NORMAL, Ill. – The 2026 class of the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame was enshrined on Saturday, October 24, at a ceremony conducted inside the Brown Ballroom at the Bone Student Center during Homecoming festivities at ISU.
The 2026 Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame included: Paul DeJong (baseball), two-time Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection and MLB veteran; Jaelyn Keene (volleyball), Four-Time First-Team All-MVC selection and current professional volleyball stalwart; James Robinson (football), three-time All-American and NFL standout; Jaci McCormack (Institutional Great Award) and Jane Widger Fulton (Campbell "Stretch" Miller Award).
Hall of Famer and longtime "Voice of the Redbirds" Dick Luedke served as emcee for the event, which featured remarks and well-wishes from Illinois State Interim Director of Athletics Dr. Jeri Beggs and Illinois State President Dr. Aondover Tarhule. The inductees were celebrated with by fellow Hall-of-Famers, family, friends, former teammates, coaches and staff as they joined the ranks of Illinois State's greatest student-athletes, coaches, administrators and contributors.
2026 ISU Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame Bios
Jane Widger Fulton – Campbell "Stretch" Miller Award
Widger Fulton set the pace at the Karin L. Bone Athletics Study Center for nearly two decades, assisting Redbird student-athletes with their academic efforts and career plans. Hired in 1992, Fulton helped ISU student-athletes set record-high graduation rates, new GPA standards and record-breaking community service efforts until June of 2011. During her tenure, Fulton was crucial to the development of ISU's life skills program for student-athletes which was a pioneering effort at the time and has since been duplicated across the country. ISU also served as a pilot school for Scholar Baller, an NCAA-sponsored program that led to the highest team grade point average in Redbird football history at the time. In 2011, Fulton left Illinois State as the Associate Athletic Director for Academic and Life Skills and capped off her illustrious career at the University of Kansas in that same role alongside Director of Athletics Dr. Sheahon Zenger, before her retirement in September 2021.
Jaci McCormack– Institutional Great
McCormack scored 1,196 career points at Illinois State from 2000-05 and will forever be associated with hitting one of the biggest shots in the Redbirds women's basketball history. The Most Outstanding Player of the 2005 MVC Tournament, McCormack drained a game-winning jump shot with 0.8 seconds left to give the No. 8-seeded Redbirds the tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
However, it's her uplifting work since graduation that shines brighter. McCormack grew up on the Nez Perce Reservation outside of Lewiston, Idaho, and was inspired to return home to give back to her community. In 2015, she founded Rise Above, a non-profit organization that gives Native American youth the skills and resilience to overcome their circumstances and write their own futures through a variety of programs including sports, education, financial literacy, prevention skills, and mentorship. For her efforts, McCormack was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.
Paul DeJong – Baseball (2012-15)
DeJong was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection for the Redbird baseball team, while spending time at second base, third base, catcher, right field, and as the team's designated hitter. During his junior season in 2015, DeJong led the Redbirds and the conference with 14 home runs and hit .333 with 15 doubles, 47 runs scored, 48 RBIs and 127 total bases. Following his junior year, DeJong was drafted in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft with the 131st overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his MLB debut in 2017 with the Cardinals and led National League (NL) shortstops in home runs that season with 25. In 2019, he was an All Star and led NL shortstops in fielding percentage, assists, putouts, and double plays. During a nine-year professional career, DeJong played for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Giants, White Sox, Royals, and Nationals.
Jaelyn Keene – Volleyball (2014-17)
Keene is just the ninth volleyball player in Missouri Valley Conference history, and second in ISU history, to be named a four-time All-MVC First Team selection. A four-time AVCA All-District/Region selection, Keene ranks first in hitting percentage (.367), third in points (1,983), fifth in kills (1,567) and blocks (472), and eighth in service aces (140) in the ISU career record books. As a senior, she was named one of 10 NCAA Division I volleyball student-athletes to be selected as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, earning Second-Team Senior CLASS Award All-America status. Following her career at ISU, Keene competed in one season of beach volleyball at UAB where she earned all-conference honors. After her collegiate career finished, Keene played volleyball professionally overseas in Germany, Finland, France, Italy, and Austria before returning to the U.S. to play professionally for the Indy Ignite of Major League Volleyball. She will suit up for Nebraska of League One Volleyball professionally starting in January.
James Robinson – Football (2016-19)
Robinson was a three-time All-American and three-time All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First-Team selection for the Redbirds. He finished his illustrious career ranked second in the ISU record books in rushing yards (4,444), rushing touchdowns (44), all-purpose yards (5,218) and total touchdowns scored (46) and third in total points scored (276). As a senior, Robinson was a consensus first-team All-America selection and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award after he led the MVFC in rushing yards (1,899), yards per game (126.6) and touchdowns (18). In 2019, he carried the Redbirds to the FCS Playoffs and recorded a pair of 200-plus yard efforts, highlighted by a record-breaking 297-yard performance in the first-round win at Southeast Missouri. Following a record-setting career at ISU, Robinson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, where he became the only NFL undrafted free agent to rush for over 1,000 yards as a rookie. Robinson later spent time with the Patriots, Giants and Packers, before he helped the United Football League's Louisville Kings win the 2026 United Bowl championship.
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