NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - A new group of Hall of Famers will soon join a distinguished group at Merrimack College.
The College's athletic department on Tuesday named its Hall of Fame Class of 2026 with inductees including Charlie Bertrand '20, Denia Davis-Stewart '20, Mikyla Grant-Mentis '20, Juvaris Hayes '20 and the 2018 Merrimack men's lacrosse team.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held during "Homecoming, Reunion & Alumni Weekend" on Friday, Sept. 25. Inductees will also be honored when the Merrimack football team hosts New Haven at Duane Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26. From there, their names will be added to the wall in the Hall of Fame Lobby located inside Volpe Athletic Complex.
"We'd like to congratulate Charlie, Denia, Mikyla, Juvaris, as well as the 2018 National Champion men's lacrosse team, on this well-deserved honor," Merrimack athletic director Joe Foley said. "The Hall of Fame Class of 2026 represents the very best of Merrimack Athletics. Their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to excellence helped shape our department's proud tradition, and their legacy will continue to inspire future generations of Merrimack student-athletes."
Bertrand was a three-time USILA All-American, including a two-time first team selection, during his four seasons with the Merrimack men's lacrosse program (2017-20). He led the Warriors to back-to-back Division II National Championships as he recorded 22 points in four NCAA Tournament games during his junior season, including seven points (four goals, three assists) in the title game. A native of Baldwinsville, N.Y., Bertrand concluded that campaign by leading the nation in points (6.06) and goals per game (4.88). His senior season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting Bertrand to six games in which he scored 23 points on 18 goals.
Bertrand, who capped his Merrimack career with 274 points (210 goals scored) in 58 career games, burst onto the scene as soon as he arrived at Merrimack. He started all 18 games as a freshman and led the team in goals (52), assists (23) and points (75). He was named NE10 Rookie of the Year as well as USILA All-America Second Team, NEILA All-New England First Team, NE10 All-Conference First Team and NE10 All-Rookie Team. He picked up where he left off and more during his sophomore season. Bertrand led the Warriors to the NE10 Championship and the program's first of two Division II National Championships. He scored a league-best 62 goals and finished with 79 total points despite his underclassman status. Bertrand's efforts were well-recognized, too. He was named a USILA First Team All-American, the co-winner of the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player Award, which goes to the nation's most valuable player, the Lt. Col. J.I. Turnbull Award Winner, which goes to the nation's most outstanding attackman with additional honors including CoSIDA Google Cloud All-America Second Team, All-District, Elite 90 Award, NEILA First Team All-Region and NE10 All-Conference First Team.
Bertrand, who transferred to the University of Virginia as a graduate student and won a Division I National Championship in 2021, has since played professionally in the Premier Lacrosse League and represented the United States on the 2023 U.S. Men's Senior Team.
Davis-Stewart spent four seasons on the Merrimack women's basketball team (2016-20). Among her most notable honors, Davis-Stewart was named Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year during her senior season, which also was Merrimack's debut campaign in Division I. It followed an impressive junior season in which Davis-Stewart was named NE10 Defensive Player of the Year and a NE10 All-Conference Second Team honoree. She also was recognized as a Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Region Second Team selection during her third season with the Warriors.
During her freshman campaign, Davis-Stewart was named to the NE10 All-Rookie team after she led the conference in blocked shots (79) and blocks per game (3.2). She ranked ninth in the country in blocking average while leading all freshmen. Despite an injury during her sophomore season, Davis-Stewart still led the Warriors in rebounding average (9.4 per game), which was fourth in the NE10, and scored double figures in 10 games. Her junior season included 16 double-doubles while she led the NE10 in blocks (107) and ranked fifth in blocks per game (3.57). She was fourth in the NE10 in rebounds (335), a mark in which she ranked No. 15 in the nation (11.2 per game). On offense, she averaged 13.4 PPG and led the Warriors in field goals (167) and offensive rebounds (91). As a senior, she led the country in rebounds (395) and rebounds per game (13.6) while she ranked third in blocks (121) and blocks per game (4.17) Davis-Stewart capped her career at Merrimack as the second player in program history to score more than 1,000 points and pull down 1,000 or more rebounds.
Grant-Mentis concluded her four-year tenure (2016-20) with the Merrimack women's hockey as only the second player in program history to eclipse 100 career points. A native of Brampton, Ontario, Grant-Mentis rewrote the record books with a program-best 117 points in 137 career games. She ranks second in program history in goals scored (56) and first in assists (61).
During her senior season, Grant-Mentis led the team in points (33) and goals scored (20), which ranked second in Hockey East and among the top-10 players in the nation. She was named a Hockey East Second Team honoree after she was named the conference's Player of the Month, awarded after she recorded 22 points during the month of November.
The Warriors had one of their best-ever seasons when Grant-Mentis was a junior. With the Hockey East honorable mention playing a pivotal role, the Warriors had their best-ever league finish and gained recognition on a national poll. She posted 34 points on a team-best 22 assists that season and led the conference in short-handed goals, becoming just the sixth player in Division I women's hockey history to score two short-handed goals in a single game. Such defensive prowess helped Grant-Mentis conclude the campaign as the runner-up for the conference award given to the top defensive forward.
Grant-Mentis currently plays in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) as a member of the Seattle Torrent. She previously played in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) and was the first Black player to be named MVP of the PHF in 2021.
Hayes, a four-year starter for the Merrimack men's basketball team, concluded his stellar career as the NCAA's all-time leader in steals (457) and as Merrimack's all-time leader in assists (952). At the time of graduation, he held the program record for most assists in a season (287), ranked fifth in career rebounds (741) and seventh in career points (1,951). Well-known for his defensive prowess, Hayes won the Lefty Driesell Award during his senior season, an award given to the most outstanding defender in Division I basketball. Other award winners include Anthony Davis and Kent Bazemore. A three-time NE10 First-Team selection, Hayes led the country in steals per game as a sophomore, junior and senior and was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He was named the conference's Rookie of the Year as a freshman.
Hayes averaged 13.9 points as a freshman, 17.8 points as a sophomore, 19.3 points as a junior and 10.7 points as a senior, the program's first season in Division I. With Hayes playing a pivotal role, the Warriors won the NEC regular-season title during his senior season. He averaged 9.3 assists as a freshman, which ranked first among all freshmen in NCAA Division II, and led the NCAA in three categories during his sophomore year: steals per game (3.9), total assists (255) and total steals (124).
After graduation, Hayes played two seasons in Europe. He's since returned to Merrimack and joined Joe Gallo's coaching staff where he's aided in two regular-season conference championships and two tournament finals.
The 2018 men's lacrosse team is the second team to be inducted into the Merrimack Hall of Fame.
The Warriors posted a 18-1 record that season en route to their first of two Division II National Championships. Merrimack, which went a perfect 12-0 at home that season, outscored opponents by a dominant 292-139 ratio. The Warriors finished second in the NE10 standings before they beat Adelphi and St. Anselm to capture the conference championship.
In the NCAA Tournament, the Warriors won three games with a 63-21 goal differential. That was aided by a dominant effort in the national title game, a 23-6 victory over Saint Leo's at Gillette Stadium. The 2018 edition of the Warriors were led by Sean Black, who tallied 98 points on 40 goals and 58 assists, Christian Thomas (80 points) and Charlie Bertrand (79 points). Merrimack had eight players score 10 goals or more, four players record 10 or more assists all while goaltender Peter Brown won 16 of the 18 games he started.
