Hall of Fame
Not only was Mr. Devlin Herring a key component to Pitt-Johnstown’s first two appearances in the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament, but Mr. Herring will also go down as possibly the best defensive player in Mountain Cat history. From 1994 through 1998, Mr. Herring set all of the school records in steals and led the country in steals per game at 4.5 during the 1996-97 season.
Mr. Herring came to Pitt-Johnstown to play for Head Coach Bob Rukavina after a stellar four seasons at Greater Johnstown High School where he was known as “Spyder” after receiving the nickname from teammates for his ability to deflect passes and make steals on defense. He led his team to a 63-15 high school career record and three consecutive District VI Quad A Championships. The Spyder averaged 18 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.4 steals per game his senior year and was named First-Team All-Conference and Fourth-Team All-State. Mr. Herring was also chosen to participate in the Big John Riley Classic and the Dapper Dan Round Ball Classic in Pittsburgh against the Pennsylvania and U.S. All-Stars, where he scored 13 points and 11 and grabbed rebounds.
When his time as a Mountain Cat came to an end, Mr. Herring helped guide Pitt-Johnstown to the program’s first two NCAA East Regional berths in 1997 and 1998. In the process, he set and still holds all of Pitt-Johnstown’s steal records, including steals in a career (333), steals in a season (122), steals in a game (10), and career steals per game average (3.1).
Mr. Herring did more than play defense. As a sophomore in 1995-96, he led the Mountain Cats in scoring with 413 points, before finishing his career with 1,346 points, which still rank 11th on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time Scoring List. That same season, he was tabbed Pitt-Johnstown’s Most Valuable Sports Athlete and received the WJAC-TV Communications Award.
The following year, Mr. Herring was named an Honorable Mention All-American after guiding the Mountain Cats posted a 21-6 overall record and advanced to their first-ever NCAA East Regional Tournament. Mr. Herring’s 122 steals and 4.5 steals per game both led the nation, and his 10 steals against Indiana University (PA) on February 4 set an NCAA Division II record for steals in a game.
As a senior in 1997-98, Mr. Herring continued to dominate and guided Pitt-Johnstown to a school-best 24-5 record a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament. After an opening-round loss the previous season, the Mountain Cats reached the regional semifinals in 1998, before suffering a one-point setback to eventual regional Champion Fairmont State (W.Va.) College.
Along with a pair of NCAA Regional Tournament appearances, Pitt-Johnstown posted a 66-32 overall record, including a 45-11 mark over the final two years of Mr. Herring’s four seasons as a Mountain Cat.
After graduating in 1998 with a degree in Communication, Mr. Herring was chosen to play against the Caracas Venezuela pro-team in Venezuela, where his team posted 2-1 record.
Mr. Herring is employed by TMS Health, a Xerox Company located in Johnstown. In 2011, he was promoted from Operations Supervisor to Operations Manager and is now responsible for oversight of daily operations, including management of 90 employees. Mr. Herring has been with the company for 11 years.
Mr. Herring and his wife Sonya reside in Johnstown and have a son, DeSon.
“This honor means a lot because I was never the type of person to look for individual praise or accomplishments,” Mr. Herring said. “I always had a team concept in mind. I just wanted to win. I came from a high school program where winning was our motivation and I wanted to play with same type of athletes in college and it ended up being that way. To be recognized and honored with an induction like this that left an impression on so many people when I played is greatly appreciated and something that I can share with my family forever. I feel truly honored and blessed.”
