KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Oregon Tech athletic department has announced the fifth induction class to the Howard Morris OIT Athletic Hall of Fame – including the fourth team and four outstanding individuals.
 
The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Brunch, presented by Quail Mountain, Inc. and Pepsi, is set for Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. inside the OIT Campus Union. All honorees will be recognized later that night at halftime of the men's basketball game vs. Our Lady of the Lake.
 
The 1997-98 men's basketball team, men's basketball All-American Rafid Kiti, softball All-Americans Brenda (Ruppel) Mick and Leah (Azevedo) Jolly, along with men's basketball assistant coach Mike Pisan will be the latest editions to the Hall of Fame.
 
The Hustlin' Owls team joins the 1973-74 men's basketball team, along with the 1960 and 1988 football teams, as the lone team entries in the Hall of Fame. The squad, coached by Danny Miles, battled through an extremely tough preseason schedule and earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Division II national tournament. In Nampa, Idaho, the Hustlin' Owls rolled past Walsh, William Jewell, Lewis & Clark and toppled Northwest Nazarene, who defeated Tech in the Cascade Conference Tournament semifinals, 82-75, reaching their first-ever national title game. A last second shot by Bethel College spoiled an OIT national championship – but the legacy of the team put Hustlin' Owls basketball on the national map – starting an unprecedented string of success spanning a 15-year window.
 
Kiti was one of the most prolific scorers in OIT men's basketball history – scoring 1,399 points in a two-year window – twice earning NAIA All-District II honors, while being selected as Tech's first-ever first-team NAIA All-American in 1994. As a junior, Kiti averaged 24.1 points and 9.2 rebounds a game, upping the numbers to 24.3 points and 10.2 rebounds a night as a senior – one of two players in program history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game during a season. He holds the No. 4 and No. 6 all-time single-season scoring averages in OIT history.
 
Mick helped put OIT softball on the map, earning back-to-back NAIA All-America honors in leading the Lady Owls to their first-ever 40-win seasons. After earning NWAC Player of the Year honors at Clackamas CC, Mick transferred to Tech in 1997 and led the Owls to their first-ever NAIA Tournament appearance, earning Cascade Conference Player of the Year and Pacific Northwest Sectional Co-Player of the Year. The pitcher/first-baseman hit .384 during her career, with 29 doubles and 81 RBI, while in the circle, finished 38-16 and currently holds the OIT school record for career ERA (0.94) and lowest opponents' batting average (.188).
 
Jolly was a dynamic hitter in the middle of the Owls order – capped by a remarkable, record-setting senior season. The 3-time All-CCC and 3-time all NAIA Region I catcher is a career .382 hitter with 52 doubles, 243 hits and 164 RBI – all among the Top-10 in program history. In 2002, Jolly earned first-team NAIA All-America honors, while earning CCC and Region I Player of the Year accolades after hitting .500 with a .551 on-base percentage – still OIT records, ranking No. 2 in CCC history – helping the club reach the regional final.
 
Pisan was a mainstay on the men's basketball bench for 17 years, while adding 11 more years as an analyst on OIT basketball radio broadcasts. A 30-year veteran teacher and administrator in the Klamath Falls City School District, Pisan was on Danny Miles 1978-79 staff that led the Owls to their second NAIA Tournament appearance, while from 2001-02 to 2015-16, helped Tech to seven CCC regular-season titles, ten NAIA Tournament appearances and national titles in 2004, 2008 and 2012. In addition, Pisan has served as Tournament Director for the last four NAIA Softball Opening Round events hosted in Klamath Falls.
 
Tickets for the November event will go on sale at a later date.