Feb. 17, 2007
DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame will grow by two on Sunday, February 18, when the 2007 Hall of Fame class is introduced at halftime of the Dayton-Massachusetts men's basketball game. The 2007 Hall of Fame class will bring the total membership in UD's Hall of Fame to 149.
The new members are softball pitcher Sara Hatcher Clair (1997-2000) and football quarterback Kevin Johns (1994-97).
SARA HATCHER CLAIR `00-Softball-1997-2000
The Flyer career record holder in ERA (1.44), strikeouts (435) and innings pitched (646.1), Sara Hatcher Clair is the first member of the University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame to only have played softball at UD. Seven other multi-sport members of the Hall of Fame played softball during their time on the Hilltop.
She put the bar high early in her college career, being named team MVP, Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year as a freshman. She broke five pitching records and batted .333 on the season. The next year, she was named First Team All-Atlantic 10, breaking four more pitching records.
A back injury during her junior season limited her to just six wins in 1999, but Hatcher Clair came back as a senior co-captain to be named the Atlantic 10's Pitcher of the Year as a senior in 2000. She won a school-record 24 games that season, leading Dayton to a school-record 35 wins. She led the A-10 in ERA (0.76), another Flyer record. During the conference tournament, she led UD to its best-ever third-place championship finish, allowing no earned runs in 13 innings pitched.
The left-hander from Bellefontaine, Ohio was the driving force behind UD's two top finishes in the Atlantic 10 regular season. The Flyers placed third in the Atlantic 10 regular season in 1998 and 2000.
Despite being limited severely during the 1999 season, her 54 career wins are second in school history. She had the devastating combination of power and control on the mound. Not only is she the Flyer career strikeout leader, she also is the Dayton record holder for fewest walks per game (1.27). As a senior, she struck out 183 batters and walked just 18. No slouch at the bat, she is also in the top ten in six career offensive categories, including fourth in home runs (10) and fifth in RBI (62).
Sara lives in Durango, Colorado with her husband Joe. She is a financial planner with Ameriprise Financial.
KEVIN JOHNS `98-Football-1994-1997
Kevin Johns' football resume can be summed up in one word - and that word is "winner." A two-year starter, Johns had a career record of 20-1 as a starting quarterback. He won his first 20 starts before losing at I-AA scholarship Cal Poly SLO 44-24 in his final game in 1997. UD won the won the PFL championship both seasons.
The 1996 I-AA Non-Scholarship Player of the Year, Johns is the UD career record holder in passing efficiency (151.1) and TD passes (37). He is also third in career total offense (4,252) and fourth in career passing yards (3,572). As a senior, he passed for a UD-record 21 TD's, and his season total of 1,980 passing yards is third-best in school history. Johns has two of the top seven season total offense marks in Dayton history.
He scored ten rushing touchdowns and averaged over four yards a carry in 168 career rushing attempts.
The Piqua, Ohio native holds UD single-game records for passing offense (414), total offense (418) and TD passes (4). Four TD passes in a game has been done four times, and two of those are by Johns.
After taking over as a starter with just five collegiate pass completions under his belt, he was a two-time First Team All-Pioneer Football Team, two-time Academic All-PFL selection and two-time White-Allen Flyer MVP selection.
Johns led UD to two straight #1 end-of-the-season rankings in the Football Gazette NCAA I-AA Non-Scholarship football rankings. In 1997, UD finished ranked 23rd in all of NCAA Division I-AA according to the Sports Network and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today I-AA poll.
Kevin is currently the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator for Northwestern University. He and his wife Krista have two sons, and live in Skokie, Illinois.
