Starmount alumna to be inducted to Charleston Southern Sports Hall of Fame

CHARLESTON — Charleston Southern Athletics has announced inductees for its Hall of Fame Class of 2024. The group features three former student-athletes named to the 2010-2019 Big South All-Decade Teams for their respective sports. It also recognizes one outstanding benefactor to CSU Athletics and the University.

Among the inductees is 2009 Starmount graduate Jana Matthews-Chinners.

Matthews-Chinners was a four-year member of the Buccaneers Softball program from 2010-2013 as an outfielder. She earned Big South All-Conference accolades every season and became one of just two Buccaneers to accomplish the feat. She was selected to the Big South’s 2010-2019 All-Decade Team for her success while dawning the Blue and Gold.

Matthews ranks among the program’s best career hitters ranking in the Top-25 all-time for every major offensive statistical category. Her career home run total ranks third in program history with 36, while she checks in second all-time in career RBIs at 141. She also ranks sixth in CSU history for career slugging percentage with a mark of .496 across her four years.

During her first three seasons at CSU, she helped the team secure its highest finish in the conference tournament in nearly a quarter century. Charleston Southern entered the 2012 tournament as the No. 3 seed before finishing as runner-up, marking their best finish since winning the conference championship in 1988. In 2012, the Bucs collected 33 wins to set a program record for wins in a single season with Matthews being a key component during that run.

The 2024 honorees will officially join the exclusive club of 107 former inductees at the Hall of Fame banquet that will be held on the night of Friday, October 18. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the football game against Southeast Missouri State at 4 p.m. on the following day.