Five new members were inducted into the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony Sunday at Delta Hotels by Marriott in Utica.
The class of 2021 includes NHL player Kevin Todd, WNBA player Brianna Kiesel, collegiate baseball star Steve Mauro, women’s soccer coach Michelyne Pinard and boys basketball coach Tom Blackford.
For some inductees, the ceremony meant coming home. Kiesel got her start at Thomas R. Proctor High School in Utica, where she set a women’s basketball program record with 1,723 career points scored.
“There’s so many people I crossed paths with that left an impact on me,” she said, recalling some of her coaches at Proctor. “They all saw things in me I didn’t see in myself.”
Kiesel went on to play at the University of Pittsburgh before she was selected by the Tulsa Shock with the 13th overall pick in the WNBA Draft. This year she retired and returned to University of Pittsburgh as an assistant basketball coach.
More:Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021 announced
Mauro said he’s proud of the discipline he learned from his teammates and coaches while playing baseball for Notre Dame High School and American Legion Adrean Post. He continued to play at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was a .355 hitter, three-time first-team All-Patriot League outfielder and designated hitter and the team captain in 1995.
“To be recognized by the hall of fame of your hometown is really a great honor,” he said.
In a speech read on her behalf Sunday, Pinard also thanked those who supported her at Clinton Central School, where she was an all-state soccer player with a school-record of 130 career goals. She has since made a name for herself both playing and coaching in New England, ending in late 2019 an 18-year career coaching at Williams College with a 269-51-37 record.
Others came to the Utica area and never left. Originally from Winnipeg, Todd played for the Utica Devils from 1988-91, playing in 224 games and becoming a first team all-star and AHL Most Valuable Player. He was promoted to the NHL with the New Jersey Devils and made the NHL’s All-Rookie team, but has lived at least part of the year in the Utica area since.
Blackford said his players and assistant coaches keep him coming back as a boys varsity basketball head at Hamilton Central School. Between his time there and at Fayetteville-Manlius School District, he’s is entering his 40th season as coach, with a 562-285 record.
“It’s who I am,” he said. “I love the relationships with my players, the coaches.”
H. Rose Schneider is the public safety reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Rose at hschneider@gannett.com.
