2022 Omaha Sports Hall of Famers Announced

Omaha, Neb. – Former Major League Baseball player and coach Kimera Bartee, Omaha Tech basketball legend Fred Hare, state championship volleyball coach Joanne Kappas and the undefeated 2003 Millard North football team will soon join other local sports legends as members of the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame.

They will be inducted as part of the Omaha Sports Commission Awards (OSCAS) event on May 26, 2022, at The Relevant Center in Elkhorn. The OSCAS will also feature special awards recognizing the best high school and college athletes, coaches and teams of 2022.

Nominees for the award show will be announced in early May. Tickets for the evening will be available at omahasports.org/OSCAS.

Shane Bradford, president and founder of the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame, said the new inductees demonstrate what makes Omaha such a great sports town.

“The late Kimera Bartee will be remembered as one of the finest baseball players to ever come out of Omaha, while during his high school and early college career the late Fred Hare was the most dominant basketball player in the state,” Bradford said. “The 11 Class A state volleyball state championship teams under Coach Kappas will likely never be equaled, while Millard North’s 2003 undefeated football team showed how dominant a team can be on both sides of the ball.”

Lindsay Toussant, president and executive director of the Omaha Sports Commission, said this year’s OSCAS will celebrate the great sports performances fans enjoyed during the 2021-2022 sports season.

“The OSCAS is quickly becoming one of the most enjoyable sports nights in our area as we celebrate our great past and current sport excellence, making it a very special evening at The Relevant Center,” Toussant said.

Kimera Bartee was a standout baseball player for Omaha Central. As a leader on the 1991 Creighton Bluejays team, he helped the Jays qualify for the College World Series. Drafted in the 14th round by the Baltimore Orioles, Baseball America once named Bartee the fastest runner and best defensive outfielder in the minor leagues. He eventually played five seasons in the majors, mostly with the Detroit Tigers. He moved to coaching and reached the majors as a coach in 2017. At the time of his death in December 2021, Bartee was serving as the first-base coach for the Tigers.

Fred Hare was an Omaha high school basketball legend. His 1962-63 Omaha Tech team won the state championship and is considered one of the greatest teams in Nebraska history. His senior year, Hare averaged more than 26 points a game and ended his high school career scoring 1,583 points, at that time a Class A state record. Hare played three years of college basketball at the University of Nebraska. He led the team in scoring and rebounds his sophomore year, highlighted by making an over-the-head shot at the buzzer to defeat then-No. 1 Michigan. Injuries limited his playing time his junior year and he played only part of his senior year. Hare passed away in 2014.

Joanne Kappas coached at four Omaha area high schools, ending her 33-year coaching career with 866 wins. At the time, she ranked third in career victories in Nebraska high school volleyball history. Between 1989 and 2005 she transformed her Bellevue West team into a juggernaut, winning 11 state championships, including six in a row. Teams from the three other Metro schools she coached (Bellevue East, Omaha Bryan and Millard South) also qualified for state tournament weekend. Kappas retired from coaching in 2015.

The 2003 Millard North football team under coach Fred Petito dominated its opponents all season. Their offense averaged 437 yards and 45 points a game, while their defense held opponents to 147 yards and seven points a game. What makes the Mustangs’ undefeated season more amazing is that by the end of the year Millard North was down to its third string quarterback. Millard North won four games in the playoffs by a total score of 138-14, including a 38-7 championship victory over Omaha Creighton Prep. Omaha World-Herald sportswriter Stu Pospisil ranks the Mustangs No. 2 on his all-time list only behind 1985 Creighton Prep, which was honored in 2015.