Joliet Catholic Academy President/Principal Dr. Jeff Budz is proud to announce that Dave Douglas (’75), Samantha Quigley-Smith (’06), and the 2013 Hilltopper Baseball State Championship Team have been inducted into the ESCC 2023 Hall of Fame. The East Suburban Catholic Conference honored its 16th Hall of Fame Class on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at Abbington Banquet Hall in Glen Ellyn. 

Highlighted by current NBA standout Frank Kaminsky (Benet Academy) and former three-sport Joliet Catholic Academy star and current women’s basketball head coach at SIU-Edwardsville Samantha Quigley-Smith (’06), the East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC) inducted twelve individuals and three teams to its Hall of Fame. The resumes of the dozen in the 2023 class are filled with impressive achievements and championships, both on the playing and coaching level. It also includes a handful of mentors who have returned to mold the next generation of ESCC athletes in current coaching roles. Including Joliet Catholic Academy’s Dave Douglas (’75), and our 2013 State Championship Baseball team.

Dave Douglas has been employed at Joliet Catholic High School and Joliet Catholic Academy since 1985. Over an incredible 37-year coaching career, Douglas has been a part of ten IHSA Football State Championship coaching staffs (’87, ’90, ’99, ’00,’01, ’03, ’04, ’07, ’18, ‘21) and three IHSA State Runner-Up staffs (’96,’09, ’11). Douglas served as a lower-level assistant head football coach from ’85 to ’86 and joined head coach Jim Boyter’s varsity staff in 1987. From 1989 until 2012, he served as the offensive line coach for head coaches Bob Stone and Dan Sharp. In 2013, Douglas was elevated to associate head coach and has served in that capacity until now under current head coach Jake Jaworski. His offensive lines have paved the way for one of the most formidable rushing attacks in IHSA history. The 2007 Hilltoppers set an IHSA record with 6,609 rushing yards in a season. He has coached offensive lines that produced two of the top 20 most total yards in a season in IHSA history (6,651 yards in 2007; 6,590 yards in 2011. The Hilltopper rushing attack also holds the single-game IHSA State Championship game rushing record with 747 yards on 64 attempts in 2011.

The Hilltoppers routinely send multiple offensive lineman to the collegiate ranks, with over 100 former Douglas proteges continuing their careers at the NCAA, NAIA, or NJCAA levels. Douglas’ career in education began as a math teacher at Custer Park Grade School in Braidwood in 1980. He joined the math department at Joliet Catholic High School in 1985. Throughout the years he has served in a variety of capacities, most recently as Assistant Athletic Director. Not only has Douglas enjoyed a storied coaching career in football for the Hilltoppers, his service to the JCHS, St. Francis Academy, and JCA athletic departments may be unmatched in school history. Douglas has served as head girls basketball coach, sophomore head baseball coach, varsity badminton coach, and most notably head softball coach over this 37-year career at the three schools (JCHS and SFA combined to form Joliet Catholic Academy in 1990). Douglas guided the JCA Angels softball program from 1990 to 2016, posting a 527-367 overall record. The Angels won nine regional titles, reached a sectional final and won 20 or more games in 16 of his 26 seasons at the helm. He passed the reigns over to fellow JCA Assistant Athletic Director and Tina Kinsella in 2016. Douglas credits several Hall of Famers that he had the opportunity to work with throughout his career including Gordie Gillespie, Bob Voss, Carl Hunckler, Mel Deskin, Bob Stone, and Dan Sharp.

