Kelan Martin played for Butler men’s basketball from 2014-18. Martin finished as the second leading scorer in program history with 2,047 points. Collegian file photo. 

DREW SANDIFER | STAFF REPORTER | dsandife@butler.edu

Travel back with me to January of 2010. Butler University receives about 6,760 applications a year for the 1,000 first-year spots the university looks to fill. The athletics teams compete in the Horizon League, a conference consisted entirely of smaller Midwest universities. Brad Stevens is in the middle of his third season coaching the men’s basketball team, headlined by a baby-faced sophomore Gordon Hayward.

To say Butler has seen some growth in the last decade is a gross understatement.

This school year, nearly 15,000 high school seniors will fill out an application to Butler in hopes of living in Irvington House, which stands in the space Schwitzer Hall occupied at the beginning of the decade. The athletics teams are now in the middle of their sixth year in the Big East after a one-year stay in the Atlantic 10. 

Brad Stevens was named coach of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, which gave Chris Holtmann a chance to see success before getting hired away by Ohio State University. Gordon Hayward has made over $100 million playing basketball. Shelvin Mack and Kelan Martin have found themselves on an NBA court. Paige Monaghan, Eric Dick and Zach Steinberger have found their way to professional soccer pitches. Eric Stout appeared on a Major League Baseball roster.

With all of that chaos in mind, here are the men and women that stood tall above the rest when alumni look back at the 2010s.

Athletes

Kristen Boros, 2012-15

Kristen made her mark with an impact in each of her four seasons with the Bulldogs. Her career was highlighted by an All-Big East first team selection in her junior year, followed up by a second-team selection in her senior campaign. Boros, the younger sister of a former Bulldog, played 199 games in a Butler uniform and started all but two of them. She was a staple of the softball program.

Kellen Dunham, 2012-16

Leading the Bulldogs into their first years of the new Big East, Kellen Dunham was the first Butler player since the mid-90s to lead the team in scoring in three separate years. His 1,946 career points rank fourth in program history. He started 99 games as a Bulldog and won 86 games as a member of the team. Despite all of the NBA talent come and gone through Butler this decade, Dunham leads the program this decade with 15.6 win shares per Sports Reference.

Erik Peterson, 2012-16

The lone member of an individual sport in the All-Decade Team, Erik Peterson surely made his mark as a Bulldog. The 2016 grad was a six-time All-American across cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. At the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships, Peterson finished third in the 10k race and took the gold at the 2016 NCAC U-23 championships. Above all, he is still pursuing his dream to run in the Olympics, finishing 18th in the trial runs for the 10k race in 2016.

Eric Dick, 2013-17

Speaking of players setting new standards for their program, Eric Dick makes the list of Butler’s All-Decade Team. Dick’s accolades included 2017 Big East Goalkeeper of the Year, United Soccer Coaches First Team All-America, new school records in shutouts in a season with nine and shutouts in a career with 28. Also a star in the classroom, the team captain was named 2017-18 Big East Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a member of the Big East All-Academic Team all four years. Dick was selected 13th overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Sporting Kansas City, where he still plays.

Kelan Martin, 2014-18

Now playing in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs in one of their most consistently successful tenures. He and Tyler Wideman were the only senior class to have won an NCAA Tournament game in each of their four years. His 2,047 career points puts him at second in program history. He was a unanimous selection to the All-Big East first team his senior year and was picked to the second team in his sophomore and junior campaigns. He joined Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack as the only Butler players to appear in an NBA game in the last 60 years.

Paige Monaghan, 2015-18

Another of Butler’s own to turn professional is December 2018 grad Paige Monaghan. The New Jersey-born forward was named to the All-Big East first team twice, including the Big East Offensive Player of the Year in her junior campaign. After graduating from Butler, Monaghan was selected 10th overall by Sky Blue FC of the National Womens’ Soccer League, has since been named Player of the Week and received a call-up to the USWNT Under-23 team. Monaghan is continuing to pursue her dream to play for the national team

Pace Temple, 2015-18

Pace Temple racked up yards, touchdowns and recognition during his four years in a Butler football uniform. Named to All-PFL first teams in his junior and senior years, he also picked up an All-PFL second team selection as just a sophomore. His 3,364 receiving yards are more than anyone else in program history. His 14-catch, 167-yard and a touchdown performance to take down ranked Youngstown State in the first game of his final year earned him FCS Offensive Player of the Week. After graduation, Temple received an invitation to the Chicago Bears’ rookie minicamp.

