The Allegheny College Department of Athletics announced the 44th class of Hall of Fame inductees on Wednesday, which includes four former student-athletes, one longtime coach, and the inaugural women’s golf team. The Allegheny Hall of Fame Class of 2025 features:
- Ben Couch ’01 (baseball)
- Zach Kessler ’99 (football)
- The late Vic Kress ’60 (men’s basketball)
- Assistant coach Jack Leipheimer (football)
- Jason Nypaver ’96 (baseball)
- The 2005-06 women’s golf team
This year’s class will be formally inducted with a special ceremony on Friday, September 26, inside Schultz Banquet Hall.
Ben Couch ’01, one of the greatest hitters in Allegheny baseball history, earned his second Hall of Fame nod; he was previously inducted in 2017 as part of the 2000 baseball team. Couch collected All-NCAC and All-Mideast Region honors in each of his three years as a starting outfielder from 1999-2001. He graduated with two program records, amassing 216 career hits and 15 triples, both of which remain standing 24 years later. Couch is one of only two Gators to reach 200 career hits, and he ranks second all-time with 167 runs scored. During a breakout sophomore season, the Uniontown, Ohio, native posted a career-high 72 hits while batting .421 with a .505 on-base percentage, leading the Gators to an NCAC regular-season championship. As a junior, the leadoff hitter was a key piece of the 2000 Hall of Fame team that won the Mideast Regional, advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series, and finished the year ranked No. 3 in the country.
An All-American anchor on Allegheny’s offensive line, Zach Kessler ’99 paved the way for the Gators in the late 90s. As a three-year starter and senior captain, Kessler helped the Gators capture the 1996 NCAC championship and a share of the conference crown in 1997. As a junior, the Moon Township, Pennsylvania, native was part of an offense that ranked eighth in Division III in scoring offense (40.7 points per game). His work in the trenches allowed Jim Mormino ’98 (HOF ’10) to earn NCAC Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for a then-record 1,393 yards. A Hewlett-Packard All-America Second Teamer in 1997, Kessler earned preseason All-America honors from Street and Smith, The Sporting News, and Bob Griese’s College Football Yearbook ahead of his senior season. The 6-foot-3 guard extended his streak of consecutive starts to 32 games in his final year while bulldozing defenders for a rushing attack that ranked 14th nationally with 265.3 yards per game. Kessler was recognized again by Hewlett-Packard in 1998, this time with a spot on the first team.
Meadville native and St. Agatha High School graduate Victor “Vic” P. Kress ’60 was a four-year letterwinner on Allegheny’s men’s basketball team from 1956-60. At 6-foot-2, Kress provided size to an otherwise smaller lineup and started most games at center. An outstanding rebounder, he set a single-game record with 21 rebounds in a 62-52 victory over Washington and Jefferson College on March 1, 1958, a feat not matched again for nearly 25 years. Kress was best known for his support of Allegheny’s athletics programs and local sports teams after graduation. An encyclopedia of knowledge, he became a prominent figure throughout Crawford County as a sports columnist for The Meadville Tribune and radio broadcaster for WMGW, covering the Gators and many area high schools. Estimated to have called over 1,000 games, “the Professor” provided color commentary for home football broadcasts until his untimely passing in July of 2023 at the age of 84.
John A. “Jack” Leipheimer spent 17 years on the sidelines as a member of the football coaching staff from 1984 through 2000. In 1989, he was promoted to defensive coordinator, a role he held for a dozen seasons. With Leipheimer commanding the defense, the Gators developed into a formidable foe not only in the NCAC but on the national stage. Across those 12 years, the Blue and Gold won nearly 82% of their games, boasting a remarkable 106-23-1 overall record, including a 13-0-1 campaign that resulted in a national championship in the fall of 1990. Leipheimer was part of eight NCAC championship teams and mentored numerous All-NCAC and All-America honorees during his tenure. In February of 2001, he continued his legendary career as head coach at his alma mater, Thiel College, where he guided the Tomcats to an undefeated regular season in 2005. The Sharon, Pennsylvania, native also spent seven years as Director of Athletics at Thiel and has been inducted into both the Thiel and Mercer County Halls of Fame.
One of only five baseball student-athletes recognized as NCAC Player of the Year, Jason Nypaver ’96 concluded his Allegheny career with a dominant performance in the spring of 1996. It was an incredible breakthrough for the senior outfielder, who slashed .437/.529/.835 with a single-season team and NCAC record 16 home runs. Originally from Library, Pennsylvania, Nypaver slugged the Gators to 36 wins, one shy of the team record at the time, while reaching both the NCAC and Mideast Regional Tournament championship games. Nypaver homered 10 times in the first 18 games of the year, then broke the home run record in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament with a three-run bomb in an 8-4 win over Denison University. He left the yard twice in the third game of the Mideast Regional, a 9-2 victory over Ohio Wesleyan University. Nypaver earned All-Mideast Region First Team and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-America First Team accolades for his performance that spring.
When varsity women’s golf joined the fray during the 2005-06 academic year, the Gators wasted little time before proving their mettle on the course. The team of Jaime Elizabeth Reints ’09, Katherine A. Hoffman ’09, Lauren Torso Orkis ’09, Lisa Coleman Sullivan ’08, Erin D. Shaffer, Jennifer Vota Burda ’06, Alison Eve Bruckner ’09, assistant coach Jack Steiger, and head coach Jeff Groff, established themselves as a contender by winning four of their first five tournaments during the fall portion of the season and two more events in the spring. In their first-ever tournament, Baldwin Wallace University’s Lady Yellow Jacket Fall Invitational, the Blue and Gold topped the eight-team field with a 14-stroke victory. In a 25-stroke win at the Penn State Behrend Fall Invitational on September 22, Bruckner became the first women’s golfer to claim medalist honors with a round of 73. Allegheny broke into the national rankings by the end of the fall half of the schedule. Despite being a first-year program, AC was one of only 10 teams selected to compete in the 2006 Division III Championships, the first of seven consecutive NCAA bids for the Gators. Allegheny concluded its debut season with a ninth-place showing at the four-round national championship in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.
More information about the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, September 26, including ticket availability for the public, will be released at a later date. Please direct any questions to Sean King, assistant athletic director and Hall of Fame Chair, at sking@allegheny.edu.
