ST. LOUIS – Former Illinois State soccer star Rachel Tejada was selected as one of six inductees into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame Class of 2023, as revealed by MVC Commissioner Jeff Jackson on Tuesday.
In addition to Tejada, the 26th MVC Hall of Fame class features baseball star and former No. 1 overall pick Andy Benes (Evansville); four-time first-team All-Conference selections in Melanie (Boeglin) White (Indiana State women's basketball) and Barb (Gaines) Porter (Missouri State softball); Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Tubby Smith (Tulsa); and 2007 Masters and 2015 British Open champ Zach Johnson (Drake). Including this year's six inductees, the MVC Hall of Fame consists of 145 former student-athletes, administrators, coaches, and contributors.
"One of the great rewards that comes with representing a Conference with the magnitude of the Missouri Valley is the opportunity to interact with some of the finest practitioners in the collegiate athletic space," Commissioner Jackson said. "This class represents the reach of The Valley in and away from the athletic arena. We are all truly inspired by their achievements and touched by their grace."
Tejada is the 15th Illinois State representative in the MVC Hall of Fame, joining Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw (1998), Doug Collins (1998), Cathy Boswell (2003), Will Robinson (2003), Jill Hutchison (2008), John Coughlan (2009), Linda Herman (2014), D.A. Weibring (2015), Dave Bergman (2016), Sue Daggett Miller (2016), Charlotte Lewis (2017), Christian Goy (2018), Kristi Cirone (2019) and Mike Prior (2020).
"Rachel is one of the most accomplished student-athletes to ever put on a Redbird uniform, and this recognition by the Missouri Valley Conference could not be more well deserved," ISU Director of Athletics Kyle Brennan said. "Rachel re-wrote the ISU and MVC record books during her career and brought prestige and honor to our soccer program. Her legacy at ISU cannot be understated, and we are incredibly proud that she will be taking her place in the MVC Hall of Fame along with the other tremendous inductees in March in St. Louis."
Tejada is one of the most decorated MVC women's soccer players in league history. The four-year letterwinner for the Redbirds is the only player in Missouri Valley Conference history to be named Conference Player of the Year four times. The four-time first-team All-MVC selection also earned MVC All-Tournament honors in each of her four seasons.
"I am truly grateful to be elected into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame," Tejada said. "To be recognized alongside such great athletes and people is a true honor. However, none of this would have been possible without Coach Drew Roff and his staff, my incredible teammates and of course Illinois State University. Illinois State paved the way for my success both on and off the field, and words cannot describe how thankful I am."
Tejada, who was inducted into the Illinois State Percy Family Hall of Fame in 2021, still holds MVC and ISU career records for goals (74), assists (42) and points (190). She also owns MVC single season records for goals (21 in 2011) and points (54 in 2014). Tejada holds ISU single season records in points, assists, shots, and shots on goal.
When Tejada completed her career in 2014 with Illinois State, she ranked No. 25 on all-time NCAA Division I career points list. As a Redbird, Illinois State earned three MVC regular-season championships and won the MVC Tournament four consecutive years. Tejada led the team to four NCAA Tournament appearances, helping team to wins in 2013 at Louisville and 2014 at South Florida. A 2014 NSCAA Academic All-American Third Team selection, Tejada was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District V First-Team selection.
In her first year at ISU in 2011, Tejada became the first player in program history to earn All-America honors when she was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman First Team. As a sophomore in 2012, she was a 2012 Soccer News Net College Boot Award finalist.
The two-time NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team (2012-13) selection became only the second player in program history to earn NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team honors. She was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2015 and was inducted into the ISU Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame in 2021.
Currently Tejada is an operating room nurse, assisting with patient care during surgeries, primarily neurosurgery.
After spending three years in Seattle, she has been a traveling nurse since August 2021, spending time at Trauma 1 Centers in St. Louis, Denver, Phoenix, and she currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. She continues to play soccer and enjoys hiking, camping, and skiing. She and her fiancé are planning a May 2023 wedding and are moving to St. Louis.
The league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship in St. Louis, Mo., next March 2-5. The Friday, March 3, festivities will begin with an 8 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Tickets to the 2023 Hall of Fame event – scheduled to be held at Stifel Theatre, which is adjacent to Enterprise Center – can be obtained by contacting the league office at (314) 444-4300. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
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