a school-record leap of 53′ 0.75″ (16.17m) to earn USTFCCCA All-America honors.

Martin was an eight-time all-conference award winner with five C-USA titles. He was named team MVP in both the indoor and outdoor seasons of 2000, and 25 years later, he still owns school records in the indoor and outdoor triple jump and is second all-time in the outdoor long jump and third all-time in the indoor long jump.

Ogunjobi, football, 2013-16, has an abundance of firsts for the 49ers football program. He was selected to wear the coveted 49 jersey in Charlotte’s inaugural game, and he was the first to earn all-conference honors, the first to be selected in the NFL draft, and the first to play and start in an NFL game.

A member of the program’s inaugural team, Ogunjobi started and played in all 46 games of his four-year career. He recorded the 49ers first tackle for loss in the program’s initial game against Campbell and still holds the school record with 49.0 career TFL. He finished his career with school records for career tackles, sacks and quarterback hurries. He helped Charlotte garner national attention when he landed on national Watch Lists for the 2016 Bednarik Award (Top Defensive Player) and the 2016 Outland Trophy (Top Interior Lineman). Selected to compete in the 2016-17 Reese’s Senior Bowl, he was invited to the 2016-17 NFL Combine.

Chosen with the first pick of the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, Ogunjobi remains the program’s highest draft selection among the five picks in the program’s 12-year history.

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