Four will get into WWU Athletics Hall May 17

An athlete of the century, a long-range shooting folk hero and the school’s most talented brother combination will be formally inducted into the Western Washington University Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, May 17.

The foursome includes softball centerfielder Jen Brandolini-Register, who led the Vikings to the school’s first team national title in 1998; men’s basketball guard Ron Radliff, who gained fame for his 3-point shooting as a professional player in Australia, and brothers Jacob and Jared Stevenson, who combined to score 3,048 points in men’s basketball at WWU.

The four inductees bring the hall’s membership to 129. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. at Viking Union 565 on the WWU campus. Those wishing to attend can RSVP by calling Katie Rothenberg at 360-650-4314.

Jen Brandolini-Register

Brandolini-Register was named WWU Softball Player of the Century for 1900-99, helping the Vikings win the 1998 NAIA National Championship, the school’s first team national title in any sport. She finished her four-year career holding and/or sharing 25 school records, including 125 runs scored, 105 stolen bases and a .347 batting average.

Brandolini-Register was named to the NAIA National All-Tournament team and the Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference Hitter of the Year in 1998. She hit from the left side for the first time that season, leading the conference in batting (.431), hits (69), runs scored (44) and stolen bases (30).

A four-time conference all-star, Brandolini-Register led WWU to a conference title as a freshman.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from WWU in 2000 she was assistant director of development for athletics at Saint Martin’s for one year and earned a teaching certificate and master’s degree from City University in 2002.

The 36-year-old Brandolini-Register is completing her 11th year as a teacher at St. Lucie West Centennial High School located in Port St. Lucie, Florida. She has been the Eagles head softball coach the last two years after coaching volleyball for four seasons.

A graduate of Bothell High School, she and husband Ryan have a 1-year-old daughter, McKenzie.

Ron Radliff

Radliff played 10 seasons professionally in Australia’s National Basketball League, seven with the Brisbane Bullets and three with the Gold Coast Rollers. 

Radliff helped Brisbane win NBL championships in 1985 and 1987 as player and another in 2007 as an assistant coach.

Known as “Ron the Rat,” Radliff finished his career with 3,759 points (14.3 avg.) and 1,034 assists (4.0 avg.), shooting 43.5 percent (639-of-1468) from 3-point range and 83.2 percent (366-of-440) at the free throw line. The 3-point shot was introduced during his second NBL season.

In all, Radliff played and coached in over 900 games in the Australian NBL and his jersey No.22 was retired by both Brisbane and Gold Coast.

Radliff earned NAIA District 1 all-star honorable mention and was the WWU team MVP as a senior in 1979-80. He averaged 13.2 points as “sixth man” that season, setting a school record by shooting 91.1 percent (72-of-79) at the free-throw line.

Radliff earned four letters at WWU from 1976-80.

At Enumclaw High School, Radliff scored 1,015 career points and played in the senior all-state game. He competed for his father Gary, who also is a WWU graduate and played basketball for the Vikings.

The 56-year-old Radliff, has spent 31 years in Australia. He and wife, Sue, have two grown sons, Joshua 26 and Jorden 22. 

Jared Stevenson

When he graduated from WWU in 2000, Jared Stevenson held the men’s basketball school career scoring record of 1,728 points. He led the Vikings in points three straight seasons and in assists twice.

A second-team Daktronics West Region all-star as a senior, Stevenson also was a two-time Pacific West Conference all-star and a PacWest academic all-star.

Stevenson played seven seasons professionally with the Bellingham Slam, scoring 1,064 points and handing out 310 assists. He helped the team to two International Basketball League titles.

Prior to his college and professional career, Stevenson was a standout player at Sehome High School, playing on a Mariners’ team that went undefeated in 30 games and won the Class 3A State Championship in 1996, the best season in school history. At state, SHS won its tournament games by average of 24.5 points.

Stevenson, a 2001 graduate from WWU in business and economics, has served as the assistant boys basketball coach at Ferndale High School for the last two years.

Jacob Stevenson

Jacob Stevenson finished his four-year WWU career in 2003 with 1,320 points, 403 assists and 165 steals. He helped the Vikings to their first West Regional title and Elite Eight appearance, being named the regional Most Outstanding Player in 2001 and averaging 22.5 points in four national tournament games.

Stevenson was a first-team Pacific West Conference West Division all-star and Little All-Northwest as a junior that season, averaging team-leading 16.1 points. He received Street & Smith’s Pre-Season All-America honorable mention as a senior.

Stevenson was WWU’s team MVP, led the Vikings in assists three years and lettered four seasons.

Stevenson has played the last nine seasons (2005-14) with the Bellingham Slam, helping the team to three IBL titles. Prior to this season, he had career totals of 3,710 points (20.3 avg.), 1,038 rebounds (5.7), 796 assists (4.3) and 375 steals (2.0) in 183 games.

In 2013, Stevenson, a four-time league all-star, was named 2013 IBL Player of the Year by USBasket.com.

As a senior at Sehome High School, Stevenson was a second-team all-state pick, averaging 18.4 points and 5.1 assists as a senior on a team that placed third at the 1998 Class 4A state tournament.

The Stevenson brothers work together in a business of renovating homes for re-sale. Their combined points for high school, college and professionally are close to 10,000.