ORIGINAL STORY 

Spartan All-American Laura (Kueny) Smith is among the 2024 inductees of the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Smith joins Jessica (Beech) Bograkos (softball), Anson Carter (ice hockey), Darqueze Dennard (football), Beth (Rohl) Saylors (women’s track & field) and Paul Terek (men’s track & field), along with the 1965-1966 football teams, who become the first teams inducted into the Hall of Fame.

 

The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Celebration will take place on Friday, Sept. 13. There will also be a special recognition of the 2024 MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class during the Michigan State-Prairie View A&M football game at Spartan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14.

The MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, located in the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center, opened on Oct. 1, 1999, and displays plaques of the 180 previous inductees. The charter class of 30 former Spartan student-athletes, coaches and administrators was inducted in 1992.

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When she was a sophomore on Michigan State’s women’s golf team, Laura (Kueny) Smith opened the 2007-08 season by winning the Mary Fossum Invitational.

 

As she walked off the 18th green at Forest Akers West Golf Course, head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll hugged her and offered some prophetic encouragement.

 

“I remember when I won my first tournament, the Fossum, and Coach came up to me and said, ‘You’re going to be a Hall of Famer here.'” Smith recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, okay,’ I’m just a sophomore.’ But you spend four years at Michigan State, you walk through those hallways (in the Smith Center), you see those plaques for the Hall of Fame and all of those names, but you don’t think about that.

 

“Then you graduate, time goes by and you kind of forget about it. But to know that my name will be in that group, there’s no words to describe it. To play at the collegiate level, it’s just an honor itself. And to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, it’s just hard to put into words.”

 

Her coach was right about her pupil as Smith will become the seventh member of the women’s golf program to become a member of the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, joining names like Mary Fossum, Joan Garety, Sue Ertl and Emily Bastel.

 

“That’s pretty good company,” said Smith, who has lived in Asheville, N.C., for the last 10 years and works for FedEx Corporation while serving as an assistant women’s golf coach at UNC-Asheville. “It definitely means a lot, given some of the names in the history of our program.

 

“Joan is one of them and I remember playing in an amateur event in Spring Lake. We came down to the end, it was the two of us in match play and I beat her. But it’s truly humbling to know that my name will be in that group of women who built this program. You never think that you would be classified with names like Joan and the others. They’ve done a lot for Michigan State and for women’s golf. I’ve got to thank them and thank all the women before me who made the program what it is.”

 

Smith herself played a big part in helping to raise the level of the women’s golf program. The Spartans made four NCAA Regional appearances during her career and advanced to the NCAA Championships twice. She was named the Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior in 2010, earned Second Team All-American honors in 2009 and 2010 and was a three-time First Team All-Big Ten selection.

 

After struggling to adjust to college as a freshman, Smith credits Slobodnik-Stoll and former assistant coach Lorne Don for their belief in her abilities, not just on the golf course, but as a student.

 

“In the greatest sense, Stacy would just be a tremendous used car salesman,” Smith said. “She knows how to sell things. She works hard to get what she wants. She raises a lot of money. She knows what it takes to build a winning program. And what it takes to be successful on and off the course.

 

“I was probably the most difficult recruit that Coach has brought to the team. I think I took things for granted. I definitely appreciate the second chance that I got. If Coach Stacy and Lorne didn’t give me a second chance, if they didn’t believe me, I’m not sure I would have been able to make it through. I wish I just applied myself more. It’s scary to think what I could have done if I had just applied myself early on. If I could take back my freshman year, I would jump at the chance.”

 

Make it through she did. In addition to being just the second Spartan at the time to be named Big Ten Player of the Year, Smith finished her career as MSU’s all-time scoring average leader (74.6) and had 16 career top-five finishes and 23 among the top-10.

 

“Capping off my career by winning Big Ten Player of the Year is probably the most memorable,” she said. “That just solidified everything for me. To prove to the doubters was important to me.

 

“The experience I had at Michigan State was amazing. We had a great group, with Caroline (Powers), Sara (Brown) and Liz (Nagel). We were tight, we were strong. But I just have a great appreciation for all of the opportunities they gave me and for all they provided for me. Everyone up there is so welcoming. I knew the minute I stepped on campus that I was going there.”

 

The next time she comes back, Smith will return to have her name added to a list of all-time greats in women’s golf program history and become a member of the Hall of Fame.

 

“It’s going to be a special moment,” she admitted. “Stacy and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye when I was playing but she made me grow up and I appreciate that. They believed in me and I’m glad that in some small way, I can repay her this way. My parents sacrificed a lot to allow me to play golf and they deserve this as much as I do and I can’t wait to give them the recognition they deserve.”