Steven Gray led the Bainbridge Spartans to a second-place Class 3A finish at state to O’Dea in 2007, and as a result, he is among 16 athletes and two sports teams being inducted into the Kitsap Athletic Roundtable Hall of Fame.
The event will take place at the Kiana Lodge near Poulsbo Feb. 3, 2024.
Gray ranks fifth on the state’s all-time high school boys basketball scoring list and was Associated Press Player of the Year. After BHS, Gray went on to play for Gonzaga before it became a national powerhouse. He averaged 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a Bulldog. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard twice made 1st team all-league at Gonzaga.
He played pro ball in Europe for countries like Greece, France, Croatia and Latvia. One season he averaged almost 20 points per game. His high-scoring effort was 39 on 10 of 13 three-point shots. He was also connected to NBA teams in things like summer league for the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
A couple of North Kitsap athletes also are being honored.
Brenda George was a North Kitsap graduate who played basketball and softball. She went on to compete at Seattle University, earning Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-League honors three seasons. Last season, George led the Kingston softball squad as the head coach to its first win at the district tournament in nearly a decade.
Brent Stenman has won the Rex Brown Award. He has supported youth athletics in Kitsap County for years. The Pacific Northwest Babe Ruth Baseball Hall of Fame inducted him after his support for the World Series every year, including bringing the 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series to Kitsap. Stenman supports North Kitsap High as a member of the football chain crew and scorer at basketball games.
Five athletes from Olympic High School are being honored.
Bob Garman dominated the trenches at Olympic High. The former offensive lineman helped the Washington State Cougars defeat the Utah Utes in the 1992 Copper Bowl in 1992.
Steve Haggerty is one of the most prolific soccer coaches in Kitsap. The Olympic High girls soccer coach joined the Trojans in 1979 and founded the boys and girls soccer teams in 1981. Since then, Haggerty has led the Trojans to 19 state berths.
Greg Mutchler is owner and coach of the Olympic Gymnastics Center in Silverdale. Mutchler developed a facility in Kitsap that has provided numerous state and national competitors, including two recent vaulters committing to Cal and the University of Washington.
Ashli Payne was an Olympic High grad who became the 2013 All-Olympic MVP in girls basketball. Afterward, she competed at Eastern Washington University and overseas in France. As a pro, Payne averaged 9.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Payne coached the Central Kitsap’s girls basketball squad before stepping down and working at RAWW Athletics as a basketball trainer.
Scott Peck was a longtime athletic trainer and sports medicine instructor at Olympic High. Peck retired in 2023 after three decades and two Sports Medicine Instructor of the Year awards.
Three of the winners have Bremerton connections.
James and Robert Bryan will be representing Bremerton as multi-sports stars. James lettered in three sports at the UW. His son, Robert, placed third at the state basketball tournament in 1952 and earned three letters at the UW.
Bob Hill, a Bremerton native, helped pioneer Butokukan karate, a hybrid form of karate that fuses freestyle improvisation with traditional Okinawan, with mentor Yoichi Nakachi.
Dwight and Zach Malhoit are Bremerton natives, too. The father-son duo won several national titles through a few decades of outboard powerboat racing.
South Kitsap also is represented.
Eric Canton was an All-American defensive back and quarterback, leading the Wolves to the state championship in 1984. He also played basketball and baseball and coached football at Bremerton and South Kitsap, including a 1994 3A state title.
Brittany Miller Towe was a 2005 South Kitsap graduate and softball superstar. She attended Linfield University, holding nearly every single-season and career pitching record. She was inducted into the Linfield Hall of Fame in 2019.
Kevin Mayo won the Dick Todd Award after being a Peninsula Football Officials Association referee for three decades.
The two teams being inducted are the 1973 West High Football team and the 1999 Klahowya girls soccer team. The West High Wildcats were ranked second in the state and were led by former professional Mike O’Brien, all-state running back Paul Morgan and a defense that allowed only 25 points in nine games. Klahowya’s 1999 squad was the first of Troy Oelschalger’s three state titles with the Eagles.
