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Coeur d’Alene High product Leonard a Vandal
Grady Leonard, a 2017 graduate of Coeur d’Alene High, has joined the track and field program at the University of Idaho, director of track and field/cross country Tim Cawley announced.
Leonard qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the shot put last spring while at Nebraska. Leonard also placed eighth in the shot put (outdoors) and seventh (indoors) at the Big Ten Conference Championshi meet. His personal bests in shot is 60 feet, 6 3/4 inches, 172-9 in the hammer throw and 159-8 in the discus.
Leonard was a three-time state champion at Coeur d’Alene, winning shot put titles in 2017 and 2018, as well as the discus in 2018.
“We are so excited that Grady has decided to come back to his home state,” Cawley said. “He brings a lot of talent and work ethic with him and will fit in great with the track family here at Idaho.”
Gonzaga men’s hoops add
Harris, Strawther
Gonzaga men’s basketball coach Mark Few announced the signing of Dominick Harris and Julia Strawther to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.
Harris, a 6-foot-4, 190 pound guard from Murrieta, Calif., averaged 24 points and three assists per game through his first three years of high school. After scoring 24.5 points per outing during his sophomore season at Pacifica High, he transferred to nationally-ranked Rancho Christian as a junior.
Harris earned California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 6 Player of the Year honors as a freshman while leading Pacifica Christian to the championship game.
Harris is ranked No. 60 in the Class of 2020 by 247 Sports. He is a four-star recruit according to ESPN, ranked as the 59th-best recruit in the Class of 2020.
“Dominick comes from such a wonderful and supportive family,” Few said. “He’s been committed for quite a while, so he’s kind of already been a part of the program. It’s great to finally make it official. Dom’s really improved since we first saw him, he’s a really hardworking and motivated player that will be able to play multiple positions on the perimeter. He can shoot it, score it, drive it, defend and fills a lot of buckets from a coaching standpoint. He’s going to be a great addition.”
Strawther (6-7, 210, guard from Henderson, Nev.) is No. 63 in 247 Sports’ ratings and No. 70 in ESPN’s top 100, will join the Zags as a freshman in 2020-21. The four-star recruit is a skilled, athletic guard with shooting range.
Strawther averaged 27.3 points and 8.8 rebounds as a junior at Liberty High. He averaged 12 points and 5.2 rebounds for Vegas Elite on the Nike EYBL AAU circuit in 2018.
This past summer at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Greece, Strawther was second in the tournament averaging 22 points per game at 45 percent shooting from the field for Puerto Rico. He made 57 percent of his shots inside-the-arc, which ranked eighth in the event. He added 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 per game.
Fortier announces
signing of
Scanlon, Ejim for 2020-21 season
Gonzaga women’s basketball coach Lisa Fortier announced the signing of Lily Scanlon and Yvonne Ejim to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.
Scanlon, a 5-9 guard from Melbourne, Australia, will be the second Australian to join the team in as many seasons. Scanlon led the U19 Australian National team to a silver medal at the FIBA World Championships in Thailand, averaging 5.7 pionts, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and scored 12 points in the opening game of group play against the United States. She was also part of a team that claimed bronze in the FIBA World Cup in 2018, averaging 11.7 points, 1.3 rebounds during the tournament.
Ejim, a 6-foot forward from Calgary, competed for the Canadian National team in Thailand, averaging 6.9 pionts, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game at the Women’s Basketball World Cup in Belarus.
Last season, Ejim averaged 24.8 points per game on 56.4 percent shooting to go along with 15.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4.3 steals. She led her team to back-to-back provincial championship games as well as the city championship title in 2019, the first time the school had won in 40 years.
Gonzaga baseball adds
six to 2021 roster
Gonzaga baseball coach Mark Machtolf announced the signing of six players to National Letters of Intent, including five high school prospects and a junior college transfer from the Community Colleges of Spokane.
Matthew Bachelier, a right-handed pitcher from Nogales, Ariz., was a Perfect Game preseason underclassman All-American in 2018. He helped Nogales win back-to-back state 4A championships in 2017 and 2018.
Drew Bond, an infielder and right-handed pitcher from Phoenix, was first team All-State as a junior and was named Region Player of the Year.
Chase Grillo, a product of Kamiakin High of Kennewick, pitched 14 innings at Spokane last year, striking out 13 batters and finishing with a 1.29 earned run average.
Carson Walters, a left-hander pitcher from Twin Falls, was a member of the Bruins state 4A title team in 2017 and has earned all-conference honors as both a pitcher and outfielder.
Owen Wild, a native of Gig Harbor, Wash., set the school’s single-season strikeout record with 112 in 78 innings with an earned run average of 1.26. He was named MVP of the 2018 Baseball Northwest Tournament.
Russell Young is a native of Surrey, British Columbia and was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team.