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More honors for NIC

softball star Mott

North Idaho College sophomore Madi Mott, who notched a pitching record of 25-2 and was named East Region MVP and Pitcher of the Year, is the Northwest Athletic Conference Softball Athlete of the Year.

Mott, from Gladstone High in Gladstone, Ore., posted a conference-best ERA of 1.61 and was first in strikeouts with 240 Ks on the season. When she wasn’t on the mound, Mott was wreaking havoc against opposing pitchers with her .508 batting average. She launched a league-leading 27 home runs and 74 RBI (ninth best).

She was twice named All-American and Player of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and was the conference tournament MVP in 2018 and 2019 after leading NIC to back-to-back conference titles. Her combined two-year pitching record was 54-3.

Mott has signed with NCAA Division II St. Leo University in St. Leo, Fla.

Vandals Johnson, Coffey

preseason HERO Sports All-Americans

Idaho returning football All-Americans Noah Johnson and Cade Coffey were named to the HERO Sports 2019 Preseason All-America Team, the outlet announced.

Johnson was projected as a first-team selection on the offensive line, while Coffey was chosen as the second-team punter. Both picked up All-America recognition last season, as well as first-team All-Big Sky accolades.

Johnson, a senior from Fayetteville, Ark., was named to HERO Sports All-America Third Team in 2018. He became the first Idaho offensive lineman to earn All-America recognition since Mike Iupati in 2009. Johnson has started 23 games in his Idaho career, including 20 consecutive, all at strong guard. He has garnered all-conference honors each of his first three seasons.

Coffey, the former Lakeland High standout, averaged 44.1 yards per punt in 2018 to rank fifth in the FCS and help Idaho net 40 yards per punt — the best mark in the Big Sky and second best in the country. He booted 19 kicks of at least 50 yards, including a career-long 80-yard punt against Southern Utah that tied for the second-longest punt of the year nationally. Coffey was the USA Today Freshman All-America punter at the FBS level in 2017.

EWU’s Barriere, Blackburn earn

FCS preseason All-America honors

Quarterback Eric Barriere and center Spencer Blackburn were honored on the HERO Sports Preseason NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America team.

Barriere earned first-team honors and Blackburn was on the second team, while the Eagles as a team were ranked seventh by HERO Sports in its preseason team rankings announced two days earlier.

There were 102 players honored by HERO Sports on its first, second and third teams.

Barriere took the place of injured All-America senior Gage Gubrud and led the Eagles to the cusp of a national title with eight wins in his 10 starts at the helm. He would have become a starter this past spring anyway, but his timetable was moved up a bit and earned third team All-Big Sky honors as a result.

Blackburn will be a sixth-year senior in 2019 after he received approval from the Big Sky Conference and the NCAA for their hardship waiver requests to receive a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility. He earned second team All-America honors a year ago, and Barriere earned honorable mention as a Sophomore All-America pick.

Montana lands four on

HERO preseason squad

Four Montana football standouts were named to one of three HERO Sports Preseason All-America teams, the online sports publication announced.

Record-setting senior linebacker Dante Olson was named to the first team defense, and junior linebacker Jace Lewis was named to the first team special teams. Sophomore safety Robby Hauck earned a place on the second team, and junior receiver Samuel Akem earned third-team honors.

Olson shattered the Montana school record with 151 total tackles as a junior and posted the second-most single game tackles in UM history with 24 against Cal Poly. He also finished the year as the NCAA statistical champion for tackles per game, averaging 13.7, the most in all of Division-I football (FCS or FBS).

Lewis was the team’s fifth-leading tackler with 62 total takedowns, posting the team’s second-most tackles-for-loss with 7.5, 2.5 sacks for a total loss of 20 yards, two pass breakups, and a quarterback hurry. He was a standout on UM’s kickoff coverage unit.

Hauck finished his first season of college football as the nation’s top freshman tackler and the Big Sky’s fifth-leading tackler overall with a total of 95 takedowns.

Akem hauled in 13 touchdown catches — the sixth-most touchdowns in the nation, and the most in the league. He caught at least one touchdown pass in eight games, and two TD grabs in five games.

One ISU player honored

on HERO preseason team

Idaho State senior wide receiver Mitch Gueller was named to the third-team preseason All-American team by HERO Sports.

Gueller enters his final year in Pocatello ready to break nearly every school receiving record. He currently has 2,639 receiving yards, which ranks third all-time in ISU history but he is 225 yards away from becoming the all-time leader at Idaho State, passing Ed Bell’s 2,863 receiving yards.

Gueller has 134 receptions and is 18 away from moving into the Top 10. The Bengal senior has 20 receiving touchdowns and is currently tied for the seventh in the school record book with Michael Dean. The school record for most receiving touchdowns is 30 by Bell.