GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The 2022 Tusculum University Sports Hall of Fame class has been announced and three new members will be inducted during Homecoming festivities on Saturday, October 22nd. This year's inductee class includes baseball outfielder/pitcher Chuck Dietrich, football kicker Gareth Rowlands and volleyball libero Caitlyn Dean Smith.
The Sports Hall of Fame Dinner will be held at the Chalmers Conference Center in the Niswonger Student Commons on the Greeneville campus. The dinner will begin at 7 p.m. (ET).
Chuck Dietrich '88 (Baseball)
Chuck Dietrich shined on the Tusculum baseball diamond from 1985-1988 where he dual standout in the outfield and on the pitcher's mound.
He was a two-time NAIA All-District selection for the Pioneers including his 1988 senior campaign where he was the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He clubbed a then school single-season record 13 homers in 1988 including three multiple home run games against Warner Southern, Lenoir-Rhyne and Carson-Newman. He led the Black & Orange to a 24-15 season that year while advancing to the NAIA postseason.
Dietrich finished his Tusculum career with 27 home runs, which were a school record at the time of his graduation and are tied for the sixth-most in program history.
Mentored by Tusculum Sports Hall of Fame head coach Bill Smith, Dietrich and the Pioneers accumulated 79 victories during his four-year career which included four consecutive trips to the NAIA Tournament.
Dietrich graduated from Tusculum in 1988 with a degree in physical education.
He currently resides in Fair Lawn, New Jersey where he is an assistant vice president with Bank of America. He is the father of a son, Adam Dietrich, 21 and daughter, Vivienne Dietrich, 18.
Gareth Rowlands '11 (Football)
From 2007-2010, Gareth Rowlands accounted for one of the greatest kicking careers in the history of Tusculum football.
Rowlands holds the school record for most kicking points in a career with 270 to his credit, which is also second amongst all Pioneers. His 45 career field goals made are also the most by a TU kicker and were tied for the 25th-most in NCAA Division II history at the time of his graduation.
The 2011 Tusculum graduate went 45-of-67 in his career field goal attempts for a .672 success rate which is the best in program history. He also went 135-for-151 on extra points.
He was a consensus All-American during his senior campaign (2010) where was also a top-10 national finalist for the Fred Mitchell Award, which recognizes college football's placekicker of the year for NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, Division III and NAIA.
During his senior campaign he established school and South Atlantic Conference single-season records with his 111 points and 21 field goals made. He led the nation in field goals made per game (1.91) and was sixth in scoring (10.09 ppg). His 111 points are the most by a NCAA II kicker in 2010 as he went 21-for-26 in field goals including a string of 10 in a row (most in TU history). He also had a string of 53 consecutive made extra points which is still a school record.
Rowlands earned All-Conference and All-Region accolades as well and was a three-time SAC Special Teams Player of the Week.
His teams accounted for 24 victories during his career and was the starting kicker during Tusculum's 2008 SAC Championship run which included a 9-4 record, a No. 16 national ranking and a berth to the NCAA II Playoffs where the Pioneers advanced to the second round. He would also be selected to play in the Cactus Bowl, the NCAA II Senior All-Star Game.
Rowlands shined off the football field as well where he was a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. He was a two-time selection to the CoSIDA Academic All-District football team while majoring in middle school education.
He has been involved in the automotive industry for the past nine years and currently works with Johnson City Toyota.
Gareth and his wife Lyndsey are the proud parents of daughter Stokley.
Caitlyn Dean Smith '14 (Volleyball)
Caitlyn Dean Smith was one of the best defensive players in the history of NCAA Division II volleyball.
She was a three-time All-American, four-time All-Southeast Region performer and four-time All-Conference first team selection.
During her career spanning from 2010-2013, she accounted for a South Atlantic Conference record 3,184 digs, which were a NCAA record at the time of her graduation and are currently the second-most in Division II history.
She accounted for an amazing 40 contests with 30 or more digs, including seven times in her senior season (2013).
She helped the Pioneers to an 88-39 overall record, which included three 20-win season as well as four NCAA Tournament appearances.
In 2012, she was the NCAA II National Statistical Champion averaging 7.77 digs per set. It was a NCAA record at the time and are the second-most currently. The Pioneers went 24-8 and were SAC Tournament finalists. TU went onto the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the Sweet 16 which included a 3-1 upset win over regional top-seed Armstrong. She was named to the SAC All-Tournament Team as well as the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team. For her efforts, she was the Tusculum Female Athlete of the Year for 2012-13.
She made quite an impression during her 2010 rookie season which saw her garner All-America, All-Region and All-Conference laurels. She finished with 845 digs and averaged 7.10 per set to earn her first NCAA II National Statistical Champion accolade.
She was a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll while majoring in nursing. In 2013, she was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® team and was a two-time Academic All-District first team choice.
After Tusculum, she later earned a nursing degree from Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne in 2017.
From 2017-2021 she was a member of the medical surgical unit at DuPont Hospital as well as Heartland Hospice, both in Fort Wayne. In 2021, she took on travel nursing and is with Adams Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Indiana.
She is married to Brandon Lee Smith and they are the proud parents of their son, Lincoln James, who was born in August.
Those wishing to attend the Sports Hall of Fame Dinner, may register on-line at the Tusculum Homecoming web site at: https://go.tusculum.edu/homecoming/.
