NORFOLK, Va. – Five former Old Dominion University student-athletes were named to ODU's 40 Under 40 Alumni Recognition Program.
Former ODU student-athletes Kent Bazemore, Ronnie Cameron, Taylor Heinicke, Colby Owen and Justin Verlander made the list.
Kent Bazemore
A two-time Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year, Bazemore was the 2011 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year in 2011. He was also twice named first-team All-CAA.
Bazemore's named is littered across the ODU record books, as he has played in the most career games by a Monarch, with 140, is tied for wins by a player with 101 and second in steals with 250. Bazemore finished his ODU career with 1,416 points (21st) and 379 assists (16th).
Bazemore helped lead Old Dominion to back-to-back CAA Championships in 2009-10 and 2010-11. In the First Round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Bazemore and the Monarchs upset No. 6 seeded Notre Dame in New Orleans, giving ODU its first NCAA Tournament win since 1995. His jersey was retired on Dec. 10, 2016.
Bazemore is in his ninth season in the NBA and has played for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings.
Ronnie Cameron
Ronnie Cameron was the first former Monarch football player to make a 53-man roster, when he was activated by the Cleveland Browns in 2012.
Cameron was a first-team All-America honoree and the CAA Defensive Player of the Year for ODU in 2011.
Cameron is currently Facebook's lead racial justice product manager.
Taylor Heinicke
The 2012 Walter Payton Award winner, Heinicke still holds 37 game, season and career records as a Monarch. Along with winning the Payton Award in 2012, Heinicke was named the CAA Player of the Year and received first-team All-America honors.
Heinicke ranks sixth all-time among Division I quarterbacks with 14,959 career passing yards, and ranks seventh with 132 career touchdown passes.
Heinicke helped lead the Monarchs to back-to-back FCS playoff appearances in 2011 and 2012.
He has spent the last six seasons in the NFL, spending time with the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers and Washington Football Team. Heinicke recently signed a two-year deal with Washington.
Colby Owen
Colby Owen was a four-year member of the Old Dominion women's soccer team, and helped the Monarchs win the 2006 CAA Championship.
Owen is currently the General Manager for Athletic Sponsorships at Niagara University. Prior to that, she worked for ODU Sports Properties for 10 years.
Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander is the all-time strikeout king in ODU, CAA and the Commonwealth of Virginia history with 427 strikeouts in 335.2 innings. The three-time All CAA selection was an ABCA Coaches freshman All-American and Collegiate Baseball honorable mention All-American. Verlander struck out 17 batters against JMU twice in 2002 and 2004 and also fanned 16 against VCU in 2004.
He pitched for Team USA in the 2003 Pan Am games and was a finalist for the Roger Clemens National Pitcher of the Year award. The 2004 ODU Alumni Association's Male Athlete of the year was the second overall pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers. In his career, Verlander has thrown three no-hitters, has won two Cy Young Awards, including both the Cy Young and MVP in 2011, is an eight-time All-Star, and helped the Houston Astros win the 2017 World Series.
Verlander was inducted into the ODU Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and his jersey was retired in 2010.
Five Former Student-Athletes Named to ODU’s 40 Under 40
