This year’s Hall of Fame inductees include Dan Bainard, (men’s volleyball), Jacob Doerksen (men’s basketball), Jen (Kreek) Kauffeldt (women’s basketball), and Angela (Trauter) Gahan (women’s soccer) along with Allan Kotanen (men’s hockey) in the coach and builder category and the 1981-82 championship-winning men’s hockey team.
In his five years at TWU, from 1995 to 2000, the high-flying Dan Bainard was one of the best collegiate men’s volleyball players in the country. A dominant player throughout his Spartans career, Bainard was twice named a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association All-Canadian, in 1995-96 and 1996-97, and in those same years was also a British Columbia Colleges’ Athletic Association First Team All-Star.
In 1996-97, Bainard was named the BCCAA Player of the Year, while twice earning national athlete of the month honours that season. over his four years in the BCCAA, Bainard averaged an otherworldly 4.75 kills per set to go with 0.56 aces per set. In his final year as a Spartan, Bainard was part of TWU’s inaugural season in Canada West and what is now U SPORTS. That year, he finished with 3.12 kills per set and 0.69 blocks per set.
A player who helped build the foundation of the men’s volleyball program at TWU, Bainard’s legacy lives on as he is now inducted into the Trinity Western University Spartans Hall of Fame.
Ron Pike (former coach)
“Dan had a lot of great attributes, but what always stood out for me was his exceptional athleticism. Ver few players have the vertical and lateral jumping range Dan had which allowed him to be one of the most dominating attackers of his era. In many ways he was the first U SPORTS/ international level player in men’s volleyball program history.”
Few athletes left a mark as indelible as Jacob Doerksen on the Trinity Western men’s basketball program. Doerksen, who graduated in 2011, was a force on the court, a leader by example, and a name forever etched in the history of Spartan men’s basketball.
After transferring to TWU from the University of Victoria, Doerksen had an immediate impact on the Spartans program. In his first year in Langley, 2009-09, Doerksen was named the Canada West and U SPORTS Play of the Year. He followed that up with two more seasons in which he was named a Canada West First Team All-Star, capping his time with the Spartans by leading TWU on a historic run to the 2011 national championship final.
Over his university career, Doerksen accomplished the rare feat of being named a five-time Canada West All-Star, including four First Team honours, helping lead the Spartans to an unprecedented run of U SPORTS success.
Already inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame, Doerksen is now a member of the Trinity Western University Spartans Hall of Fame.
Scott Allen – Former Coach
“Jacob Doerksen is someone who leaves a lasting impression on everyone around him. His leadership and care for others really shines through, especially with his roles as a friend, coach, and family man. To be a champion at high school, university, and professional levels speaks volumes about his dedication and skill. It is inspiring to see someone achieve so much while still staying grounded and caring for others. I am proud to say Jacob is a good friend of mine and an excellent recipient of this award.”
In the illustrious history of the Trinity Western women’s soccer program, Angela Gahan remains one of the all-time greats and was an instrumental figure in the building of what quickly became a championship-winning program. Gahan came to TWU in the same year the Spartans entered U SPORTS (then CIAU) and over her career, she helped lead TWU to two Canada West finals, highlighted by an historic 2004 season when she captained the Spartans to TWU’s first-ever Canada West championship and a week later, the school’s first-ever national championship.
Individually, Gahan was a three-time Canada West All-Star and was the Spartan Female Athlete of the Year in 2004-05. A foundational piece of the Spartans women’s soccer program, Gahan now enteres the Trinity Western University Spartans Hall of Fame.
Graham Roxburgh – Former Coach
“Every aspiring program that has ambitions of reaching the heights need THE ONE elite recruit upon whom you begin to build your future. Angela was THAT ONE. What a player, what a leader, what a person. In and through Angela, the Spartan women’s soccer program took on the mindset of ‘we can do this’ and we are willing to take on anyone because she demonstrated a character of commitment, work, resilience, inner strength, and just the sheer will to win. Angela personifies so many of the core values, upon which the soccer program began to build its model of sustainable success, and it was because of her determination, her dominance, and her putting the team on her back that we started the journey to both our first Canada West and National Championship, that set the program up for more to come. As great a player Angela was, she believed and embodied the type of character and vision that we had for the program and she led the young team towards that vision with pride, skill and vital leadership. Angela is an outstanding person, wife, mom, and community influencer who has had an impact on teammates, peers and many others in the years after her remarkable career at TWU. I am privileged to have coached her, worked alongside her, shared ministry moments with her and ultimately so proud that I can call her a true friend. May God continue to work in and through you Traut.”
