CLAREMORE, Okla. – In its third year of existence, Rogers State Athletics is proud to announce the induction of five acclaimed individuals into the Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025. These individuals all made substantial contributions to the foundation of the athletics program at RSU.
 
This year's class features five inductees who all played major roles in the history of Rogers State in their time on College Hill. The members of the Rogers State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 are:
 

• Baylor Harvey – Men's Cross Country/Track and Field (2013-18)
• Derek Larkin – Men's Soccer (2007-24)
• Bailey (Lynn) Weis – Women's Soccer (2007-10)
• Lance Rymel – Baseball (2010-12)
• Frederico Santos – Men's Basketball (2014-15)

 
"We are extremely proud to be inducting these five incredibly deserving individuals into the 2025 Class of the Rogers State Athletics Hall of Fame," said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Chris Ratcliff. "When the Hall of Fame committee sat down to discuss the nominees for this year's class, all five of these inductees were no-brainers. Without their contributions, Hillcat Athletics would not be what it is today. All five of our honorees added to an incredibly strong foundation that we have continued to build on to this day."
 
The Class of 2025 will be inducted during the Rogers State Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet to be held in the Dr. Carolyn Taylor Center Ballroom on Saturday, January 25, 2025 with doors opening at 10 a.m. and the banquet beginning at 11 a.m. Tickets for the event are $30 per person, $120 for half a table (4 seats) or $240 for a table (8 seats) and can be purchased by clicking here or by contacting Tristan Johnson at 918-343-7782, tjohnson@rsu.edu or by visiting Bushyhead Fieldhouse on the campus of Rogers State University.
 
Baylor Harvey
 
Baylor Harvey was a five-year member of both the Hillcat men's cross country and track and field teams and put the two programs on the map with the most decorated career in program history. The Cleveland Okla. native was a two-time cross country All-American and a track and field All-American, the first student-athlete in RSU history to accomplish this feat. Harvey's impact on the record books is still felt as he holds the top 8k time of 24:07.6 and the top 10k time of 30:52.3. He also still holds three track and field records with the indoor 3,000 meter (8:15.86), the outdoor 1,500 meter (3:55.15) and the outdoor 5,000 meter (14:16.55).
 
However, his records do not tell the whole story as his individual performances helped set the standard of excellence for the men's cross country program. As a freshman, Harvey made an impact immediately as he earned All-Heartland Conference honors finishing in the top 10 at the conference cross country championships. He followed that up in his sophomore campaign winning the 2014 Heartland Conference Cross Country Championship. In 2016, Harvey again captured the individual title at the Heartland Conference Championships and went on to become the first All-American in the Division II era of Rogers State with a 19th place finish at the Division II National Championships. His crowning achievement came during the 2017 season, when not only did he win his third conference individual title but led the Hillcats to their first Heartland Conference Championship as well. After he finished in the top 10 at the South Central Regional Championship and helped the team to a seventh place finish, Harvey led RSU to their first-ever team appearance in the National Championship as he picked up his second All-American honor with a 19th place finish.
 
His track and field accomplishments are just as impressive. In the program's first year in existence in 2016, Harvey shattered his then-school record in the 5,000 meter covering the distance in a time of 14:35.29 at the prestigious Texas Relays and ran past 10 NCAA Division I runners. Later that season, he won the Great American Conference Outdoor Championship in the 5,000 meter. In 2017, Harvey returned to the Texas Relays to finish fifth in the 5,000 meter and later reset the school record in the event at the acclaimed Drake Relays. He also claimed the GAC Championship in the outdoor 1,500 meter. For his performance across the season, Harvey punched his ticket to the National Championships, where he became the first Division II Track and Field All-American in program history with a record time of 14:16.55 in the 5,000 meter.
 
Derek Larkin
 
Derek Larkin was named the first head coach of both the men's and women's soccer programs in the fall of 2007. He stepped away from the women's head coaching role after the 2013 season while continuing as the only head coach in men's soccer history until he stepped away from coaching earlier this Fall. Larkin established a winning tradition on the Hill, leading the Hillcats to over 250 wins in 18 seasons between the men's and women's programs, including an undefeated run during the COVID-forced 2021 Spring season. RSU swept the GAC/MIAA Regular Season and Tournament Championships that year, and during the 2019 season as well.
 
He found success early in his tenure as he guided the women's soccer team to the 2007 Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Tournament Championship (the first championship for any program in school history) and an appearance in the NAIA Region VI Tournament Finals in their first season in existence. That team was headlined by fellow inductee Bailey Lynn and fellow Hall of Famer Robin Sutherland who was named a NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, NAIA Region VI Player of the Year, First Team All-Region VI, SAC Offensive Player of the Year, SAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-SAC after the season.
 
