Lancers Past

John Rusevlyan is featured in the second episode of a three-part tribute to Longwood basketball legend Jerome Kersey.   Rusevlyan, who roomed with Jerome for two years, reflects on lessons learned from the elder Kersey.  Now, John is the owner and broker of ProSouth Realty in Florence Ala.

Orlando Turner or "O" is featured in this episode as part of a tribute to Longwood basketball legend Jerome Kersey.   O, who knew Jerome from basketball at Longwood to his untimely death in 2015, looks back at their friendship and brotherhood.  Turner lives in Fredericksburg where he is a Team Leader and Loan Specialist with the US Small Business Administration.  

With a BA in Physics from the University of Virginia in hand and a year of eligibility, Colin Ducharme had an itch to play more college basketball.   As a Longwood College graduate student, the 6-9, 243 Ducharme dominated the paint and helped engineer one of Division II's biggest turnarounds with a 28-3 and a berth in the NCAA playoffs.  Ducharme is now the Executive Director of Sterling Capital M...

Sean Flood spent just two years at Longwood, but his love for basketball and Ireland is a lifetime.  As a team captain, he has represented Ireland for 10 years in international competition.  Flood and the Irish senior national team won the 2021 FIBA European Championship for small countries in August to qualify for the EuroBasket 2025 tournament.  Flood, a two-time All-Big South Academic selection...

Kelsey Pardue was arguably the best women's soccer player since Longwood started the program in 1993.   The two-time All-Big South Conference and All-Southeast region selection took her game to the major league stage as a member of the Washington Spirit. While injuries derailed her pro career, the Business Administration and Marketing major now focuses on the next generation as a coach for Loudoun...

Michael Edge was known by his coaches and teammates as a quiet leader that led by example.  A native of Chester England, he adjusted well to college soccer earning first-team DII All-American in 1988 and finishing his Longwood career with 22 goals and nine assists as a midfielder and a defensive back.  After earning a B.S. in chemistry in 1990, Edge has worked for an international fragrance and fl...

It's not official, but chances are that Aaron Mitchell holds the Longwood men's basketball record for the longest professional basketball career in the Division I era.  Nine and counting.  The 32-year-old guard from Matoaca Virginia just completed a year in Iraq and is looking forward to returning to the Middle East, perhaps in Kuwait for number 10.  Listen to Longwood's veteran basketball globetr...

For four years, Kaylynn "Bug" Batten was a fixture behind the plate for Longwood softball.  The three-time all-conference catcher managed Longwood's best in the circle.  In the batter's box, she hit a career high .371 during her junior year and earned and three trips to the NCAA Regionals.   She is now an Environmental Health Specialist in Wilson County North Carolina and an assistant softball coa...

Three-time NCGA All-American and Academic All-American, Small College All-American, Longwood Athletic Hall of Fame, 19-year LPGA veteran.   For Tina Barrett, the list of accolades and accomplishments goes on and on.  Now, she leverages her experience to develop the next generation of golfers as the head men's and women's golf coach at Ottawa University in Surprise Arizona.   

Lemish came to Longwood in 1982 to build the fundraising arm of the college.  After Longwood, Lemish headed the advancement office and athletic department at James Madison University.  He returned to Farmville in 1999 as the athletic director and helped the Lancers study the eventual move to Division I.

As a sophomore, Scooter and the Longwood men's golf team made Longwood history as the first team in any sport to qualify for the NCAA Division I post-season play.   Scooter is now the Head Golf Professional at Champion Hills in Hendersonville North Carolina where he manages golf operations and teaches members.    

Dennis Hale, Longwood '91, was one of the all-time pitching greats with a career record of 33-6 and an appearance in the 1991 NCAA DII College World Series.  A true student-athlete, the physics major earned All-American and Academic All-American honors.  Since 2004, he leads his team of hometown heroes as the chief of fire and EMS in Dinwiddie County.  

