WALTHAM, Mass. Barbara Stevens, women's basketball coach at Bentley since 1986, has been selected as a Class of 2006 inductee for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. The announcement was made Sunday during the State Farm Tip-Off Classic in Lubbock, Texas.

Stevens, the winningest women's basketball coach in Division II history with 692 career wins, is one of six who'll be enshrined in Knoxville, Tenn. on April 28-29. The others are UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, former standout players Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil (Texas), Janice Lawrence Braxton (Louisiana Tech) and Katrina McClain Johnson (Georgia), and two-time Brazilian Olympian Paula Goncalves DaSilva.

"It is an honor that is completely overwhelming," said Stevens. "I have spent my life in the coaching profession and I never dreamed of being honored in this way for doing something that I love so much. I am truly lucky to have had such outstanding young women play for me and some remarkable assistant coaches work with me. I want to thank them all and share this honor with them."

Stevens has experienced virtually nothing but success since coming to Bentley. Her Falcon teams have won 85 percent of the time, amassing a 535-91 record. A head coach at both Clark (Mass.) and the University of Massachusetts before her arrival in Waltham, she has a career record of 692-182 three games into her 29th season.

Of all the people who have coached NCAA women's basketball, only five have won more games: Pat Summitt of Tennessee, Jody Conradt of Texas, C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers, Sue Gunter of LSU and Philip Kahler of St. John Fisher. The first four are all members of the WBB Hall of Fame.

The list of accomplishments for Stevens' Bentley teams include an NCAA tournament berth and at least 20 wins each season, nine 30-win seasons, 10 NCAA Division II regional championships, seven appearances in the national semifinals, 14 Northeast-10 regular season titles and 11 NE-10 playoff championships. Her 535 Bentley wins include an amazing 86 in the postseason.

Stevens has been the WBCA Division II National Coach of the Year three times (1992, 1999 and 2001) and has been voted the Northeast-10 Coach of the Year 12 times. In 2002, she was presented with the prestigious Carol Eckman Award from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, given for sportsmanship, commitment to the student athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage and dedication to purpose.

Stevens, who has two of her former assistants now serving as head coaches at the collegiate level (Ann McInerney at Maine, Monica Galamaga at Saint Anselm), also has several of her former players now coaching, including her current top aide, C White, and both Stacey Connors and Bri Fecteau at Harvard.

This will be the fourth Hall of Fame that has called Stevens' name. She's been previously honored by her alma mater (Bridgewater State), the New England Basketball Hall of Fame (as a charter member) and by Bentley last April.

"Some of the most recognizable names in our sport are being recognized in this class of inductees," said Conradt, president of the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors and a charter member of the WBB Hall of Fame in 1999. "There are so many outstanding players and coaches in our game, and this follows the trend that we have set of recognizing some of those outstanding individuals with induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

"When you look at the players being inductee, these are players that fans of the game have had the opportunity to see play on TV," Conradt said. "And the coaches Geno Auriemma has been so visible with what he has achieved at Connecticut, and Barbara Stevens has definitely made her mark at Bentley. These inductees are individuals that people know and appreciate."

With the addition of the Class of 2006, the list of individuals who have been recognized as Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductees will rise to 91.