Siena Inducts Four Into Sports Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame Class of 2011 was inducted on Feb. 19 at TASTE in Albany

Jan. 27, 2011

Photo Gallery - Induction Ceremony (2/19/11)

Donna DeFrancesco's remarks

Four Siena greats took their place amongst the best athletes to ever set foot on the campus, when the Class of 2010 was announced in late January. Donna DeFrancesco '97, Todd Donovan '03, Marcus Faison '00, and Ryan Finn '02, were the newest inductees into the Siena Athletics Hall of Fame. A formal reception and special halftime recognition during the Siena Men's Basketball game against Maine cemented their induction.

DeFrancesco was a two-sport athlete at Siena, lettering in volleyball and softball. In volleyball, she is first all-time in blocks per game (1.34), second in blocks (402), second in attack percentage (.340) and holds three of the top single-season attack percentages, blocks, and blocks per game records in program history. DeFrancesco helped lead her team to four straight MAAC conference championships and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1995. She was an All-MAAC selection in 1995 and 1996 and MVP of the MAAC tournament in 1996. Meanwhile, on the softball field, DeFrancesco set a single-season record for assists (123) in 1995, had an impressive career batting average of .289 and was the team's starting shortstop throughout her career. She was also a fantastic student, making MAAC All-Academic teams as a sophomore, junior, and senior. Always a competitor, DeFrancesco has coached at both the college and high school levels and continues to play both sports. She earned an M.A. in communications and is currently a marketing project manager at Prudential Financial. Donna and husband George Anderson reside in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

Todd Donovan

A three-time All-MAAC First Team Selection, Donovan was named the 1999 MAAC North Player of the Year. He led the Saints to the 1999 MAAC Championship and their only NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament appearance in school history. The East Lyme, Conn. native hit .306, .307, and .371 in his three seasons with the program, with 78 career stolen bases. He holds two of the top-14 single-season stolen base totals in MAAC history (36 in 1997, 30 in 1999) and was drafted in the 8th round of the 1999 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. After playing 11 seasons in the minor leagues for seven different organizations, Donovan retired last season and now works as a professional scout with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Led all of professional baseball with 65 stolen bases in 2005, set a professional record by scoring a run in 19 consecutive games, and ended his career with 346 steals. Donovan will be formally inducted with the Class of 2011 next year, as he was unable to attend this year's ceremony.

Finn rewrote the Siena baseball record book from 1999 to 2002. He is still Siena's all-time career leader in home runs (47), extra base hits (114), triples (13), runs (158), RBI (193), and total bases (471). He was voted the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 1999, a Division I Northeast Region Second Team selection in 2000, and the MAAC Player of the Year in 2001. A three-time All-MAAC selection, Finn could also burn opponents with his speed, tallying 51 swipes in four seasons. After Siena, he attended Albany Law School, graduating summa cum laude as the Salutatorian in 2005 with a J.D. Today, Finn is a corporate litigation and risk management attorney at the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck, & King, PLLC. He currently lives in Clifton Park, NY, with his wife Megan (O'Rourke) Finn '02 and two year-old daughter Madison Ireland Finn.

Faison is the sixth-leading scorer in Siena men's basketball history with 1,697 career points playing from 1996 to 2000. He led the Saints in scoring as a sophomore, junior, and senior, and was an All-MAAC First Team selection as a junior. Faison was also well-known for his defensive prowess, and his 231 career steals are second in the all-time rankings. In the 1998-99 season, he helped the Saints to the second NCAA Tournament in program history, and as a senior, Siena advanced to the second round of the 2000 NIT. Since graduation, Faison has played for a variety of teams in Europe from Spain to Greece. He currently plays professional basketball for BC Telenet Oostende in Belgium.