The Master’s University has inducted three former Mustangs, Emily Pedersen Bruton, Ryan Zamroz and Erin Perperoglou Buescher. into the Athletics Hall of Honor on Jan. 29.

TMU celebrated the Hall of Honor’s Class of 2022 during an afternoon ceremony before TMU’s basketball double-header against Westmont College.

Bruton, women’s soccer, Zamroz, men’s basketball and Buescher, women’s basketball, joined an elite group of former TMU athletes who have faithfully represented Christ and scripture, both as students and alumni.

Bruton played women’s soccer at TMU 2007 to 2010. The forward ranks second in program history for career goals and points. But what was even more memorable than her ability to score was her impact in helping change the direction of the women’s soccer program.

After enduring one of the team’s most challenging seasons as a freshman in 2007, Pedersen was the catalyst for a Master’s squad that won 45 games over the next three years making its first-ever NAIA National Tournament appearance in 2010.

“We were able to get on the map as a program,” said Curtis Lewis, TMU’s women’s soccer head coach since 2007, “and she was a huge part of us getting there.”

As a senior in 2010, Bruton became the program’s first Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Later that season, she became the program’s first NAIA First-Team All-American.

Zamroz played men’s basketball at TMU 2005 to 2009. He arrived at as a member of legendary head coach Bill Oates’ final recruiting class. Early on, one of Oates’ assistant coaches saw significant promise in the 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Pennsylvania.

“He was a little wet behind the ears, but he was just as good if not better than most of the guys who were there,” said John Mosley. “I knew he was going to have a hall-of-fame career.”

That proved to be true. Over four seasons in which he never missed a game, Zamroz put together one of the finest careers in program history. He was twice named an NAIA All-American, earning second-team honors in 2008. In each of his final two seasons, he led TMU in scoring, tossing in a career-high 18.9 points per game as a senior.

For his career, Zamroz finished with 1,862 points, seventh most in TMU history and was credited wit 222 three-pointers, the program’s fourth-best mark.

Zamroz graduated from TMU in 2009 with a degree in business administration. He then enjoyed a successful, six-year pro career that took him to Australia, England, Sweden, France and Spain. He currently lives in Valencia, with his wife Stacy and their three children. He works as the director of TMU’s Office of Development.

For Buescher, who played women’s basketball at TMU 2000 to 2001, the Wall of Honor ceremony marked a return to the campus where she made national headlines in 2000. From the outside looking in, many people couldn’t understand why she transferred from NCAA Division 1 University of California, Santa Barbara, where she had been a three-time conference player of the year, to an NAIA school before her senior year.

“She was like, ‘I want to be around likeminded people who love Jesus. I want to study the Bible,'” said Ken Sugarman, TMU’s women’s basketball head coach from 1995 to 2008.

On the court, Buescher averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds, leading the Mustangs to an overall record of 26-3. At the time, it marked the team’s best-ever season, but that wasn’t the only groundbreaking achievement. Buescher became the program’s first NAIA First-Team All-American. She was then drafted 23rd overall in the 2001 WNBA Draft, going on to play eight seasons in the WNBA and winning a league title in 2005 as a member of the Sacramento Monarchs.

Buescher also played professionally in Greece where she met her husband, Stratos. The couple now lives in Kansas City, M0.

“She’s a one-of-a-kind talent who’s also a one-of-a-kind person,” Sugarman said.

For a complete list of TMU’s Hall of Honor members, visit GoMustangs.

Erin Perperoglou Buescher played professionally in the WNBA for eight years. Courtesy photo.

Ryan Zamroz played professionally overseas for six seasons after graduating from TMU. Photo by Christian Johansson.