The North’s High School Hall of Fame Athletes Where they are now. Some became Olympians, some became doctors. Some were the stars of their college sports teams, others chose to focus on other things. Northern Michigan’s former standout high school athletes have taken a multitude of paths over the years. And while the region has had no shortage of resounding athletic success stories, we picked out seven to highlight — and tracked them down to find out what their lives look like today. By Craig Manning
ALISHA GLASS
Where she was then: Alisha Glass (now Alisha Glass Childress) made a name for herself as one the greatest high school volleyball players in Michigan history during her time at Leland High School. Coached by her mother (Laurie Glass, still Leland’s head volleyball coach), Glass earned first-team all-state honors during each of her four high school seasons, setting both state and national high school records for season aces (296), career aces (937), and career kills (3,584). In 2006, she led Leland to a Class D state championship and earned major individual accolades, such as being named the state of Michigan’s “Miss Volleyball” and winning the Michigan Gatorade High School Player title for volleyball. Where she’s been since: After her high school successes, Glass followed a scholarship to Penn State University, where the setter led her team to consecutive NCAA titles in 2007, 2008, and 2009. When all was said and done, Glass’s college teams had amassed a 142–5 win-loss record during her time at Penn State, and Glass herself earned All-American honors three times. Since college, Glass has played for numerous international volleyball clubs (including teams based in Brazil, Poland, Turkey, and Italy), as well as for the United States women’s national volleyball team. With Glass on the team, USA earned silver and bronze medals at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup (in 2011 and 2015, respectively), a gold medal at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship, and a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Glass also earned Best Setter honors at the 2016 Olympics. Where she is now: After the Olympic Games, Glass retired from professional volleyball to focus on family, marrying former Stanford University basketball star Josh Childress. The two have two daughters. In January 2019, she took an assistant coaching job with the Stanford women’s volleyball program.
BAILEY RAY Where she was then: A 2013 graduate of Traverse City St. Francis High School, Bailey Ray had never played tennis before high school. Then, two weeks ahead of tryouts, inspired by friends who had played tennis for years and were going out for team, Ray picked up a racquet for the first time. Her friends must have been good coaches; not only did Ray manage to make varsity her freshman year but also, just weeks after playing tennis for the first time, she went on to win the first tennis-singles state title in St. Francis school history. In June 2012, on her 18th birthday, Ray won a 6–4, 7–5 match against Erin Moncrief of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep to claim a Division 4 state championship in No. 4 singles. The very next day, she was back in Traverse City, giving a graduation speech as the valedictorian of the St. Francis class of 2012. Where she’s been since: While Ray didn’t go on to play tennis at college, she did head to Hillsdale to major in biochemistry. After graduation, she continued on to the Wayne
State University School of Medicine, where she earned her medical degree. Where she is now: Dr. Bailey Ray finished medical school this past spring and is officially a licensed physician. She matched at the Medical College of Wisconsin for her residency, where she’s focusing on internal medicine.
16 • sept 07, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly
TREVOR HUFFMAN Where he was then: Trevor Huffman played point guard for the Petoskey High School varsity boys basketball team in the late ’90s, leading the Northmen to three Class B regional titles and helping the team reach the semifinals of the Michigan High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) state championships on two occasions. Huffman graduated from Petoskey in 1998 and holds the school’s record for most assists to this day. Where he’s been since: In March 2002, Huffman was the subject of a Washington Post article titled “The Guard That No One Wanted.” The article detailed Huffman’s post-high school career, explaining how he nearly played Division II basketball because no Division I colleges had recruited him. He ultimately headed to the D-1 Kent State as a walk-on — winning a scholarship the week before his freshman year started because he so impressed coaches and other players in an unorthodox on-campus “tryout.” As a senior in 2002, Huffman ended up leading Kent State to its best season ever, including a 16–2 record and an Elite Eight berth in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. He remains Kent State’s alltime leading scorer (with 1,820 points), and his jersey number, 24, was retired by the university a year after the impressive 2002 season. After graduation, Huffman tried out for two NBA teams and made neither (he describes himself as a “two-time NBA micro-failure”). Instead, he built a professional playing and coaching career overseas in countries like Germany, Portugal, France, and Belgium. Where he is now: In 2016, Huffman founded Huffman Basketball, a Northern Michigan “collective of former professional and high-level collegiate basketball players and coaches” that works with youth players to develop their skills, training habits, and discipline. Through the business, Huffman has coached multiple youth basketball camps throughout the region, including in Traverse City, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. Currently, Huffman is offering a virtual basketball club, which provides live Zoom coaching, workouts, and drills for $5 a month. Huffman is also the founder of Swish House, a Chicago-based organization that offers “one-hour, high-intensity” basketball workouts for anyone who wants to get into “peak basketball shape.”
WILL WEBER Where he was then: A 2007 Gaylord High School graduate, Will Weber was a four-year varsity hockey player. A defenseman, he remains the most decorated player in Gaylord hockey history. He played in a total of 107 varsity games at Gaylord (a school record), helped the team to a 2004 state championship game (and a runner-up finish), and went on to captain the team (and score 38 points) during his senior season. In 2007, Weber committed to play as part of the hockey program at Miami University of Ohio, landed on the shortlist for Michigan’s Mr. Hockey award, and was drafted in the second round of the NHL draft (53rd overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Where he’s been since: Despite being drafted by an NHL team, Weber went ahead with his plans to go to Miami of Ohio, graduating in 2012 with a degree in supply chain management. During his college career, Weber and his team made it to the Frozen Four twice (the name given to the semifinals and finals of the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament) and played in the 2009 NCAA National Championship once (in 2009, ultimately losing 3–4 in overtime to Boston College). For the 2009–10 season, Weber was named Best Defensive Defensemen, an annual conference-wide award given out in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). After graduating, Weber signed his first professional contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. He played three seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL, the primary developmental league for the NHL). After additional contracts with the San Antonio Rampage (another AHL team) and the Fort Wayne Komets (part of the East Coast Hockey League), Weber began playing professional hockey in Germany. Where he is now: Since 2018, Weber has been signed with the Fischtown Pinguins, a team based in Bremerhaven, Germany, which competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL, Germany’s top-tier professional hockey league). He and his wife, Gibson, whom Weber met while attending Miami University, have a son who turns one in November.
