Northwest Notes Aug. 9, 2022
A's assign Pfennigs to ACL squad
Former Post Falls and Oregon State right-hander Jake Pfennigs was assigned Monday by the Oakland Athletics to their Arizona Complex League club in Phoenix.
Pfennigs was picked by the A's in the 13th round in July.
Six Big Sky football teams ranked in Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25
Montana was ranked third overall in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25, Montana State was fourth, Sacramento State seventh, Eastern Washington 13th, Weber State 20th and UC Davis 25th.
Defending champion North Dakota State was picked No. 1. South Dakota State, where Idaho coach Jason Eck spent the past six seasons (the last three as offensive coordinator), was picked No. 2.
Montana and Montana State have been ranked third and fourth in two of the three preseason polls (Athlon & Stats Perform) released so far this season, with the order flipped for the HERO Sports Preseason Top 25. The Griz were preseason picks to win the Big Sky by the league's coaches and media this offseason, while the Bobcats are fresh off an appearance in the FCS National Championship Game this past January.
A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25
- North Dakota State (52). 2. South Dakota State (2). 3. Montana. 4. Montana State. 5. Missouri State. 6. Villanova. 7. Sacramento State. 8. Kennesaw State. 9. Southern Illinois. 10. Stephen F. Austin.
- East Tennessee State. 12. Chattanooga. 13. Eastern Washington. 14. UIW. 15. Jackson State. 16. Holy Cross. 17. Southeastern Louisiana . 18. UT Martin. 19. Delaware. 20. Weber State. 21. Northern Iowa. 22. Rhode Island . 23. Mercer. 24. Richmond. 25. UC Davis.
Tri-Cities school starting a junior college football program
Pacific Northwest Christian College in Kennewick, Wash., has started a junior college football team, something that hasn't been done in decades.
Pacific Northwest Christian College (formerly Gather 4 Him) will be launching its first junior college football team on Sept. 3.
The Pacific Northwest Christian College Gladiators will be the first junior college football team to play in the Tri-Cities since Columbia Basin College in Pasco ended its football program in 1980. After that, the closest college football team was Walla Walla Community College, which dropped its program in 1997.
The team will be playing its games at Lampson Stadium in Kennewick, and will be an NJCAA school and a part of the Scenic West Athletic Conference, Region 18. Pacific Northwest Christian's first game is Sept. 6 at Lampson Stadium against the Christian Community College Saints.
The team will be coached by Bill Templeton, who has 52 recruits, and the team has been training since early August.
Football isn’t the only team PNWCC is launching. The Gladiators have 20 recruits for their men’s soccer team.
Cougs tabbed sixth in Pac-12 volleyball coaches' poll
Seniors Magda Jehlarova and Pia Timmer were each named to the Pac-12 preseason all-conference team while the Washington State women's volleyball team was voted to finish sixth in the 2022 Pac-12 preseason coaches' poll as announced by the league office Monday.
The Pac-12 preseason volleyball poll is voted on by the league's 12 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their team.
Jehlarova, a middle blocker from Prerov, Czech Republic, and a two-time AVCA All-American and three-time All-Pac-12 honoree, begins the season ranked fourth all-time in WSU history in solo blocks (85) and fifth in total blocks (424).
Timmer, an outside hitter and native of Emlichheim, Germany, earned her first AVCA All-American selection in 2021 after leading the Cougs with 3.79 kills/set and 4.38 points/set en route to honorable mention All-American honors.
WSU tied for fourth in the Pac-12 in 2021 at 13-7 and earned its sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, where it defeated Northern Colorado in the opening round before losing to Baylor in the second round. WSU's Jen Greeny was named Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year in 2021.
Washington was picked to win the conference, followed by Stanford, UCLA, Oregon, USC, WSU, Utah, Arizona State, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon State and California.
WSU opens with the BYU Invitational on Aug. 26-27 at the Smith Fieldhosue in Provo, Utah.