HILLSBORO, Kan. Tabor College welcomed their 2023 class of the Hall of Fame on Sunday, Oct. 1. The class featured Jacob Webb ('14), the 2014 Baseball Team, and Manny DeLeon ('16).
The event was held inside the Franz Family Heritage Lobby and gave each inductee the opportunity to speak in front of family, friends and Tabor College officials. (For list of previous inductees, visit: www.taborbluejays.com/sports/2023/7/25/hall-of-fame.aspx).
Webb was honored first of the inductees, but was unable to attend due to pitching in the Major League Baseball Playoffs for the Baltimore Orioles.
Webb was the 2014 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Pitcher-of-the-Year and is still the current leader of single season strikeouts at Tabor with 129. He ranks second in career earned run average (1.74) and second (15) and third (14) in individual season strikeouts in a game. Webb was key in Tabor's 2014 run to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) World Series, earning NAIA Honorable Mention All-America recognition. He was drafted in Round 18 (553 overall) by the Atlanta Braves in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft. Webb made his debut with the Braves in 2019, winning a World Series with them in 2021, and currently pitches for the Baltimore Orioles.
"I'm very humbled and honored to be inducted into the Tabor Hall of Fame. What makes it even more special is that my teammates from 2014 will also be joining me in the Hall of Fame. Attending Tabor and playing for the Bluejays was an outstanding experience for me. I came a long way as both a player and a person during my time there," Webb said in a message read by Assistant Coach Andy Davis.
DeLeon was honored second of the inductees, but was also unable to attend due to a family emergency.
DeLeon, the 2015-16 centerfielder for the Bluejays, was named an NAIA and KCAC first-team selection. He also added honors of 2016 KCAC Player of the Year, KCAC Player of the Week (twice), 2016 NAIA Player of the Year and 2016 Tabor College Male Athlete of the Year. DeLeon led the nation in six categories in 2016 (Slugging Percentage - .897, Runs Batted In Per Game - 1.74, Runs Batted In - 174, Home Runs - 25, Total Bases Per Game - 3.36, and Total Bases - 208), and second in two others (Hits - 102, Home Runs Per Game - .40). He still holds four Tabor College single season records and helped Tabor to its sixth straight 40-win season in 2016, as they finished 45-18.
"I'm truly blessed and deeply honored to have achieved this prestigious accomplishment that stands on my hard work. No words can express my gratitude for being inducted into the Hall of Fame, but I have many thanks I would like to give." DeLeon said in a message read by former teammate Jake Jones.
To wrap up the inductions, the 2014 team was announced, becoming the third team to be inducted into the Tabor Hall of Fame (Webb and DeLeon are 54th and 55th members individually).
"From day one, we all knew we would have the opportunity to accomplish a lot of great things that year. To this day, I bring up the 2014 team. All of those stories that we had together and how that team could have gone up against really any program in the country," Blake Standiford said, a freshman on the 2014 team.
The 2014 Bluejay team finished with an overall record of 51-13, while posting a 24-4 KCAC mark. They won both the KCAC Regular Season and KCAC Tournament titles, and finished fifth at the NAIA World Series. Tabor grabbed 15 KCAC individual awards that season. The Bluejays boasted four first-team All-KCAC (Webb, Junior Mustain, Troy Torres, Kirk Rocha), as well as five second-team (Gadiel Baez, CJ DeDeaux, Alex Mann, Kevin Seeger, Grant Silva) and four honorable mention selections (Jean Acevedo, Armando Castillo, Kennan Chanin, Russell Longworth). They also had three players selected to various NAIA All-American teams (Mustain - 2nd Team, Rocha and Webb - Honorable Mention). Tabor's 2014 team finished in the top six of seven different NAIA categories at the end of the season.
"We had such a strong brotherhood off the field. We really spent all of our time together off the field. I mean that team was inseparable and so when we faced all those ups and downs everybody just had their backs and kind of pulled the rope together, so we were always able to overcome it," Alex Hill said, a senior on the 2014 team.
The Tabor College Athletic Hall of Fame video display is located just inside the entrance to the Tabor College Gymnasium / Student Center. The physical location of the Hall of Fame is located in the Hall of Fame room of the Pendery Athletic Center, overlooking Joel H. Wiens Stadium.
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the NAIA and compete in the KCAC.
