Faith, Family, and a Franciscan Legacy
For women’s basketball standout Maria McCallen, athletics at Franciscan University is a family affair. Maria comes from a long line of athletes. Her mother, Melanie (Bobak ’97) McCallen and four of her mother’s brothers all played soccer at Franciscan University.
Although Maria’s chosen sport is basketball, she takes immense pride in carrying on the family tradition of athletics at Franciscan University.
The Springfield, Pennsylvania, native became the Barons team captain in her sophomore season and lived up to the new role. In her second year playing for the squad, she doubled her points and steals per game and increased her stats across the board. She led the team with an 18 points per game average and broke the alltime Franciscan University single game women’s scoring record when she netted 34 points in a road game against Geneva in January.
The record she broke just so happened to be held by her head coach Iliana (Gonzales ’16) Spoelman, who scored 33 points in a game in 2015.
“That’s what records are for . . . for these kids to break them,” says Spoelman. “Maria works incredibly hard and is super talented at such a young age. She deserved the record, and I think she is going to set more records for us in the future.”
Spoelman says although she is astounded by Maria’s talent on the court, she is most impressed with her growing Catholic faith.
“Maria’s spirituality is on fire. She is such a humble, beautiful soul. She witnesses to a beautiful faith in everything she does, and she really makes an impact on the other girls on the team,” says Spoelman.
Maria credits the faith-filled, disciplined atmosphere at Franciscan University for improving her skills on the court and igniting her Catholic faith.
“The faith life here at Franciscan is like nothing else I’ve experienced. It’s impossible for it not to rub off on everything I do,” Maria says. “My faith has always been incorporated into basketball for me, as far as praying as a team and individually before games. However, I was always very excited to play at Franciscan because I knew my faith would be able to flourish on and off the court. This proved itself to be very true.”
She says she has developed a deep devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux and often calls upon her for intercession and assistance.
The 20-year-old finance major also points to her late grandfather, Marty Bobak, for helping to instill a love for sports and a love for Jesus in her and her family’s life. Marty Bobak was a United States Air Force veteran who also coached youth basketball. He sent 9 of his 10 children to Franciscan University.
“I know he would be very proud to see his granddaughter playing the sport he loved so much at the University he gave so much to,” Maria says. “I pray to him before each and every game and in all the stressful moments of competition because he is the biggest reason I want to excel in the sport and ultimately see this program succeed.”
Maria was named to the All-President’s Athletic Conference’s Honorable Mention Team this past season. Her 451 points scored was the second most ever by a Baron in a season. She scored all these points without a made three-point field goal, as she shot nearly 50 percent from the floor. In PAC games, her play elevated, and she averaged 19.4 points per game, including a pair of 30-plus point games. On the season, she scored 20-plus points in 10 games. The forward led the Barons in blocks with 22 this season. She was also second on the team in rebounding (8.2 rebounds per game) and steals (1.5 steals per game). She says she plans to utilize the off-season to expand her skill set, with a focus on her ball handling and outside shot selection.
Kevin Stefanski Inspires at Baron Club Awards Dinner
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski shared insights on faith, family, and football as the keynote speaker at the Baron Club Awards Dinner on April 10.
Stefanski shared how his faith has been a cornerstone throughout his life and fondly recalled his upbringing at St. Catherine of Siena School in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where the parish and school community left a lasting impression.
“My Catholic faith was instilled in me at a very early age, and I have my parents and my Catholic education to thank for that,” he said.
His marriage to his wife, Michelle, is also deeply rooted in faith.
“Our shared Catholic faith is a critical component in our marriage and who we want to be for each other and for our kids,” Stefanski said, explaining that their children are continuing the tradition of Catholic education.
Throughout his talk, Stefanski returned to the Ignatian principle of selfless leadership.
“The Ignatian spirit that I learned from the Jesuits has taught me servant leadership. I try to lead selflessly. I try to put others in positions to succeed and make sure that it is never, ever about me,” he explained.
Stefanski urged the audience, especially the young people present, to stay close to Christ amid life’s distractions.
“One way to stay close to Jesus is to pray. I’m in no way perfect … but I do make sure to pray every day,” he said, sharing that his team prays together before and after every game.
Closing with gratitude, Stefanski praised the mission of Franciscan University.
“This is an unbelievable place. You should be very proud of what this university stands for,” he said.
The Baron Club honoree this year was the late Leo Lanaghan, who died just days before the event. He was posthumously honored with the Father Terence Henry, TOR, Award for 70 years of dedicated volunteer service to Catholic Central High School’s athletic program. Lanaghan served in the United States Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, as a Steubenville police officer for 22 years, and as a probation officer. Several members of Lanaghan’s family received the award on his behalf.
The Kuzma Community Award was presented to Tom and Sarah Gentile for their many years of friendship to the Franciscan University community. Tom Gentile is president of the Franciscan University Community Relations Board, a Jefferson County Central Committee member, and a local business leader in the Ohio Valley. Tom and Sarah own T&S Gentile, Inc., and Sarah serves on the Wintersville Beautification Committee.
The annual Baron Club fundraising dinner supports the University’s Baron Athletics Program.
Student-Athlete SPOTLIGHT
Name: Aidan Henninger
Hometown: Sequim, Washington
Year: Junior
Major: Clinical Psychology
Sport: Soccer
Team Position: Center-back and defensive-midfielder.
Honors: 2023 Second Team All-PAC; 2024 PAC All-Tournament Team, 2022 and 2024 PAC Academic Honor Roll; 2023 and 2024 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District. Scored the game-winning goal in the PAC Championship.
Favorite Saint: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
On Soccer: “My faith has an enormous impact on how and why I play soccer. God has blessed me with a certain athletic talent, especially in soccer, and I feel called not to ‘bury my talent.’ I used to have an unhealthy relationship with sports, wherein the focus was on myself, my accomplishments, and sometimes my team. However, my relationship with Christ has shown me the profound meaning that playing for the greater glory of God brings to athletics. My faith informs how I play in that I represent my team, my school, the Church, and most of all, Christ, to the opposition. I take this to mean that my conduct on and off the field is held to the highest of standards, challenging me to become the best version of myself. Playing at Franciscan has been an amazing experience thus far. One thing that struck me in my freshman year was praying with the opposing team after each game. This was a beautiful and powerful experience I continue to cherish each time I get to play.”
