BOSTON – Over the next few weeks, GoSuffolkRams.com will look at the student-athletes, coach and team to be inducted into the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame that has its next induction ceremony this October. The fifth installment features men's soccer's Ben Rollins.
There’s nothing better in college soccer than a truly gifted and well-rounded player. This is precisely what Suffolk found when Rollins joined the team in 2009.
Rollins dominated play as a serious offensive threat for the Rams. With career stats of 21 goals, 16 assists and 58 points. He distinguished himself as one of the best to ever sport a Suffolk kit.
After a Suffolk Rookie of the Year campaign as a freshman in 2009, he helped propel the Rams to new heights in 2010. The blue-and-gold worked its way to the 2010 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship as the field’s fourth seed. The program’s first-ever league title came behind a home win over Emerson and upsets at Lasell and Albertus Magnus, respectively. The crown was thanks in large part to the tournament’s MVP, Rollins. He supplied two goals and one assist in the three-game playoff run for the Rams that pushed Suffolk to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
“My favorite memory of playing soccer at Suffolk is winning the GNAC championship with my brothers,” Rollins said. “We entered the GNAC tournament as the fourth seed … I will remember fighting together as unit and winning the championship for the rest of my life.”
Two years later, as a senior, the forward started all 18 games and topped the team in all offensive categories with 23 points on eight goals and seven helpers. His 23 points tied for third in the GNAC, while his strikes and handouts were good for a share of fifth among his conference counterparts en route to a spot on the All-GNAC second-team. He was the backbone to Suffolk’s offense, which wrapped up the campaign 45th among all NCAA DIII programs with 2.25 goals per game and 42nd in total goals with 45.
The two-year captain excelled at the highest level and was called the “heart and soul” of the team by head coach Andrius Zeikus.
Zeikus added, “He was a leader both on and off the field, a positive influence to his teammates, and a person with tremendous work ethic.”
Academically, Rollins was selected to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District First-Team presented by College Sports Communicators (formerly the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The Environmental Engineering student-athlete, who maintained a 3.50 grade point average, was the first Suffolk men’s soccer player to earn the recognition and advanced to the Academic All-America ballot.
Rollins is the third men’s soccer player to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame, first since Ucal McKenzie in 2011.
The 2024 Suffolk University Hall of Fame Class features four men, three women and one team representing six different athletic programs.
On October 18, the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame, which held its first induction ceremony in 2007, will increase in size to 79 members broken down by 59 student-athletes, five head coaches, 11 teams and four special honorees.
The 2024 Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Friday, Oct. 18 at Suffolk University’s Sargent Hall’s Keches Room, 120 Tremont Street, Boston, at 6:00 p.m. Tickets to the event can be purchased here.
THE SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
The Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame will recognize the outstanding achievements of former athletes, coaches and others who have played a most significant role in the history of athletics at our University.
For a more insider’s look at the 2024 Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame Class be on the lookout for the Hall of Fame series, which will be published on GoSuffolkRams.com leading up to the event. Specific publication dates on inductees are below:
- Tuesday, Sept. 10 – Winston Daley, BSBA ’02 – Men’s Basketball
- Thursday, Sept. 19 – Erin McAndrews, BS ’14 – Softball
- Tuesday, Sept. 24 – Cary McConnell – Baseball
- Thursday, Sept. 26 - Jennifer Nelson, BSBA '08 - Women's Tennis
- Tuesday, Oct. 1 – Ben Rollins, BSE ’13 – Men’s Soccer
- Thursday, Oct. 3 - Jennifer (Ruys) Baker, BS ’14 – Women’s Basketball
- Tuesday, Oct. 8 – Jake Stahl, BSBA ’53 – Men’s Basketball
- Thursday, Oct. 10 – 1947 Baseball Team