1-KIRK McCASKILL (1980 -’83)After being a superstar at UVM and earning All-American honors in hockey and All- East honors in baseball, Mc-Caskill became one of the few players ever to be drafted to both the NHL and MLB.

He was selected in the fourth round in the 1981 NHL draft by the Winnipeg Jets and in the fourth round ofthe 1982 MLB draft by the California Angels, making him the highest drafted Catamount baseball player ever.

McCaskill’s best Major League season came in 1986 when he went 17-10 with a 3.36 ERA. He finished his professional career in 1996 with the Chicago White Sox, bringing his career win total to 106, his career strikeout total to 1,003 and his career ERA to 4.12.

McCaskill’s NHL career was less eventful, as he only played 78 games for Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate team, but he left his mark on UVM hockey, finishing his Catamount career tied for tenth on the career scoring list.

In 2003 McCaskill was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

2-MARTIN ST. LOUIS (1993 -’97)Quite possibly the best hockey player ever to compete at UVM, St. Louis ended his Catamount career as the school leader in career points with 267. His 176 assists are also a UVM all-time record and his 91 goals are third in school history.

Martin St. Louis was the most heralded member of the UVM men’s hockey class of 1997, which also included current NHL players Tim Thomas and Eric Perrin.

Aside from being a three time first team All-American, St. Louis was also nominated three times for the Hobey Baker Award, which is given to the nation’s best collegiate hockey player.

In 1996, along with Perrin and Thomas, St. Louis led the Catamounts to their only trip to the Frozen Four during a season that saw Perrin and St. Louis each notch 85 points – a UVM single-season record.

All three players were named first team All-Americans for the 1997 season.

After graduation, St. Louis went on to a very successful pro career, one which saw him lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup title in the 2003-04 season. During that historic season, St. Louis led the NHL in scoring, along with being named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

3/4-TAYLOR COPPENRATH/ T.J. SORRENTINE (2001 -’05)It’s hard to think of UVM basketball from 2001 to 2005 without lumping these two players together.

Sorrentine, the sweet shooting guard, and Coppenrath, the point producing forward, led the Catamounts to not only their best fouryear stretch in team history, but also one of Vermont’s finest sporting moments, when Sorrentine hit a game winning three pointer “from the parking lot” that allowed #14 Vermont to upset #3 Syracuse in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament (see the Dec. 4 issue of The Cynic for the top five greatest moments in UVM history).

Coppenrath finished his UVM career second all-time in points and third in all-time points for the conference.

In his senior season, he was the second leading scorer in the nation, a finalist for the John Wooden Award and he also earned his third-straight All-American honorable mention. Sorrentine finished his career with an impressive 16.8 points per game.

5 – EDDIE BENTON (1992 -’96)This list wouldn’t be a list at all without including UVM basketball’s all-time leading scorer.

Benton’s senior season was the ultimate clincher to his UVM legacy, as he won the Naismith Award as the nation’s top player under six feet tall, and he finished his four years at Vermont as the career leader in 15 different offensive categories.

Benton’s 54-point outburst against Drexel in 1994 also stands as the UVM and America East record for most points scored in a game.

Benton was named to the America East 20th Anniversary All-Star team in 1998 and, in 2000, he saw his number 10 jersey retired by the University of Vermont.

6 – DANIELLE COLLINS (2004 -’08)Danielle Collins is easily the single greatest field hockey player ever to take the field for UVM.

A 2008 graduate of the University of Vermont, Collins’ 121 points and 48 goals scored are both UVM career records.

Collins led the America East in goals scored, points per game and shots during her senior campaign in 2007, en route to being named the America East Offensive Player of the Year.

She was also featured in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated magazine in 2007 for her accomplishments, and her Third Team All-American status marked the first time any Catamount field hockey player had been named an All-American.

2006 was the best collegiate season for Collins, as her 45 points and 18 goals during that year are both UVM single season records, helping to further solidify her UVM legacy.