Hall of Fame
Kaniela Aiona was a member of the men's basketball team from 2001 to 2005. In four seasons with the Gorloks, Aiona appeared in 84 games and made 51 starts. He averaged 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while blocking 71 total shots. He shot 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from the three-point line while knocking down 76 percent of his free throws. He led his teams to two SLIAC Regular Season title ('02, '05) and an NCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Tournament appearance in 2001-02. He earned All-SLIAC honors in his final two seasons with the Gorloks and was twice named to the SLIAC Winter All-Academic Team. In his senior season, Aiona was named the team captain and earned the Webster Athletics President Award. In the men's basketball record books, Aiona ranks eighth in both blocked shots (71) and blocked shots per game (0.8) while ranking 16th in total rebounds (387), tied for 17th in total offensive rebounds (129), 19th in field goals made (336), and 20th in both points (852) and defensive rebounds (258). He blocked a career high 37 shots in his senior season which ranks ninth all-time for a single season in Gorlok history. Throughout his career, the Gorloks went 58-45 overall and 40-16 in the SLIAC. Aiona earned a Bachelors in Advertising and Marketing Communications from Webster in 2005 and immediately returned to Webster as the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach for the 2005-06 season. After one season, Aiona went on to spend time as an assistant coach at Central Methodist (Mo.) University (2006-08), Lake Forest (Ill.) College (2008-10), Benedictine (Ill.) University (2011-13), and Saint Leo (Fla.) University (2013-15). He was named the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Menlo (Calif.) College in 2015 and spent five seasons there before becoming the Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 2020. He is married to Kelly Aiona (Mitchell) and has two children. This was his fourth year on the ballot.
