Hall of Fame
Mike Cleary was a standout two-sport star at Jesuit Dallas, earning multiple TCIL All-State honors in basketball and tennis, while being honored with the Leo F. Ostdick Award, which recognizes the graduating senior that best combines athletic and academic achievement.
On the hardwood, Cleary co-captained ad earned TCIL First Team All-State accolades both his junior and senior year. The 1994-95 basketball unit produced a record of 27-6 and finished as state runner-up. The Rangers garnered some national attention that season playing in the Gonzaga Tournament in Washington, D.C., where the No. 3 ranked team in the nation, Roman Catholic, won at the buzzer by a single point.
In tennis, Cleary was even more dominant, earning TCIL All-State distinction three straight years while serving as co-captain as both a junior and senior. He won the Ranger Heart Award all four years, captured a pair of TCIL state titles in doubles, and guided the Rangers to back-to-back TCIL State Championships (1994, 1995).
After graduating from Jesuit, Cleary attended Trinity University (Texas) where he played point guard and helped the Tigers to their first-ever Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship. In 1998, Trinity went 21-6 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1968. During his tenure with the Tigers, Cleary was named conference player of the week on multiple occasions and was named to the Conference Academic Honor Roll. Cleary was named captain his senior season, a year in which he also played on the Trinity golf team and competed at the conference tournament.
