25th Class inducted into Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame
Celebrating 25 years of the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame, four individuals and one team represented the Class of 2024 at the Hall of Fame festivities held Saturday, January 27, in the Earle N. Wright Community Room.
Those inducted were women's basketball player Pam (Fritz) Peeples, tennis player Junior Brown, softball player Haley Strawn, soccer player/coach Ruy Vaz, and the 1998 national champion Tiger baseball team.
Cowley College athletic director Jeff Fluty said one of his favorite events of the year is the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and the luncheon is an opportunity to celebrate all that is good about college athletics.
"There is nothing more important than recognizing and celebrating the best of Cowley College athletics during our annual Cowley Tigers Hall of Fame induction ceremonies," Fluty said. "This past Friday and Saturday was special not only for the deserving inductees but for all Tiger supporters. Our pride of success was front and center; I loved it!"
Sponsors for the Hall of Fame luncheon on Saturday and Social on Friday night at the Burford Theatre were Community National Bank and Trust, RCB Bank, and Union State Bank.
Hall of Fame Bios:
Pam (Fritz) Peeples
Pam (Fritz) Peeples had a stellar two-year career as a member of the Cowley College women's basketball team. She came to Cowley from South Carolina to play for Hall of Fame head coach Linda Hargrove.
Peeples played for the Lady Tigers during the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons, helping lead Cowley to the Region VI championship in 1986-87 and a trip to the NJCAA National Basketball Tournament.
The Lady Tigers compiled a record of 48-13 in her two seasons and won the Jayhawk East championship and Region VI title both years at the school. She held six school records at the time of her graduation and still ranks in the top 10 in points scored in a single season (542) and points scored in a career (876).
After Cowley, she attended Indiana University, where, as a senior, she was named a Second Team All-Big 10 selection.
Junior Brown
Following in the footsteps of his father, Melburn P. Brown Sr., Melburn Brown Jr. made quite the impact during his one season as a member of the Cowley College men's tennis team.
Junior's father, Mel, was a three-sport athlete at Cowley and was inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1994, Junior Brown was a Region VI champion in singles and doubles and was a No. 1 flight doubles national champion. The All-American helped the Tiger men's tennis team finish as the national runner-up.
He captured another doubles national championship at NCAA Division II University of Central Oklahoma and was again named an All-American. As a senior, he led UCO to one of the best years in school history, with the Bronchos going 16-2 and winning the Lone Star Conference title. Brown was a singles and doubles All-American in his final season with a 44-13 combined record, ranking No. 1 nationally in doubles, and he also won the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award for the South Central Region.
He currently serves as the director of tennis at the Topeka Country Club.
Haley Strawn
Regarded by Hall of Fame softball coach Ed Hargrove as one of the top-five all-time greats of the Cowley College softball program, Haley Strawn still holds six school records.
As a freshman at Cowley College, Strawn was instrumental in leading the Tigers to a fourth-place national finish. Strawn led the Lady Tigers to a third-place national finish as a sophomore.
Ten years after her graduation from Cowley, the two-time All-American still holds six career and season individual records. Strawn finished her Lady Tiger career as the school's all-time leader in hits in a season (107), hits in a career (204), runs scored in a season (82), runs scored in a career (164), most times at bat in a season (212), and most times at bat in a career (420). She is in the top five in six more individual and career records and in the top 10 of two more.
As a junior at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Strawn was a First-Team All-Great American Conference selection and earned All-Tournament Team honors at the NCAA Division II National Finals. As a senior at Southeastern, she led the team in batting, hits, doubles, and home runs.
She spent two seasons as an assistant softball coach at Cowley and helped the Lady Tigers capture the Jayhawk East title, Region VI District E Championship, and place fifth at the 2017 NJCAA Division II National Tournament in Clinton, MS.
Ladies and gentlemen, Haley Strawn.
Ruy Vaz
Before forging a successful career as the head coach of the Cowley College men's soccer team, Ruy Vaz had a decorated career as a member of the Tiger men's soccer team. At Cowley, Vaz was the college's 2013 Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2012 Junior College Men's Scholar Player of the Year. Along with the award, he became the Tiger soccer program's first two-time All-American and had a grade point average of 3.95 at Cowley. As a freshman at Cowley, he was named a First-Team All-American and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Vaz set a school record with 19 goals and 41 points scored on the season while helping the Tigers finish the year with a record of 13-3-2. He scored 11 goals and added six assists in 12 games as a sophomore as he exemplified the word student-athlete. Vaz was named the KJCCC Offensive Player of the Year each of his two years as a member of the Tiger soccer team and finished his Cowley career with a school-record 30 goals and nine assists. After Cowley, Vaz transferred to Oklahoma City University, where he was the Sooner Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 and a First-Team All-Conference selection as he helped the Stars capture the conference title. He went on to have playing experience in Europe and the West Virginia Chaos.
Vaz has become the most successful coach in the history of the Cowley College men's soccer program, having led Cowley to four national tournament berths in five seasons and an overall record of 93-19-2 as of the conclusion of the 2023 season.
1998 Tiger Baseball Team
The 1998 Cowley College baseball team remains one of the most dominant teams to ever come through the Tiger program.
After starting the season with a record of 4-6, Cowley would go on to win 50 of its next 53 games as they finished the year with a record of 54-9, were Jayhawk East champs, Region VI champs, and capped the season by becoming back-to-back national champs.
The Tigers accomplished a program first that has not been repeated as they went 34-0 in the Jayhawk East. Two members of the 1998 team, Sam Scott and Josh McMillen, have been inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame as individuals. While Braden Dimick, Travis Hughes, Clayton Soule, Kyle Holland, Casey Eckstein, Lucas Hocker, Curtis Gay, and McMillen were inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame along with the 1997 national championship team.
Dave Burroughs, the head coach of the 1998 title-winning team, was previously inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame along with Tiger assistant coaches Darren Burroughs and Scott Hennessey.