St. Mary's Athletics Announces 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees

SAN ANTONIO – Six former St. Mary's University student-athletes and one team have been elected as the 2020 St. Mary's University Athletics Hall of Fame class. The newest group of inductees are Jamie Amoretti (B.B.A. '07), J.J. Edwards (B.B.A. '06), Jeff Appelt (B.B.A. '99), Malissa Magee (B.B.A. '08, MBA '10), Natalie Gamez (B.A. '09), Que Willis (B.A. 2001), and the 1986 National Champion softball team. The class is scheduled to be honored on Friday, Oct. 16, at Bill Greehey Arena.
 
"Each one of these six individuals and the 1986 Softball team are so deserving of induction into the St. Mary's Athletics Hall of Fame," said St. Mary's Director of Athletics Rob Coleman. "It is ultimately one of the greatest honors of any athlete and our committee had a very difficult task in narrowing the selections down to this special group.  In the end, the selections covered six separate sports and one outstanding team.  We all look forward for Friday, October 16 when we will celebrate this groups outstanding achievements during their enshrinement."
 
1986 St. Mary's Softball Team
In 1986, the St. Mary's Softball team claimed the institution's first national championship in any sport as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). If that is not impressive enough, the team had to come back from the loser's bracket to beat Oklahoma City twice in order to claim the championship. This was the team's second consecutive appearance at the World Series. The squad produced seven St. Mary's Hall of Fame members in Yvette Buentello-Giron (B.A. '91), Kelly Smith Hudson (B.A. '87), Adrian Jonietz Caloss (B.A. '91), Mary Kalinec (B.B.A. '86), Milyse Lamkin (B.A. '86), Leticia Morales-Bissaro (B.A. '86) and Donna Eckert Fields (B.A. '87, M.A. '01). The team also holds the school's all-time record for lowest single-season ERA (0.55) and is second all-time in opponent batting average allowed (.147).  
 
Jamie Amoretti
2004-2007, Men's Golf
Amoretti is the school's only individual national champion, having won the NCAA individual golf championship in 2006. He also earned Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar honors in 2005-2006, and was a two-time GCAA All-American, two-time GCAA All-South Central Region selection, and was given the GCAA Arnold Palmer Award as the nation's top golfer in 2006. A three-time All-Heartland Conference selection, Amoretti was named the league's Player of the Year in 2006. He holds the lowest single-season scoring average in program history (71.85 in 2006), most single-season tournament wins (three in 2006) and graduated with the most career tournament victories (four). He also holds the record for most rounds played (36 in 2006) and the highest Golfstat individual finish (No. 8 in 2006). Amoretti holds the fourth-best scoring average in school history (73.83), second-lowest single round in school history, and was second-best in school history with 36 rounds of shooting par or better. He placed third at the 2006 NCAA regional championship weeks before winning the NCAA national championship.  

Jeff Appelt
1996-1999, Baseball
Appelt, an honorable mention All-American pitcher in 1999 and four-time Heart of Texas Conference champion reached NAIA World Series in 1996 and NAIA regionals two other years. He was named 1996 Heart of Texas Conference Freshman of the Year and All-Heart of Texas Conference First Team in 1998 and 1999. Appelt prominent in the St. Mary's record book, including No. 2 all-time in wins (38) and No. 4 in strikeouts (313). "Jeff was an outstanding student-athlete who not only was a great player, but also a good student," said St. Mary's Athletic Hall of Fame Chair Lacy Hampton. 

J.J. Edwards
2004-2005, Men's Basketball
Edwards was the Heartland Conference Player of the Year in 2005, when he led St. Mary's to a 23-7 record while averaging 11.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. In 2004, his first year as a Rattler, he was named the Heartland Newcomer of the Year. Over his two years with the Gold and Blue, Edwards scored 438 points (7.4 average) with 195 assists (3.3 average) and 174 rebounds (2.9 average). He was a two-time All-Heartland selection, earning First-Team honors in both 2004 and 2005. 
 
Natalie Gamez
2006-2009, Women's Basketball
Gamez, a National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame inductee in 2011, is currently the No. 4 all-time scoring leader in the history of St. Mary's University Women's Basketball. She holds numerous other records including top billing in 3-pointers made and free throws made, and ranks third in free-throw percentage, ninth in rebounding and eighth in assists. She also holds the No. 8 and 9 spots in single-season scoring. She was named All-American in the 2008-2009 season, and honored as the Heartland Conference Player of the Year for the 2007-2008 season. A three-time All-Heartland selection, she also earned All-Region honors in 2008-2009. Her success contributed directly to her team's success, as she headlined three teams that earned NCAA regional appearances and also won a pair of Heartland Conference Tournament championships to go along with two Heartland Conference regular-season titles. One of those teams won a school-record 24 consecutive games and went undefeated in Heartland Conference play. "Natalie's name is all over our record book," current Women's Basketball Head Coach Jason Martens said. "She was the reason we went 49-11 during her junior and senior seasons."
 
Malissa Magee
2005-2008, Softball
A three-time All-American, Magee became the third Rattler inducted into the Heartland Conference Hall of Fame when she earned the honors in 2018. She stands atop a long list of dominant St. Mary's pitchers, leading the program to a regional championship and a trip to the World Series in 2005 while winning four consecutive Heartland Conference championships and claiming four straight NCAA regional berths. Statistically, she holds the Heartland Conference career records for wins (119), shutouts (48), innings pitched (994.0), strikeouts (1,061) and complete games (111), while also claiming single-season conference records for wins (36), innings pitched (282), strikeouts (336) and shutouts (18). She earned All-American honors in 2005, 2007 and 2008, and is the only four-time Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Year in the league's history. She was named to the conference's 20th Anniversary Softball Team in 2019. 
 
Que Willis
1996-1999, Men's Soccer
Willis is the statistical gold standard in the school's soccer history, holding numerous honors more than 20 years after his career ended that illustrate what a prolific offensive threat he was. Willis is the school's all-time leading goals scorer (54 goals), all-time leading points scorer (156), and all-time leading assists leader (48). His 20 assists in 1997 rank No. 1 for a single season, as do his five game-winning goals in 1999. He also holds the No. 2 spot on the single-season assists list with 14 and holds two of the top five spots for goals in a season with 16 in 1999 and 15 in 1997. He was a two-time All-American, earning First-Team honors in 1997 and honorable mention honors in 1998. He was the Heart of Texas Conference Most Valuable Player following both seasons and was also voted First-Team All-Southwest Region both years. "He showed himself to be cream of the crop," St. Mary's Men's Soccer Head Coach Johnny Clifford said.