Coker Announces 2025 Hall Of Fame Class

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Coker University will induct Sam Arminio, Tina Conley Banham, Rob Darnell, Mike Manning, Nikki Maxson Haddock, Katie Pate, and Jim Roquemore into the Coker University Athletics Hall of Fame in February 2025, Coker Vice President of Athletics, Dr. Lynn Griffin, announced today.

In a unanimous decision by the Coker Hall of Fame selection committee, Arminio, a former baseball player, becomes just the third individual baseball player to be inducted into the hall of fame, while Conley Banham, a standout women's soccer player, becomes the fifth women's soccer player to be inducted.  Darnell, another former baseball player, will be the fourth baseball inductee, while Manning, a former men's basketball player, becomes the seventh men's basketball player to join the Coker Hall of Fame. Maxson Haddock, a softball player, will be the fourth individual Cobra softball player inducted and Pate, a standout women's basketball player and former Cobra women's basketball head coach, joins the Coker Hall of Fame as the eighth individual representing women's basketball to be inducted. Finally, Roquemore, a long-time supporter of Coker Athletics, will become the fourth Coker Athletics donor to be enshrined in the Coker Athletics Hall of Fame. 

The induction ceremony and dinner will take place February 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Coker's DeLoach Center.  

"We are very excited to honor this is an amazing group of student-athletes, coaches, and supporters of Coker Athletics," Griffin said. "This will be the largest class of individual Hall of Fame inductees in Coker history, and we are thrilled to welcome each of them back to campus. It will be a fantastic night as we celebrate the accomplishments and impact each of these people has had on Coker."

Arminio, a 1995 graduate of Coker, was a two-year member of the Cobra baseball team. Arminio helped lead the Cobras to a 48-12 record in 1994, including the 1994 Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title, the NAIA Mid-East Regional Championship and a spot in the NAIA World Series. The right-handed pitcher earned All-American honors as a in 1995 finishing the season with 87 strikeouts, and he is ranked No. 3 at Coker in career earned run average with a 2.72 ERA over two years. He is a member of the All-Time Coker baseball team. 

Following his career at Coker, Arminio spent five seasons playing professional baseball in the Texas-Louisiana Independent League and the South Atlantic League. He went 24-21 in his professional career with a 4.25 ERA, 188 strikeouts and 10 complete games. 

A native of Hamilton, Ohio, Arminio and his wife Lindsey have four children. 

Conley Banham, a 1994 graduate of Coker, was a four-year member of the Cobra women's soccer team. One of the top scorers all-time at Coker, she is ranked third all-time at Coker in points with 93, is third in goals with 38, is seventh in assists with 17. 

Upon graduating from Coker, Conley Banham spent two seasons as the assistant women's soccer coach for the Cobras before beginning a very successful head coaching career. She spent three seasons at Lambuth University and then moved on to Central Arkansas for an 11-year stint that saw her go 82-97-12 overall. She earned Gulf South Coach of the Year honors in 2002 and had UCA ranked as high as No. 5 in the NCAA Division II South Region. In 2004, she led the Bears to No. 4 in the region poll and in 2005 under her guidance UCA won a school-record 12 games. 

Conley Banham retired from collegiate coaching in 2011 and moved to the club and select ranks. She now serves as the Director of Member Services for the Girls Academy, the leading youth development platform for the best female soccer players in the United States. She works with fellow Coker alum and Hall of Fame inductee, Patrica Hughes.

Darnell, an All-American outfielder for the Cobras from 1993-1994, was the first baseball All-American in Coker history and helped lead the Cobras to a 48-12 record in 1994, including the 1994 Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title, the NAIA Mid-East Regional Championship and a spot in the NAIA World Series. He was named All-American, All-Region, and All-Conference in 1994. He is a member of the All-Time Coker baseball team. 

After graduating from Coker, Darnell spent three seasons playing professional baseball in the North Central Independent League, the Northeastern Independent League and the Texas-Louisiana Independent League. He appeared in 152 games batting .252 with 16 doubles, four triples, three home runs, 36 RBIs, and 36 stolen bases. 

Darnell returned to Coker in 1996 until 2000, serving in various roles including Director of Intramurals, Admissions Counselor, Assistant Baseball Coach, and he was the first-ever head coach of the Coker men's and women's cross country teams in 1999. 

He currently lives in Braselton, Ga., with his daughters where he is a Sales Account Manager for Alliance Wire and Cable. 

