MALIBU, California – Who are the best Waves ever to wear a particular number on their jersey or cap? This series will aim to identify the most accomplished Pepperdine student-athletes, number by number.
 
Today, the greats who wore number 23 are listed.
 
First, some caveats:

• Student-athletes before a certain year may not be included, as complete numerical rosters only go back so far. For the eight sports that wear numbers, only women's soccer and women's beach volleyball have every roster available.
• The complete numerical rosters for baseball (1971), men's basketball (1968-69), women's basketball (1979-80), men's volleyball (1975), women's indoor volleyball (1976) and men's water polo (1982) date back to the year shown here.
• In some cases, additional standout student-athletes from prior to those years were identified.
• Any student-athlete who received at least all-conference honors during this time, and others of note, were included based on current available information.
• Pepperdine sponsored football between the years of 1946 and 1961. Fifteen football players have been inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame and those former student-athletes have been included in this series.

BASEBALL 

• Pat Murphy (Los Alamitos, Calif./Cypress College) was an All-American in 1974. The left-handed pitcher went 13-2 with a 1.43 ERA that season.
• Jon Smith (Malibu, Calif.) was all-conference second team in 1985. The left-handed pitcher won eight games that season and had 13 victories over four years.
• Chris Martin (Los Angeles, Calif./Hamilton HS) earned all-conference twice in 1988 and 1989 before switching to #3 and becoming an All-American. The infielder hit .305 for his career with 24 home runs and 126 RBI.
• Dan Melendez (Los Angeles, Calif./St. Bernard HS) was an All-American second team selection in 1992. He made the All-College World Series team in 1992 and was a three-time all-conference honoree. The infielder hit .354 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI that season. He had a career .342 average with 28 home runs and 154 RBI.
• Steve Kleen (Menifee, Calif./Chaparral HS) was an All-American first team pick in 2005 and a two-time all-conference first teamer. The right-handed pitcher is Pepperdine's all-time leader in saves (28). He went 4-3 with 17 saves and a 1.75 ERA as a senior.

MEN'S BASKETBALL 

• Joy Pace (Montebello, Calif.) played in 1943-44, then went into the military, then returned to play three more seasons between 1946-48. He led the team in scoring his final two seasons, including 12.9 points per game as a senior. He was Pepperdine's first NBA Draft pick, by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1948. He was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983.
• Tony Fuller (Detroit, Mich./Vincennes JC) was All-WCC second team in 1980. He averaged 19.5 points that season and would score a total of 982 points in his two seasons. He would later play in the NBA for one season and would become the Waves' head coach.
• Tommie Prince (Compton, Calif./Arizona State) was All-WCC honorable mention in 2000 and was the WCC Defensive Player of the Year in 1999. The guard had four-year career totals of 982 points, 481 rebounds and 202 assists.
• Chase Griffin (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS) was All-WCC honorable mention in 2007. The guard averaged 15.7 points that season and scored 754 points in his four-year career.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 

• Sherri Murrell (West Linn, Ore./Southwestern Louisiana) was All-WCC honorable mention in 1990. She averaged 12.3 points per game that season and scored 629 points in her two seasons with the Waves.
• Aimee McDaniel (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) made the All-WCC first team in 1993 and 1994 and was honorable mention in 1991. The guard averaged 19.3 points per game as a senior and had career totals of 1,520 points and 452 assists (previously the school record).
• Katie Menton (Coarsegold, Calif./Yosemite HS) 2008-12) scored 1,163 career points between 2008-12. The guard averaged 11.5 points per game as a senior.
• Barbara Sitanggan (Fullerton, Calif./Troy HS) was All-WCC first team in 2020 and honorable mention in 2019. She just finished her career as the program's all-time leader in assists (503). She scored 951 points in four years.

WOMEN'S SOCCER 

• Ann Desmond (Lake Forest, Calif./Mission Viejo HS) was a key midfielder for the Waves' early great teams, and had seven assists from 1999-02.
• Nicole Romanowski (Coto de Caza, Calif./Tesoro HS) was All-WCC honorable mention in 2007, her only season with the Waves.

WOMEN'S BEACH VOLLEYBALL 

• Katie Gavin (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS) became the fourth Wave to wear #23 but the first to see action in the number in 2018. She has 18 career wins.