ORU Athletics Announces 2017 Hall Of Fame Class

The Oral Roberts University Athletic Department has announced its 2017 Hall of Fame Class, which will be honored at halftime of the ORU men's basketball game against IUPUI January 14, which will tip off at 3 p.m. Former ORU student-athletes Charleton Dechert (men's golf), Faithy Kamangila (women's track/cross country), Sam McCants (men's basketball) and Tyler Saladino (baseball) make up the 2017 class of inductees.

Dechert (1998-2001) was a two-time Mid-Continent Conference individual champion, winning medalist honors in both 2000 and 2001. He captured six individual championships during his career and helped lead ORU to four consecutive Mid-Con championships and NCAA Regional appearances. During the 2001 NCAA Regional, Dechert finished sixth overall to advance to the NCAA National Championship. He owns four of the top 12 lowest season scoring averages in school history and owns the fourth lowest three-round tournament score in school history at 207.

Kamangila (2004-07) was named the league's Runner of the Year three times (2004, 2005, 2007) and was also the 2004 Newcomer of the Year. She holds the second fastest 6,000-meter time in conference history at 20:44.43 and holds three of the top 10 fastest 6,000-meter times in conference history. She set a league record with 15 career Athlete of the Week honors and was one of only three athletes to win a single event four times. In the history of the Summit League, Kamangila is the only NCAA qualifier in the 5,000-meter run. She won 12 total event championships, including five indoor, four outdoor and three cross country championships.

An All-American and NABC All-District selection, McCants (1973-74) played just one season but left his mark on the ORU men's basketball program as the leading scorer on ORU's Elite Eight team. He averaged 24.0 points, 7.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds while guiding ORU to a 23-6 record. His 697 points was the second best total in the history of the school at the time and is still fifth in the ORU record books. McCants ranks among the ORU single season top 10 in assists, points, field goals, and field goal attempts. Following his ORU career, McCants was drafted in the 8th round by Chicago, and was drafted again in 1975 in the fourth round by Phoenix.

Having already played in 161 games at second base for the Chicago White Sox, Saladino (2010) was the 2010 Summit League Newcomer of the Year and the Summit League Player of the year. During the 2010 season, Saladino hit .376 with 18 home runs and 76 RBI before being picked in the seventh round of the MLB draft by the White Sox. He scored 75 runs as a Golden Eagle, the fifth most in ORU history, and ranks sixth with 96 hits that season. His home runs and RBI total also put him in the top 10 in ORU history.