2025 Tulane Athletics Hall of Famers inducted

Seven people and one sports team have been inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame for 2025. 

“Today, we honor the remarkable achievements and enduring legacy of our Hall of Fame inductees,” said Ben Weiner Director of Athletics Chair David Harris at the induction ceremony held on Friday, at the Arbor Room at City Park. “Their dedication, passion, and excellence have set a standard for future Green Wave generations to strive for greatness both on and off the field.” 

Storied baseball coach and player Joe Scheuermann (UC ’84) received the Don and Lora Peters Career Achievement Award. This award honors a former Tulane student-athlete who earned his or her undergraduate degree while competing for the Green Wave and has achieved a career of distinction in an athletics-related field. Scheuermann played regularly on a pair of 40-win teams in 1983 and 1984 under Hall of Famer Joe Brockhoff, including the first-ever team to receive an NCAA at-large berth in 1983. After graduating from Tulane, he joined Brockhoff’s staff as an assistant coach, along with other administrative roles, before becoming Delgado Community College’s coach in 1990.

Tulane parent and emeritus board member Richard Yulman received the Billy Slatten Award, given annually to someone who has given extraordinary service, commitment and support to Tulane University and its student-athletes. Yulman is credited as one of the champions of the modern-day renaissance of Tulane Football and Tulane Athletics. Yulman, who is the retired chairman and owner of mattress manufacturing giant Serta, helped lead the charge to return Tulane football to campus, making a $15 million naming-rights gift to the project. Yulman Stadium, which opened in 2014, is named for Richard, his late wife, Janet, and the entire Yulman family, including his daughter Katy Yulman-Williamson (NC ’05).

Women’s golf coach/administrator Sue Bower spent 24 years on Tulane’s staff, 13 as head women’s golf coach and 11 in athletic administration. She inherited a program ranked 121st of 122 schools nationally in 1992, eventually leading the program to five postseason trips, including a team berth to the 2005 NCAA Championship. She led Tulane to back-to-back Conference USA championships in 2004 and 2005; both of those teams finished the year ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Football and track’s Devon Breaux (NTC ’16) was a two-sport athlete who excelled in jumps and sprints on the track and was a wide receiver on the football field. Breaux was a three-time NCAA regional qualifier in the long jump (2012, 2014, 2015), and the first Tulane male track athlete to qualify three times in the regional era. He also placed 19th in the long jump at the NCAA outdoor championships in 2015.

Volleyball/beach volleyball’s Tea Juric (PHTM ’17), a native of Croatia, was one of Tulane’s first volleyball players to play indoors in the fall and beach in the spring, excelling at both disciplines. Indoors, she ranks in Tulane’s career top 10 in six categories, including fourth with 1,479 career kills, eighth with 3.36 kills per set, fifth in total attacks with 3,914, sixth in digs with 1,291, and ninth with 2.93 digs per set.

Baseball’s Nathan Southard (SSE ’09) was a member of Tulane’s last team to reach the College World Series in 2005. He finished his career with a .321 batting average with 29 home runs, 168 RBI, 50 stolen bases and 277 hits. He tied a school record with three home runs against Houston, becoming only the second player in conference history to achieve this feat. He was drafted in the 17th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and played three years in their minor league system before embarking on his professional business career.

Women’s basketball’s Leslie Vorpahl (B ’17, SoPA *19) started 87 of 129 games in four seasons in a Tulane uniform, scoring 1,255 points, dishing out 558 assists and connecting on 192 three-pointers. Her 15 assists against Grambling on Nov. 12, 2016, are the most in a game in school history. She ranks third in school history in career assists, fifth in three-pointers and sixth in minutes (3,679). Upon graduation from Tulane, Vorpahl has played professionally for eight seasons overseas.

The 2008-09 women’s golf team was inducted.
Ashley McKenney
Daniela Holmqvist
Janine Fellows
Linn Atiyeh
Samantha Troyanovich
Stephanie Wagstaff
Head Coach, JT Horton

The golf program was reinstated after three years following Hurricane Katrina and won the 2009 Conference USA championship by 23 strokes. The team finished 20th at the 2009 NCAA National Championship, 5th at 2009 NCAA East Regional Championship and received a final National Ranking of 28th in 2009, according to Golfstat. This outstanding team produced the conference’s Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

For more information on the 2025 Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame class, click here.