Northwest Notes: April 14, 2022

Central Valley star Darling

signs with Washington State

Washington State men's basketball coach Kyle Smith announced the official signing of Dylan Darling (Spokane, Wash.) Wednesday as the new signing period began. Darling is the first official signing of the Cougs for the new season and will head to the Palouse after graduating from Central Valley High School.

"We are thrilled to have Dylan be a part of our program," said Smith. "He is exactly the type of student-athlete we want to continue to build around. Dylan was born to be at WSU and is a Coug through and through. As the 4A Player of the Year we are fortunate to be able to bring him in and hope to continue to bring in players just like him in the future. His desire and passion for the game is a rarity, and we are happy to have Dylan coming to the Palouse and fulfill his dream of being a Coug."

Named Washington's 4A Player of the Year, Scorebook Live Washington Player of the Year, and the Greater Spokane League MVP, Darling capped his high school career with a record-setting senior season as the 6-2 lefty broke the league scoring record once held by Adam Morrison. On the year, Darling averaged 33.2 points (on 55% shooting) while adding 8.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 4.4 steals per game. In league play he was even better, smashing Morrison's league scoring mark by seven points, averaging 35.6 points over 13 contests. With his stellar play, Darling put his name in the career 1,000-point club early in the season.

In addition to his season records, the star guard set the league's single-game scoring mark when he netted 58 points in a win over North Central on Feb. 1. The 58 points came just a week after scoring 47 against Mt. Spokane which had tied the league's single-game scoring mark. The 58 points was not the first time Darling eclipsed the 50-point mark as the senior also scored 53 points in a non-league win over Post Falls to begin the year. In all, Darling led his Bears to an 18-8 overall record in 2021-22, pushing the team to a berth in the class 4A state tournament.

Memorial set for former

Eastern Washington baseball coach

A memorial service for Jim Wasem, a former Eastern Washington University head baseball coach and faculty member, will take place on April 22 in Spokane.

Wasem passed away on April 2 in St. Louis, Mo., at the age of 86. The Celebration of Life service will begin at 6 p.m. at the Lair Auditorium on the campus of Spokane Community College, and is open to Wasem's friends and family in the region.

He spent nine years at EWU as head baseball coach from 1982-90 and is a member of six different halls of fame. He was also a full professor in EWU's Physical Education, Health and Recreation department from 1981-2000, and received Emeritus status when he retired.

Besides training many PE teachers in the region, Wasem coached in more than 900 collegiate baseball games in a 23-year career as a head baseball coach at three different schools from 1968-90. Eastern competed as a member of the Pacific 10 Conference Northern Division before the school dropped the program in 1990. At Eastern he was 230-251-1 overall with a 78-135 league record.

Wasem, who played three years in professional baseball, received his bachelor's degree from Illinois Wesleyan where he played baseball and basketball. He later obtained his master's and doctorate degrees from Illinois State in 1963 and 1981, respectively.

Rhoden leaving Clackamas

for Oregon State post

Oregon State wrestling coach Chris Pendleton announced that Josh Rhoden has been named an assistant coach with the Beavers.

Rhoden joins the program after serving as the head coach at Clackamas Community College since 2006. While there, his teams have won the NJCAA National Championship five times, including the past four years. He's also been named the National Coach of the Year four times, earning that honor in two of the last three years.

"I want to thank both Chris Pendleton and VP/Director of Athletics Scott Barnes for the opportunity to continue to do what I love, as well as, be a part of something special in Corvallis," Rhoden said. "Chris and his staff have things moving in an exciting direction and I feel very blessed to have been asked to join the staff.

"Oregon State and the wrestling community in Oregon have a special place in my heart and I am excited to continue to help move wrestling forward here in our state and throughout the Pacific Northwest."

Rhoden exits Clackamas after posting a 169-36-2 record. In addition to national titles in 2011, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, his Clackamas teams finished as runner ups in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He coached 33 national finalists, 101 All-Americans and 148 national qualifiers.