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Hayden’s McGuffin signs

largest professional contract ever in pickleball

HAYDEN — Selkirk Sport, a Hayden-based manufacturer of high performance pickleball paddles and accessories, announced the signing of 2017 USAPA national champion and Hayden resident Tyson McGuffin to what the company says is the largest endorsement contract ever in professional pickleball.

McGuffin, a former competitive tennis player who is currently a pickleball instructor at PEAK Health and Wellness in Hayden and Coeur d’Alene, currently competes nationwide playing in singles and doubles events sanctioned by the USA Pickleball Association, the sport’s governing body.

In November 2017, McGuffin captured his first major championship, winning the Men’s Singles Open Division of the 2017 USA Pickleball Association National Championships, at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, Ariz. The victory not only propelled him to the No. 1 men’s singles ranking in the world for pickleball, but earned him $900 first-place money, as well as a $3,500 bonus from Selkirk Sport as part of the company’s first-of-its kind Pickleball Player Incentive Pool program.

“While the prize money professional pickleballers earn combined with our unique incentive program, may not seem large compared to other professional sports, it represents a benchmark for the game’s rapid growth,” said Mike Barnes, operations manager for Selkirk Sport, in a news release. “With Selkirk now infusing pool money into professional pickleball, the sport has unlimited potential, especially as we are experiencing a surge in former tennis players joining the professional game. This, combined with an active base of 2.5 million players and growing, we expect popularity in the sport of pickleball to increase substantially in the coming years.”

While terms of the deal, which includes a combination of compensation and performance incentives, were not disclosed, as part of his new three-year contract with Selkirk Sport, McGuffin becomes the marquee player among a stable of professional pickleballers who make-up the Team Selkirk Advisory Staff. He will serve as an ambassador for the sport of pickleball, travelling throughout North America as he competes on the professional circuit, while also appearing at Selkirk Sport promotional events and in marketing videos that promote the game. In addition, McGuffin will be a regular contributor of playing tips and other educational/instructional information at www.playpickleball.com, while also collaborating with Selkirk Sport on the launch of a Tyson McGuffin signature paddle in 2018.

“I am thrilled to continue my partnership with Selkirk Sport and help lead their effort to grow the sport of pickleball throughout North America,” McGuffin said in the release. “Given my career in tennis as a player and instructor, the parallels with pickleball are substantial and I expect the game will continue to grow considerably over the next few years. I also expect the level of competition on the professional tour will explode as more and more tennis players convert to pickleballers.”

Ferenz picks up second

consecutive Player of the Week

OGDEN, Utah — Idaho junior Mikayla Ferenz was selected as the Big Sky Player of the Week, the conference announced.

She averaged 36.0 points per game last week, to secure the award for the second consecutive week. It is the fourth time she has won the award in her career.

Ferenz, a junior from Walla Walla, Wash., scored 72 last week and led the Vandals to a 1-1 split during the second week of Big Sky play. She put up 33 points and six rebounds against Sacramento State on Thursday. She followed that up with a season-high 39-point effort with seven assists in the Vandals 101-90 win at Portland State.

Ferenz entered the game at Portland State seventh in the NCAA with 22.1 points per game. She had 21 points at halftime on 7-of-10 shooting and was 6 for 8 from beyond the arc. Her 39 points fell two shy of her own school record (41) set last year at Northern Arizona.

The junior guard improved her scoring average to 23.2 points per game, moving into fourth in the nation. Four games into the Big Sky season she is averaging 31.0 points per game.

Ferenz is also sixth in the NCAA with 3.93 3-pointers per game and ranks eighth all-time in Big Sky history with 229 career 3-pointers made.

The Vandals travel up the road to Cheney on Friday to take on Eastern Washington. The women will open the doubleheader against the Eagles at 5 p.m. The men’s game will follow at 7.

Chiefs acquire goalie

Brkin From Kootenay

SPOKANE — The Spokane Chiefs announced they have acquired 1999-born goaltender Bailey Brkin from the Kootenay Ice in exchange for an eighth-round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

Brkin, a 6-foot-2, 177-pound netminder out of Sherwood Park, Alberta, played 23 games with the Ice this season as a rookie, posting a 4.51 goals-against average and .874 save percentage. Last year, as a 17-year-old with the Calgary Mustangs of the AJHL, he appeared in 45 games, with a 5.19 GAA and .890 save percentage.

Brkin will not immediately join the Chiefs. He is expected to report to the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits.

WSU’s Hristova named

Pac-12 Player of the Week

For the first time in her career, sophomore Borislava Hristova was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week.

Hristova earned the conference’s top honor with a weekend for the ages against Colorado and Utah as the Pac-12’s leading scorer netted 65 points, the second-best scoring weekend in WSU history. She scored 36 points in the Cougs’ win over Colorado. Her 36 points were the most points scored by any Pac-12 player this season while ranking tied for third all-time in program history. Hristova tied the Cougs’ program record for made field goals wth 15 on just 21 shots. In addition, Hristova hit a career-best four 3-pointers to lead the Cougs to the win.

Sunday against Utah, Hristova scored 29 points on 14-of-23 shooting. The Cougar wing dished out four assists and grabbed five rebounds, her second-straight game with five rebounds.

For the weekend, Hristova averaged 32.5 points per game on 65.9 percent shooting. She added 5.0 rebounds per game to go with 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game. On the season, Hristova leads all Pac-12 scorers at 19.1 points per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor.

The Cougs and Hristova hit the road for California where they will take on No. 24 Stanford and No. 25 Cal in Pac-12 play over the weekend.