The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
Long Beach State officially welcomed one of the most accomplished Hall of Fame classes in school history last Wednesday night, honoring its 2026 inductees during a formal ceremony at the Long Beach Airport Marriott ballroom.
Surrounded by former teammates, coaches, administrators, family members and supporters of Beach Athletics, the evening celebrated excellence that spanned decades, sports and generations.
Long Beach State announced the 2026 Hall of Fame class earlier this year, featuring five former student-athletes, a legendary coach and one of the most iconic championship teams in program history. The class included Abe Alvarez (baseball), James Ennis (men’s basketball), Angelica Garcia (women’s water polo), Bob Summers (men’s golf), Sherron Walker (track and field), longtime track and field coach Andy Sythe and the 1993 NCAA National Champion women’s volleyball team.
“This event is always one of my favorite nights of the year,” Executive Director of Athletics Bobby Smitheran said to open the evening. “It brings together so many people who care about this university – former student-athletes, coaches, campus leaders, community supporters and friends of Long Beach State.”
“One of the best aspects of my job is that I get to make that call to notify an individual or a team that they’ve been selected for induction,” Smitheran added.
Few embodied Long Beach State’s storied baseball tradition like Alvarez, the winningest left-handed pitcher in Dirtbags history. Alvarez earned back-to-back Pitcher of the Year honors in 2002 and 2003 and anchored a dominant rotation alongside Jered Weaver during one of the program’s most memorable eras. He later won a World Series championship with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and is back with Long Beach State as an assistant coach this season.
“I think a big deal about it was the Falls,” Alvarez said when reflecting on his partnership with Weaver. “We both struggled as freshmen. I figured it out my sophomore year and then he just exploded. That era of Dirtbags baseball was just different.”
Alvarez also credited pitching coach and former Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley for shaping his career and the success of an entire generation of pitchers.
Ennis helped elevate Long Beach State men’s basketball to new heights in the early 2010s. Known as “Ennis the Menace,” he led the Beach to consecutive Big West championships in 2012 and 2013, earned Big West Player of the Year honors in 2013 and was later drafted by the Miami Heat. Ennis went on to play 395 NBA games over seven seasons, the fifth-most in program history.
“Dan Monson gave me an opportunity,” Ennis said. “It’s hard to get coaches to believe in you. He believed in me, and I was able to play my game.”
Ennis described his NBA career as surreal.
“The NBA was like a movie,” Ennis added. “I got to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. It was a dream come true.”
Garcia stands among the most decorated players in women’s water polo history at Long Beach State. A four-time All-American, Garcia helped lead the Beach to a No. 4 national ranking for three consecutive seasons and finished her career second all-time in program history with 206 goals.
“I think it was very much a cohesive effort,” Garcia said. “Being coached by Ricardo (Azevedo) was one of the highlights of my life. He knew how to coach women’s water polo, how to talk to us, how to maximize the potential that we had.”
Walker, Track and field standout, remains etched in the record books nearly five decades later. Her long jump of 21 feet during the 1978 season still stands as a Long Beach State record. Walker helped the Beach claim its first conference championship in 1978 and competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics after finishing second at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“I wasn’t chasing that number,” Walker said of her record jump. “But I knew when I did it that it was a good jump.”
Summers, a legend of Long Beach State men’s golf, captured the individual Big West Championship in 1983 and earned Honorable Mention All-America honors the same year. Summers emphasized the lifelong bonds formed through the program.
“Golf is life, truthfully,” Summers said. “We were building friendships that have lasted 45 years.”
Few coaches have left a legacy as enduring as Sythe, who spent 35 years leading the Beach track and field program. He was named Big West Coach of the Year 11 times, led the Beach to 11 conference championships, coached 77 All-Americans and played a key role in the development of the Jack Rose Track facility.
“Long Beach State has always been a place where you can grow,” Sythe said. “I was rewarded by performances of athletes becoming All-Americans.”
The night concluded by honoring the Brian Gimmillaro-coached 1993 women’s volleyball team, the program’s fourth national championship and second NCAA Division I title. Led by National Player of the Year Danielle Scott and All-Americans Nichelle Burton and Joy McKienzie, the Beach capped the season with a 3-1 victory over Penn State.
“It’s an amazing honor – the rarest of all achievements in college athletics,” Gimmillaro said. “We went up against schools with more money and more prestige in their mind, but we put something special together.”
“What made the 1993 team was the glue – Brian and Debbie (Green), the accountability, the attention to detail,” she said. “That sense of pride is what made us special.”