Jen Kauffeldt enters the Trinity Western University Spartans Hall of Fame after what was an unmatched collegiate career with the Spartans. Kauffeldt, who graduated in 1996, was a two-time First Team All-Star within the British Columbia Colleges’ Athletic Association and a two-time First Team All-Canadian within the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association.
A dominant player for the Spartans over her four years at TWU, Kauffeldt finished her career as the Spartans all-time points per game leader with 13.6, while also setting TWU’s then single-season record of 18.2 points per game.
Now, 30 years beyond her graduation from TWU, Kauffeldt joins another prestigious group as she is inducted into the Trinity Western University Spartans Hall of Fame.
Kendall Kauffeldt – Former Coach
“Coaching Jen was an absolute honor. Jen’s passion to win never overshadowed her care for her teammates but it did ‘raise the bar’ for all of us resulting in many victories and successes. Jen was reliable on the court and wanted the ball in crunch times. Jen was and is a leader. Greater though than all of these accolades Jen loves Jesus. I am so proud of Jen. Congratulations Jen on your deserved induction into the Spartan Hall of Fame.”
One of the longest-serving employees to ever work at Trinity Western University, Allan Kotanen enters the Spartans Hall of Fame as a coach and a builder, having led the men’s hockey team for 10 years.
Kotanen was the Spartans men’s hockey coach from 1974-75 to 1983-84, compiling a record of 149-49-19 and leading the team to a Pacific Northwest Collegiate Hockey Association championship in 1981-82 and 1982-83.
The long-time bench boss helped build a men’s hockey program that has continued to thrive in various iterations until ultimately joining the highest ranks of university hockey when the Spartans joined U SPORTS in 2020. Since his time as head coach, Kotanen has remained at TWU in various roles and recently celebrated his 50th year as an employee at the university.
A pioneer in the establishment of men’s hockey at TWU, we now welcome Kotanen into the Trinity Western University Spartans Hall of Fame.
Chuck MacKnee – Former Player
“Allan was a positive coach who believed in his players. He was big on building community and group cohesion through team dinners at his home and traveling across the Prairies and Califorinia. He was a generous person who was affectionately known as ‘Podunk’.”
Fabien Alexis, Ralph Archibald, Dave Baturin, Ted Borley, Jeff Dyck, Gary Edwards, Dave Foley, George Friesen, Grant Fritzke, Glen Hildebrand, Marlin Kroeker, Craig Luciak, Chuck MacKnee, Paul Magnusson, Doug Meyerhoff, Darrell Regehr, Ross Reimer, Chad Reimer, Peter Sherstan, Jeff Vanderwoerd, Don Westman, Coach – Allan Kotanen, Trainer/Manager – John Ruggles
In just their first year in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Hockey Association, Trinity Western’s men’s hockey team made history. The Spartans put together a record of 23-2-1 on reoute to winning TWU’s first-ever league championship in men’s hockey.
Individually, Chuck MacKnee led the way by setting the single-season scoring record with 28 goals and, in doing so, became the all-time record holder for career points at TWU, with 77 goals and 62 assists. That year, Glen Hildebrand also set a record for assists by a left winger, with 19.
As a team, TWU also set a single-game record for goals with a whopping 16.
Led by coach Allan Kotanen, the Spartans 1981-82 team was the first men’s hockey team to capture a league title and, as they did back then, they make history now, becoming the first representatives of the men’s hockey program to enter the Trinity Western University Spartans Hall of Fame.
Allan Kotanen – Coach
“The 1981-82 team was the turning point for the men’s hockey program. It was the first year that I thought we had something to build on. And because of our success, we were able to attract even better players and build the program. We went from not having enough players to good players having to sit. This quality of this team allowed us to go on a tour of California and play in big schools like UCLA, USC, and UC Santa Barbara without getting blown out. And we did pretty good. This team not only won our first championship, but it built the foundation for us having a strong hockey program and a recruiting platform for the University.”