Manning, a 1988 graduate, averaged 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game over his four-year career with the Cobras, finishing with 1,218 points ranking him seventh all-time at Coker in career points. He is ranked second in career rebounds with 595, is ranked in the top five in field goal and free throw percentage, and he holds the Coker record for most free throws made in a game, scoring 20 free throws in a game. 

A four-year starter and team MVP during his senior season, Manning earned a Business Administration degree from Coker while volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club as a mentor and a C.O.W. Days volunteer. He was named to the All-Time Coker men's basketball team. 

After his time at Coker, Manning went on to receive Juris Doctor degree at the University of Tulsa and opened his own private practice where he has had the privilege of helping thousands defend themselves against false accusations. He is also a proud husband and father to seven children and three adopted children.

Maxson Haddock, a standout outfielder for the Cobra softball team from 1993-1996, she is ranked in the top 10 in several career hitting categories including being No. 5 in batting average (.408), No. 4 in hits (232), No. 6 in doubles (40), and No. 5 in RBIs (162). 

An All-Conference, All-Region, and All-American player, Maxson Haddock helped lead the Cobras to four consecutive conference regular season titles, an NCAA Region title and trip to the 1995 NCAA National Tournament. She was named to the All-Time Coker softball team. 

Maxson Haddock earned a psychology degree from Coker and later continued her studies at Nova Southeastern in their Physical Therapy program. . She is currently a Senior Vice President for McGriff Insurance in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Pate is a 1997 graduate of Coker and former star player and later Head Coach of the Coker Women's Basketball Team. 

As a player, Pate was a four-year member of the Cobra Women's Basketball Team, a first team all-conference selection and team captain. She helped lead the Cobras to a 19-win season in 1997-98 where they averaged a record 73.2 points per game on offense, a record 65.1 points on defense, and finished the year as CVAC conference tournament runner-up. She was named to the All-Time Coker Women's Basketball Team.

She was a member of the Coker Dean's List, the Carolina-Virginia's Athletic Conference Presidential Honor Roll and the Move Without the Ball Leadership Council.

After graduating from Coker, Pate began a very successful coaching and college athletic administration career. She began as an Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at USC Upstate led by Coker alum and Head Coach Gene Hill from 1999-2001. She then returned to Coker where she was the Head Coach and Senior Woman Administrator from 2001-2005. Pate led the Cobras to a 19-win season and a runner-up finish at the CVAC Championship in 2003-04.

Pate moved on to Belmont Abbey College as Head Women's Basketball Coach and Senior Woman Administrator from 2005-07. She left the coaching ranks for a short time to return to USC Upstate as the Director of Athletics Marketing and Promotions from 2007-09.

During the 2009-10 season, Pate returned to the court as the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Wingate University. From 2010-2017 she served as Associate Head Coach and later Head Coach for Lenoir-Rhyne University. There, she was a part of the team that won the SAC Regular Season Championship and as the #1 seed in the NCAA Southeast Region, hosted the tournament regional. From Lenoir-Rhyne, Pate made the move to Division I Marshall University as the Associate Head Women's Basketball Coach and assumed the same position at Georgia State University for the 2018-19 season. 

She returned to college athletics administration as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Operations and Senior Woman Administrator at Longwood University from 2019-21. She then made her way to Appalachian State University as the Associate Athletics Director for Development and Major Gifts from 2021-24.

Pate now serves as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development at A10 member George Mason University, overseeing all fundraising efforts and NIL integration strategies for the Patriots. She is active on several industry speaker circuits including the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Women Leaders in College Sports and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). She also serves as a mentor to many young professionals and coaches.

Pate holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Coker, as well as a Master of Science in Business Administration from Webster University. Pate's sister, Kristi (Hanson) Brannon also graduated from Coker.

Roquemore is a long-time supporter of Coker University and Cobra Athletics. His son, Jay, is a 2003 graduate of Coker and a former men's basketball player. 

The CEO and Chairman of the Board of Patten Seed Company, better known as Super-Sod, Roquemore is also the Chairman and President of YC Holdings LLC. Over the years he has made several financial contributions to Coker Athletics, including donations to the Coker Athletics fields and the DeLoach Center. 

He served on the Coker Board of Trustees from 2002-07, he received the Governor's Order of the Palmetto and was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 2018. 

He is married to his wife Karen, and they have three children and five grandchildren. 

The 2025 Coker Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Harris E. & Louise H. DeLoach Center. The ceremony, which includes dinner and drinks, will cost $30 per person or $240 for a table of eight. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.cokercobras.com/tickets