Jenny Holm quickly learned the challenges as a college student-athlete as she was thrust into the #1 singles slot as a freshman.  She grew with her young team and made Longwood tennis history as the first team to post three consecutive winning seasons.  Now, a physical therapist in Norfolk,  Dr. Holm specializes in treating musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.  

Cal Luther guided the Longwood men's basketball team for nine season (1981-90), including three years with late NBA veteran Jerome Kersey. Listen to a former assistant coach and players reminisce about coaching and playing for Luther.  The podcast features interviews with Mo Schoepfer, Kevin Ricks, Robert Pierce, Doug Poppe and Kevin Jefferson.   

Ana Litton is the all-time leading scorer in Longwood Women's Basketball history at 1,615 points and a two-time Honorable Mention All-American.  A self-proclaimed "gym rat," Ana took her passion to the sidelines as a college coach for 10 years.  Now, Ana applies her humor and fun loving personality as an elementary school physical education teacher in Seattle Washington.   

Cody Anderson was hired as the Longwood University (VA) men's basketball director of basketball operations right after graduating from the University of Georgia in May 2015.  After only a year, he was promoted to assistant coach, one of the youngest in Division I basketball.  Cody is back in Georgia as the head coach of the Habersham Central High School Raiders, his alma mater.  Learn how Cody's i...

Melanie Lee had second thoughts after enrolling at Longwood in the the summer of 1983.  She soon found a calling to social work and discovered her lifelong mentor Dr. Edna Allen Bledsoe Dean.  On the basketball court, Melanie's game blossomed as she earned Honorable Mention All-American as a junior.  After several of her "courageous conversations," Lee passed up basketball her senior year to compl...

Mo Sumter came to Longwood University as a 17-year-old freshman in the fall of 2003 and was on the first team to play a full Division I schedule.  Despite winning only 25 games in four years as a Lancer, Sumter finished fourth in career scoring and rebounds.  Mo, who is an assistant at Christopher Newport University, shares lessons learned from his 10-year basketball coaching journey.  

From 1980-1996, Steve Nelson's wrestlers made 15 appearances in the NCAA Division II Nationals and his 1996 golf team made history as they competed in the NCAA Division II National Tournament.  After retiring from the Virginia Department of Social Services, Nelson is back in the saddle with the Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center, an organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding for veterans...

Sharon Pillow Parker, Longwood '83, competed just two years on the Longwood gymnastics team, but she made them count.  She  qualified for the AIAW Division II Nationals both years, finishing 13th in all-around as a freshman.  Sharon, who has been coaching gymnastics since graduating from Longwood, is married to former Longwood College soccer standout, Joe Parker '83.  

To say Steve Crute was under recruited out of high school is an understatement.  He did not even know Longwood had a men's golf team.  Learn about his four-year college golf career and how he teamed with MLB's Michael Tucker at Bluestone High School in baseball and basketball.   

As a 6-3 point guard, Kevin Ricks left his marks in the Longwood Basketball record book ranking fifth in career assists and second in steals.  Learn how the 1987 Longwood College graduate manages the game from a different perspective, as a 27-year high school and college basketball official.  When he is not running up and down the court, he oversees the media production department at Hampton Unive...

Anna Steg, a 6-1 forward, played for four head coaches in four years on the women's basketball team while facing some of the nation's best post players.  The 2009 Longwood University graduate became a master in adapting to change and overcoming obstacles.  Learn how she faced her biggest challenge when her fiance' Staff Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines (USMC), was killed in action.   

Ray Jones, a native of Bermuda, may be the best football (soccer) player ever to play at Longwood, regardless of NCAA level.  Jones was a two-time DII All-American and a member of the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame.  Jones, now a CPA, is the Director of Finance and Administration for the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation and a long-time youth football (soccer) coach.  Ray served as an assi...

Dan Wilson summarizes his student and professional life is his upcoming book "1.3 (GPA) to Ph. D.:  The Story of My Academic Journey."  Wilson graduated from Longwood University in 2008 and was a two-year member of the men's basketball team.   His dreams of playing Division I college basketball were put on hold with a low high school GPA.  Dr. Dan Wilson inspires the next generation of students as...