During his years at the helm of the men's soccer program, he recorded 15 seasons of .500 or better, including nine straight winning seasons as of the last season. He capped off his career leading RSU to their first-ever berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament and made an appearance in the second round. Larkin also has guided the Hillcats to 20 total 10-plus win seasons between the men's and women's teams. He has also been recognized by his peers as he has collected three Coach of the Year awards along the way. Larkin has guided four All-Americans, eight Conference Players of the Year (two Players, two Goalkeepers, two Newcomers, one Midfielder and one Defender), 51 All-Region/District selections and 89 All-Conference selections. His student-athletes have also excelled in the classroom as he has coached nine Academic All-Americans, 42 Academic All-Region/District Scholar-Athlete honorees, and had two teams earn Academic Team distinctions.
 
Larkin has served as the head coach of multiple club programs, including most recently Blitz Academy FC. In his club coaching career, Larkin has collected a club national championship as well as six Presidents Cup Oklahoma State Championships and a runner-up finish.
 
Bailey (Lynn) Weis
 
A stalwart presence in goal for the RSU women's soccer team in her four years on the Hill, Bailey Lynn was a key part of the early success of Hillcat Athletics. As a true freshman, the Oklahoma City native started in goal in 20 of the 23 games of the historic 2007 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship team, posting a 19-3 record with a 1.18 goals-against average and six shutouts. She continued to stack accolades throughout her career, earning multiple SAC player of the week awards and was named the NAIA National Player of the Week after putting together two of the most impressive performances of her career in back-to-back road wins over Wayland Baptist and Oklahoma City where she recorded a season-high 12 saves in a 4-0 win over the Pioneers and followed it up with 10 stops in a 1-0 victory over OCU.
 
Lynn has also left her mark on the records books as she still holds several career and single-season records. She remains the career record holder in goalie wins (40), saves (256), games played (59), starts (41), goalie minutes (4,668). She also still holds single-season records in wins (18) and goalie games played (23).
 
After her playing career, Lynn went on to a successful career in government in the state of Oklahoma. In 2013, she was named to both the Next Gen Under 30 and OKC 30 Under 30 for her work with then-Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb. She went on to work on former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett's 2018 run for Governor.
 
Lance Rymel
 
A three-year member of the Hillcat baseball team, Lance Rymel left his mark in his time in the red and navy. The Broken Arrow, Okla. product played in 139 games and made 123 starts primarily as a catcher for fellow Hall of Famer Ron Bradley's squad from 2010 to 2012. Rymel hit .322 at the plate for his career with 80 RBI and nine home runs. He was a multi-time All-Sooner Athletic Conference honoree. Rymel was RSU's everyday catcher in 2012, starting in all 65 games, as the Hillcats went on a magical run to the NAIA National Championship. During that campaign, he posted a .318 average with 40 RBI and three home runs. After the season, Rymel became just the second Hillcat in history to hear his name called in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft as he was picked by the Chicago Cubs in the 28th round.
 
In his three seasons as a player in the Cubs' minor league system, Rymel climbed as high as AAA, where he saw action in two games for the Iowa Cubs. For his career, he played in 84 games across all four levels of Minor League Baseball with a .225 average along with 15 extra base hits, three home runs and 30 RBI. Defensively, he posted a .984 fielding percentage.
 
Rymel began his coaching career in 2015 when he got the opportunity to become the Chicago Cubs' rehab coach for two seasons, working to get injured players back to the game. He earned his first manager job in the Dominican League in 2017 before becoming the manager for the Eugene Emeralds of the Short Season Northwest League, in 2019. In 2021, he took over managing the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League, a six-team league consisting of the top prospects from all 30 teams in Major League Baseball.
 
He continued to move up the coaching ranks as he became the manager of the Chicago Cubs' High-A South Bend Cubs in 2022. In his first season with the team, Rymel led the Cubs to the Midwest League Championship. They finished the year with a record of 73-58 by capturing Midwest League West Division pennant with a 2-1 series win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels. They went on to claim the Midwest League Championship in a 2-1 series win over the Lake County Captains, including a 7-4 win in the deciding game three of the series. In 2024, Rymel took over the Double-A Tennessee Smokies and led them to an appearance in the Southern League's North Division Championship Series after winning the Second-Half pennant with a record of 87-50.
 
Frederico Santos
 
Even though he only spent one season on the Hill, Frederico Santos made an impact for the men's basketball program during the 2014-15 season. Starting in all 28 games that season, the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil product accomplished the impressive feat of averaging a double-double for the season with 13.8 points per game and 11.0 rebounds. Throughout the season, Santos posted 20 or more points five times. In a game at Newman on Feb. 21, 2015, Santos had the best game of his career as he went off for 21 points and 17 rebounds. He led the Hillcats to a 20-8 record with a 14-6 mark in the Heartland Conference. After the season, Santos was named the Heartland Conference Player of the Year (the first player of any sport to that honor in the Division II era) after shooting 71 percent from the floor. He also earned NABC All-Region honors. Santos still currently holds the single season rebounding record after pulling down 309 boards during the campaign.
 
After his time at RSU, Santos continued his playing career as he traveled to Portugal to play professionally with Vitoria Alves Guimaraes, where he started in two games and played in 15 games. He was disruptive on defense, with six steals and 13 rebounds. On offense, Santos was effective with 25 assists and he shot .379 from the field, and .286 from the 3-point line in his entire career.