USA Racquetball Announces 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees

USA Racquetball, on behalf of the USAR Hall of Fame Committee and the USA Racquetball Board of Directors, has the honor and pleasure of announcing two new inductees to the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to Dave Negrete & Christie Huczek, who will be inducted with fanfare into the USAR Hall of Fame at the 2025 National Indoor Championships in Pleasanton, CA.

Dave Negrete has been a leading contributor to the sport of racquetball for 45 years. His efforts have had impacts at the state/local level, the National level, and on the pro tour in his racquetball career.

Negrete maintained involvement at various clubs in and around the Chicago Land area from 1978 to present day. He served as a club pro for several clubs, was involved in club management, put together a club ownership group in the late 1990s, and has stayed active in the local scene throughout his entire adult career. His involvement at the club level led to state leadership in Illinois, where he served on the Board of Directors, ran hundreds of tournaments, and was named to the ISRA state Hall of Fame in 2010. His signature annual event, the Halloween Classic, was a staple on the Men’s Pro tour for decades and was well regarded by players as being one of the best events on the annual schedule.

His state level involvement led to national USA Racquetball involvement, which included stints on the Board of Directors and recognition with the 2009 Joe Sobek Award, given annually to recognize outstanding contributions to the sport. He was instrumental in averting the 2013 financial crisis faced by the USAR at the time, a significant event that went relatively underreported at the time. In 2022, Negrete launched a non-profit called “Racquetball Now” to build upon his decades of coaching and influence to help grow the sport. 

In 2001, Negrete was appointed the Commissioner of the Men’s Pro tour, which had fallen into a crisis of leadership.  Negrete’s reputation amongst the players and his influence in the sport made him an ideal candidate to lead the tour. Under Negrete’s tour leadership, the Men’s pro tour experienced great growth and expanded influence.  Negrete brought on major sponsors Motorola and Verizon Wireless, which led to additional tour events and grand slams. Negrete was influential in the building and funding of the 2nd iteration of the Glass Court, which allowed for a true portable court to be used around the country.  He also introduced Racquetball to ESPN and ESPN360, the first streaming service in the world.

Negrete was also a top player, following in the footsteps of his  uncle, USAR Hall of Famer Bill Schmidtke, winning numerous Illinois State titles in singles and doubles, as well as the 50+ World Senior title in 2014.

Lastly, on the eve of his appointment to the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame, he has been brought back to the IRT to take over for his second stint as the commissioner by the new pro tour ownership group, looking to leverages his connections, experience, and influence once again to help rebuild the men’s tour.

Congratulations to Dave on this great honor; it is well deserved.

Christie Huczek (nee Van Hees) becomes just the second non-American ever to be named to the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of another top professional who played out of Canada in Heather McCay. 

Huczek played on the Ladies Professional tour in parts of 13 different seasons, spanning the mid-1990s to the late 2010s.  She played full-time for just eight seasons but had an out-sized impact during that span. In each of her 8 full time seasons she finished in the top 10 and spent most of her full-time touring career in the top three of the sport. 

Her professional record, and her historical ranks as of this writing in January 2025, include:

• The 2004-05 Year End #1 Pro Title winner
• 16 Career Pro wins (9th of all time)
• 129-34 W/L record, 79.1% career W/L percentage (6th of all time)
• Three US Open Titles (2000, 2005, 2006)
• Winning career Head-to-Head records against her two main career Adversaries Gudinas (16-10) and Rajsich (14-5).

Huczek exploded onto the women’s pro scene in 1998, winning the October 1998 Baltimore pro stop at the age of 21 in just her 7th career pro appearance, topping Paraiso in the final. She then went on to make the finals of the four more events that season, losing each to Paraiso to finish 3rd in her first full season of touring. After finishing 3rd again in the next season, Huczek suddenly retired in August 2001, citing illness and a change in priorities at the time. She “un-retired” in the Fall of 2003 and dominated the tour throughout the 2004-05 season, culminating in her first year-end title.   Huczek won the first three events in dominant fashion in the 2005-06 season, including the US Open, then missed the rest of the season (she still ended up ranked 3rd for the season). After one last US Open title in 2006, she continued to play the tour part time for years and played her final professional match in May of 2011.   

In addition to her Pro accomplishments, Huczek holds many Amateur and International accolades:

• Six (6) Canadian National Singles titles (spanning from 1997- 2008)
• Eleven (11) Canadian National Teams, medaling at all 11 IRF events
• Two (2) IRF World Singles titles (1998, 2006)
• Four (4) Career Canadian Junior National Singles titles (1991-94)
• Four (4) Career Canadian Junior National Doubles titles (1991-94)
• In her native Canada, Christie was inducted in the Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. She was the recipient of the Racquetball Canada’s Women’s Award in 1999. Lastly, she was inducted into Canada Racquetball’s Hall of Fame in 2018.

And now, she’s officially recognized by the USAR for her career accomplishments. Congratulations!

Dave Negrete & Sharon Huczek