March 17, 2023

2021 Hall of Fame inductees for Earlham Athletics

The 2021 class of inductees into the Earlham College Athletics Hall of Fame includes two of the most successful head coaches in the modern era of Earlham athletics. Both gave the Quakers their first sustained success as an NCAA Division III institution and brought excitement to Earlham sports as the Quakers transitioned into the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Jocelyn Keller, who returned to Earlham as head women’s soccer coach after previously serving as an assistant, took an outstanding class of first-years, added some new players and coached the combined group into a four-year dynasty.

Adam Van Zee guided Earlham men’s tennis to unprecedented levels of competitive success in a sport where the Quakers had posted just 10 conference wins in the North Coast Athletic Conference over the 19 seasons prior to his arrival in Richmond.

Earlham College is proud to recognize these two former coaches with induction into the Earlham Athletics Hall of Fame.

Jocelyn Keller

Head Women’s Soccer Coach, 2008-11

Jocelyn Keller served as Earlham’s head women’s soccer coach from 2008 to 2011, the most successful four-year span in program history, while leading the program in the transition from the North Coast Athletic Conference into the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Under Keller’s leadership, Earlham women’s soccer closed out its NCAC era in 2009 with a 12-7-1 record and an appearance in the NCAC Tournament championship match. Four players received conference post-season recognition, including NCAC Newcomer of the Year Joy Doucette.

Keller led the Quakers to the HCAC regular season championship in 2010, Earlham’s inaugural campaign in the Heartland Conference, as well as an appearance in the HCAC Tournament championship game. Earlham finished the season with a 14-6-1 record, setting a still-standing program record for victories in a season, and Keller was recognized as the HCAC Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year. She is one of only eight Earlham head coaches to earn HCAC coach of the year honors. Eight Earlham women’s soccer players received post-season conference honors, including Offensive MVP and 2019 Earlham Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Karman Duchon. Under Keller’s tutelage, Duchon also earned NSCAA All-Region honors in 2008.

More success followed in 2011, when Earlham women’s soccer repeated as the HCAC regular season champions and advanced into the HCAC Tournament. Seven players received All-HCAC recognition with Ikumi Doucette earning Offensive MVP honors, marking the second straight season an Earlham women’s soccer player had earned the conference offensive MVP award. A third Keller-recruited Earlham women’s soccer player would capture the accolade in 2012 as Joy Doucette was tabbed for HCAC Offensive MVP honors.

Earlham women’s soccer recorded a 49-25-3 overall record in four seasons under Keller’s tutelage, reaching conference post-season play in three of the four years.

Keller, a 2004 DePauw University graduate, began her coaching career as an assistant at Earlham under Jim Watts (2001-07) and went on to coach at Williams College and Washington & Lee University before returning to Earlham in 2008. She proceeded to coach at Carleton College in Minnesota for eight seasons and completed her graduate degree in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota. Keller currently serves as the head girls soccer coach at The Blake School in Minneapolis and has a private practice as a licensed therapist in the Twin Cities. She resides in southwest Minneapolis with her husband, Ethan Johnson, and their daughter, Ilse, with a second daughter expected in September 2021.

Adam Van Zee

Head Men’s Tennis Coach, 2009-13

Adam Van Zee led Earlham men’s tennis from 2009 to 2013, taking the program to unprecedented levels of success.

Under Van Zee’s guidance, Earlham captured three straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships from 2011 to 2013.

In 2010-11, the Quakers’ first season in the HCAC, Van Zee led Earlham to a 17-4 overall record, 7-1 in the HCAC, and was recognized as the league’s Coach of the Year. Six Earlham tennis players were tabbed for inclusion on the All-HCAC or Honorable Mention squads, and the Quakers advanced to face Luther College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship.

That success was duplicated in 2011-12 when Earlham posted a 19-2 overall record, including a 9-0 march through the conference schedule. Van Zee received Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year, and newcomer Anton Bartashevich was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year. Six members of the squad earned HCAC post-season honors, including four All-HCAC selections. The Quakers faced Baldwin-Wallace in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship, narrowly falling to the Yellow Jackets in nine matches.

The Quakers made it three-in-a-row in 2012-13, when Earlham posted a 19-3 overall mark and again went 9-0 in conference play. Under Van Zee’s guidance, Bartashevich earned HCAC Player of the Year honors and was one of five Earlham men’s tennis players to gain a spot on the All-HCAC squad. Van Zee received a third consecutive HCAC Coach of the Year award, and the Quakers went on to face Coe College in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship after receiving a first-round bye.

Van Zee began the 2013-14 season with the Quakers before stepping down to accept a development position at Wabash College. Earlham men’s tennis finished that campaign with six more All-HCAC awards as well as another MVP laurel for Bartashevich, while Phil Locklear was named the HCAC Freshman of the Year.

During Van Zee’s first two seasons at Earlham, the Quakers competed in the North Coast Athletic Conference where the signs of the program’s future success became visible. Earlham improved from a 4-10 record in Van Zee’s first season to an 8-10 mark in 2009-10, with Brad Maisey earning NCAC Newcomer of the Year honors.

Over his five years at the helm of Earlham men’s tennis, Van Zee posted a 67-29 overall record and a 25-9 ledger in conference matches. He is one of eight Earlham coaches to earn HCAC Coach of the Year honors and the only one to earn the award on multiple occasions.

A 2007 graduate of Wabash College, Van Zee worked with the Earlham women’s tennis program while attending graduate school at Ball State University. He currently serves as a major gifts officer for the IUPUI School of Health & Human Sciences.

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