• Graduate of Joliet Catholic High School: 1975
• All-Area Football Recognition at Joliet Catholic: 1974
• Graduate of Augustana College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education: 1979
• Math Teacher at Joliet Catholic Academy since 1985
• Serves Presently as Boy’s Athletic Coordinator and Associate Head Football Coach
• Football Coaching Career Spans Over 37 Years; Lower Level Assistant Coach, Varsity Assistant Coach, and Varsity Offensive Line Coach
• Coached on 10 IHSA State Football Championship Staff: 1987, 1990, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2018, 2021
• His 2007 Offensive Line Group Set an IHSA Record with 6,609 Rushing Yards
• His 2011 Offensive Line Group Holds the Single Game State Championship Rushing Record with 747 Yards on 64 Attempts
• Due to His Coaching, Over 100 Offensive Lineman Have Played Collegiate Football
• Joliet Catholic Academy Angels head Softball Coach: 1990-2016
• Overall Softball Coach Record: 527-367; Coached the Angels to 9 Regional Titles
• Has Served as Head Girls Basketball Coach, Sophomore Head Baseball Coach, and Varsity Badminton Coach at Joliet Catholic Academy
• Family: Wife – Amy; Children – Erin, Steve, and Pat

One of Douglas’ former softball players, and three-sport star at JCA, Samantha Quigley-Smith was also inducted into this Hall of Fame Class.

As a high school senior, Samantha Quigley-Smith was selected as the 2006 Chicago Sun-Times Female Athlete of the Year starring in basketball, volleyball and softball at Joliet Catholic Academy. She was a member of the 2003 JCA girls volleyball state championship team, the first in school history. Quigley-Smith had an illustrious playing career at DePaul University, where she was a two-time All-Big East selection and was named an Honorable Mention WBCA All-American in 2011 and a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as a senior. She is currently the head women’s basketball coach at Southern Illinois University, following four seasons as head coach at Lewis University, and a five-season stint at the University of St. Francis in Joliet. Smith led the Lewis Flyers to a record of 83-34 (.709 winning percentage), with three NCAA Division II NCAA Tournament appearances. She was honored as the 2020-21 Great Lakes Valley Coach of the Year. In her final two seasons at USF, the Fighting Saints registered a mark of 62-7 (.899) with two Top 10 finishes in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll, including a No. 1 ranking in the final 2017 poll. In 2018, former JCA Athletic Director Dan Sharp said, “Sam is one of the fiercest competitors to ever come out of JCA and you can see that same determination in the preparation she puts into her successful coaching career at USF and Lewis.”

• Graduate of Joliet Catholic Academy: 2006
• Four-Year Standout Athlete in Basketball, Volleyball and Softball: 2002 to 2006
• Led Joliet Catholic Angels to 2A State Volleyball Championship in 2003
• Two-Time 1st team All-State Basketball Player by Associated Press and IBCA
• High School Basketball Parade All-American/ McDonald’s All-American Nominee
• Chicago Sun-Times Female Athlete of the Year: 2006
• Scored an impressive 1,910 Points During High School Basketball Career
• Batted Better than .400 as a Leadoff hitter for the Joliet Catholic Softball Team
• Outstanding Collegiate Basketball Career at DePaul University: 2006-2011
• Led the Blue Demons to a 92-42 Overall Record, Started 116 of the 134 Games
• All-American Honorable Mention; 2nd Team Big East Basketball: 2010-2011
• Three Time Big East All-Academic Team
• Big East Sportsmanship Award: 2011
• Ranks 20th All-Time Scorer at DePaul with 1,273 Points in her Basketball Career
• Graduate of DePaul University: 2010
• Currently Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Position She Has Held since 2021
• Previously, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at University of St. Francis and Lewis University
• Family: Husband, Greg; Children, Cooper, Jackson, Logan, and Flynn 

Our 2013 State Championship Baseball team had an overall record of 25-14, and defeated Wheaton St. Francis with a score of 5-0 in the State Championship game.

Dr. Budz stated, “Dave Douglas has been a very key contributor to the entire JCA community over his time at JCA.  He would do anything for our students and his fellow faculty and staff.  Dave, Sam and our 2013 Baseball Team are most deserving of this award, and we wish all of them a much-deserved congratulations!”

For more information, please visit the ESCC website: Hall of Fame (eastsuburbancc.com)