Hall of Fame
Evelyn Bean arrived on the McKendree campus during the summer of 1997. Over the next 18 years she made a positive impact on not one, but two Bearcat programs. Evelyn helped bring the McKendree volleyball and softball program to new heights and successes both athletically and academically.
On the volleyball court, Evelyn guided McKendree to 317 victories during her 15 years on the Bearcats’ bench, and left the program as the all-time leader in wins. Over those 15 years, Evelyn’s teams produced nine 20-win seasons, including a 30-10 record in 1998. McKendree reached the American Midwest Conference Tournament 13 times in 14 years under her leadership, which included three trips to the finals. The Bearcats also qualified for NAIA regional play six times under Evelyn’s tutelage.
In her days as the Bearcats’ volleyball coach, Evelyn coached 22 All-Conference and eight All-Region performers. In the classroom, she mentored 28 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 75 Academic All-Conference honorees.
Evelyn served a dual role as the Bearcats’ softball coach from 1998-2011, and continued in that position until 2015. Like her days with volleyball, Evelyn finished her softball coaching career as the program’s all-time leader in victories with 518. She led the Bearcats to three NASIA Softball National Championship appearances, including a fifth-place showing at the 1999 event. McKendree captured three AMC regular-season championships and a pair of AMC Tournament titles along the way. For her efforts she was named AMC Coach of the Year three different times and was a two-time NAIA Region Coach of the Year recipient.
A total of 59 players earned All-Conference honors under Evelyn’s watch. She coached three NAIA All-America honorees as well as a trio of AMC Player of the Year winners. Off the field, Evelyn tutored 264 AMC Academic All-Conference recipients. That list included 50 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 30 NAIA Academic All-Region honorees. Evelyn’s 2010 squad led all NAIA institutions in grade-point average.