Anna Logan, 2015-19

Hailing from just down the street at Bishop Chatard High School, Anna Logan made sure her Butler volleyball career would not be forgotten anytime soon. The outside hitter was an All-Big East second team selection as a freshman and racked up two first team selections in her following two years. Not to mention she was named NVCA All-Region and All-American honorable mention in her stellar sophomore campaign. A nagging back injury forced her to redshirt 2018, but she returned in 2019 to play every match and lead the league in kills.

Tori Schickel, 2015-19

Another 2019 graduate, Tori Schickel was a force on the court for the Bulldogs. After being named a captain of the women’s basketball team as just a sophomore, she went on to be named to two All-Big East second teams and an All-Big East first team as a junior. A career 14 points per game scorer, Schickel also got the job done on the glass. Her 15 double-doubles as a senior lead the Big East and was among the top 30 nationally. She broke the previous men’s and women’s school rebound record of 1,050 rebounds in her senior year. 

Ryan Pepiot, 2017-19

Ryan Pepiot came to Butler out of nearby Westfield High School and became an instant impact player for the Bulldogs. He led the team in strikeouts each of his three years, breaking the school career record in just three seasons. Pepiot was named All-Big East first team in both his sophomore and junior campaigns. After his junior season, Pepiot was selected in the third round of the MLB Amateur Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility to join the minor league ranks.

Head coaches

Sharon Clark, 2000-present

Coach Clark has been a leader of the Butler volleyball program for 20 years, but her teams’ performances in this decade has earned her a spot on this list. The Bulldogs won 20 games in five seasons in this decade, including an NCAA Tournament appearance as Horizon League champions in 2010. In the latter part of the decade, Clark became the winningest coach in the program’s history. 

Brad Stevens, 2007-13

One simply can’t mention Butler men’s basketball program without thinking about the teams led by head coach Brad Stevens. Stevens holds the NCAA record for wins in a coach’s first three, four and five years as head coach. Leading the men’s basketball team to back-to-back national title game appearances, his teams gave Butler the national attention to be able to move up the Atlantic 10 and Big East conferences. Even though he only coached two and a half seasons in the 2010s, his teams have impacted every Butler student today, whether they know it or not.

Paul Snape, 2011-present 

Taking the reins of the Butler men’s soccer program in 2011, coach Snape has seen immense success in the Big East. He was named 2017 Big East Coach of the Year as the Bulldogs went 8-1 in the Big East and earned the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. That team made it to the third round of the tournament, the furthest the team has reached since 1995. 

Chris Holtmann, 2014-17

Chris Holtmann made a significant impact in a short amount of time to earn a spot on this list. Replacing Brandon Miller in 2014, Holtmann was a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year in just his first full season as head coach. He led the Bulldogs to NCAA Tournament wins in each of his first three years at the helm, joining Roy Williams, John Calipari and Mike Brey as the only active coaches to win tournament games in their first three years with their then-current school. In the summer of 2017, Holtmann accepted the head coaching job at Ohio State, where he still coaches.

Teams

2009-10 & 2010-11 Men’s Basketball

These teams put Butler on the map with Horizon League championships and a 10-2 record in NCAA Tournament games. They single-handedly gave the university the exposure to jump up to one of the country’s best conferences and make Butler the nationally-known brand it is today.

2013 Football

Head coach Jeff Voris led the upstart Bulldogs to their first ever Pioneer Football League championship and a trip to the FCS Playoffs. We won’t talk about what happened when they got there, but the ride along the way was pretty cool.

2013 Women’s Cross Country

Not many current Butler students know this, but women’s cross country finished third in the nation in 2013, in their first year in the Big East, no less. While there are teams since that have been able to recreate that Big East magic, performing well in a national championship is something we won’t forget at the turn of the decade.

2015 Women’s Soccer

Although the 2017 women’s soccer team was very impressive – they had just one loss 19 matches into the season – they were not able to win the Big East crown in the end. This team in 2015 did capture the Big East crown, however, with a thrilling 1-0 win over Providence.

2017 Men’s Soccer

As stated earlier, this squad was able to go further into the men’s soccer tournament than a Butler team had gone in over 20 years. The Bulldogs knocked off a nationally ranked VCU team in the second round to face No. 1 Wake Forest, who would go on to lose to the eventual national champion, Stanford.