AARON SELE
By Marc Blau
Special to the Sports Paper
Led by Seattle Mariners pitcher Aaron Sele and Gonzaga basketball standout Adam Morrison, six individuals have been voted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame for 2020.
In addition to Sele and Morrison, the other members of the Class of 2020 are Brad Walker, former holder of the U.S. pole vault record; Dick Cartmell, a Division I basketball referee for over 35 years with five Final Fours to his credit; Don Zech, coach of the 1963 state championship Bishop Blanchet boys basketball team and the 1976 University of Puget Sound Loggers, the NCAA Division II champions, and Joe Kearney, University of Washington athletic director from 1969-76.
Sele, from Poulsbo and North Kitsap High School, helped Washington State win three straight conference championships and was 148-112 over 15 major league seasons. He was 38-27 during his three seasons with the Mariners. Once touted as having the best curveball in the game, Sele was an AL All-Star twice, in 1998 with Texas and 2000 with the Mariners.
Morrison, 6-foot-8 forward for the Zags and a Mead HS graduate, was a consensus first-team All-American and shared the basketball writers’ national player of the year award with Duke’s J.J. Redick in 2006. That season he led the nation in scoring, averaging 28.1 points. After his three years as a Zag, he then played four years in the NBA after being drafted in the first round by the Charlotte Bobcats.
Brad Walker graduated from University High School in Spokane Valley and the University of Washington and won the world indoor championship in 2006 and the world outdoor championship in 2007. He set the since-broken American outdoor record in the men’s pole vault in 2008 with his clearance of 19 feet 9 ¾ inches. Walker, who won two NCAA indoor titles while at the University of Washington, was a member of two Olympic teams.
Richland native, Dick Cartmell worked over 1500 games as one of the country’s top NCAA basketball officials. He called NCAA tournament games for 24 years and was a member of the NCAA title game crew three times.
Zech’s Blanchet team won the big school state high school crown with a perfect 27-0 record, the first unbeaten prep champion in state history. Following four seasons as freshman coach at the UW, Zech took over as head coach at UPS. The Loggers reached the Final Four in of the NCAA Division II tournament in1970 and then captured the title in 1976. Zech is the all-time winningest coach in UPS history with a record of 405-196 in 21 seasons.
Kearney, a Shelton native and Seattle Pacific grad, was responsible for hiring Don James as UW football coach in 1975. Kearney’s later move to Michigan State as the Spartans’ athletic director resulted in the hiring of Jud Heathcote as basketball coach and a subsequent national championship with Magic Johnson as the star player. Kearney finished his career as commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference.
The addition of the six-member Class of 2020 brings the total to 228 men and women in the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame. The organization was founded in 1960 by longtime Tacoma-based sports broadcaster Clay Huntington. A panel that includes sportswriters and broadcasters from throughout the state makes the selections. Dates for induction ceremonies are pending. Information about all Hall of Fame members is available at https://washingtonsportshof.org.