Jaime Peña
Inducted 2015
Hometown: Mission
High School: Mission High School
College: New Mexico State University
Best Known for: Athlete – Basketball
Peña had great success on the basketball floor at Mission High School and New Mexico State University, and was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs.
Peña was named Valley Freedom Newspapers Player of the Year in 1978, leading Mission to three straight District 28-4A championships under Coach Roy Garcia. As a 6-foot-7 postman, the Eagles were unbeaten in district during Pena’s first two years and lost only one in his senior year, as Mission went 51-1 in district during the Peña era. The Eagles went 32-5 in 1978 and Peña was named to the All-State team and played in the 1978 Texas High School Basketball Classic.
Peña played two seasons at Lon Morris Junior College and transferred to New Mexico State, where he scored almost 1,000 points in two years. As a junior and now 6-foot-8, he was Newcomer of the Year in 1980-81. He averaged 18.1 points to lead the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring. He also averaged 6.9 rebounds per game. As a senior, he averaged 17.5 points and 6.5 points per game. He was named All-MVC first team and MVP.
Peña was drafted in the sixth round of the 1982 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs but never played for the team. He played professionally with CAI Zaragoza (Spain) in the European League, and in Puerto Rico and Mexico. He later joined the Mexico Olympic team.