Athletics

Paul DeJong '15

Paul DeJong was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection for the Redbird baseball team, playing second base, third base, catcher, right field, and designated hitter. During his junior season in 2015, DeJong led the Redbirds and the Missouri Valley Conference with 14 home runs, hitting .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, 131st overall, by the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his MLB debut in 2017 and led National League shortstops in home runs that season with 25. In 2019, he was an All-Star and led National League shortstops in fielding percentage, assists, putouts, and double plays. DeJong has since played for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Giants, White Sox, and Nationals over a nine-year professional career.

Jane Widger Fulton: Campbell 'Stretch' Miller Award

Jane Widger Fulton spent nearly two decades at the Karin L. Bone Athletics Study Center, guiding Redbird student-athletes toward record-high graduation rates, new GPA standards, and record-breaking community service efforts. A pioneer in the field, Fulton was instrumental in developing Illinois State's life skills program for student-athletes — a model that has since been replicated across the country.

Hired in 1992, Fulton rose to associate athletic director for Academic and Life Skills before leaving Illinois State in 2011. She capped her career at the University of Kansas in the same role, working alongside Director of Athletics Sheahon Zenger, before her retirement in September 2021.

Jaelyn Keene '18

Jaelyn Keene is just the ninth volleyball player in Missouri Valley Conference history, and second in Illinois State 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 Illinois State's career record books.

As a senior, Keene was named one of 10 NCAA Division I volleyball student-athletes selected as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, earning Second-Team Senior CLASS Award All-America status. Following her collegiate career, Keene played professionally in Germany, Finland, France, Italy, and Austria before returning to the U.S. to play for the Indy Ignite of Major League Volleyball. She will suit up for Nebraska of League One Volleyball starting in January.

Jaci McCormack '05: Institutional Great Award

Jaci McCormack scored 1,196 career points at Illinois State from 2000–05 and will forever be associated with one of the biggest shots in Redbirds women's basketball history. Named Most Outstanding Player of the 2005 Missouri Valley Conference 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.

But it is her work since graduation that shines brightest. McCormack grew up on the Nez Perce Reservation outside of Lewiston, Idaho, and returned home to give back to her community. In 2015, she founded Rise Above, a non-profit organization empowering Native American youth through sports, education, financial literacy, and mentorship. For her efforts, McCormack was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.

James Robinson

James Robinson was a three-time All-American and three-time All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First-Team selection for the Redbirds. He finished his career ranked second in Illinois State's 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 leading the Missouri Valley Football Conference in rushing yards (1,899), yards per game (126.6), and touchdowns (18), carrying the Redbirds to the FCS Playoffs with a record-breaking 297-yard performance in the first-round win at Southeast Missouri.

Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, Robinson became the only NFL undrafted free agent to rush for over 1,000 yards as a rookie. He later helped the United Football League's Louisville Kings win the 2026 United Bowl championship.