Locally: Spokane Chiefs acquire defenseman Ethan Overman
From staff and wire reports
The Spokane Chiefs added depth on the blue line on the eve of the start of training camp.
Spokane announced late last week that they have acquired the rights to defenseman Ethan Overman from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2023 Western Hockey League draft.
Overman, a California native, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Saints’ program. In the 2020-21 season, the 5-foot-11, 165-pounder was captain of the Saints’ state-champion 15U Tier 1 AAA team. His 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 37 games led all defensemen in the state in scoring.
• The Chiefs announced an update to plans for their training camp, which runs Thursday through Sunday at the Spokane Arena.
Training camp scrimmages, which in the past have been open to the public, will be closed to the public this year because of pandemic protocols. However, the annual Red-White Game at 1 p.m. on Sunday will be open to the public and is free. Masks will be required for everyone 5 years and older.
“Given the current health environment and protocols, we have decided to close the Thursday-through-Saturday scrimmages to the public,” said Chiefs president Mark Miles. “The health and safety of our players and their families is our top priority.”
The Chiefs expect approximately 55 players in camp. The Red-White intra-squad scrimmage will close the four-day camp, after which the team will trim the roster to get ready for the preseason schedule.
The regular season begins Oct. 2 in the Arena against the Tri-City Americans.
Baseball
David Bellamy, who played for Washington State’s third-year head coach Brian Green at New Mexico State (2017-18) and has spent the last two seasons on the WSU coaching staff, has been promoted to volunteer assistant coach by Green.
Bellamy spent the 2020 season with the Cougars as a graduate assistant, where he worked with the hitters and outfielders, before being named director of player development for the 2021 season. Green said Bellamy will be the Cougars’ catching coach and continue to work with the hitters.
• The Pac-12 announced the creation of an inaugural conference championship baseball tournament, in partnership with the city of Scottsdale and the Arizona Sports & Entertainment Commission, for May 25-29, 2022, at Scottsdale Stadium. The agreement runs through 2024.
The double-elimination tournament, spread over five days at the spring training home of the San Francisco Giants, will involve the top eight teams at the conclusion of the regular season. The winner will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the Division I NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12 had six teams in the 64-team 2021 tournament.
College scene
Kate Doyle of Gonzaga, who made the West Coast Conference All-Freshman women’s soccer team in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, was named the conference’s first offensive player of the week of the 2021 season.
The forward scored in both of the Zags’ first two games, getting a goal and an assist in the season-opening 4-0 win over Eastern Washington and the game-winner in a 3-1 victory at Georgia, hitting the upper right corner on a shot from well outside the 18-yard box in the 51st minute.
• Cara McKenzie and McKenna Marshall, two of the seven newcomers on the Gonzaga volleyball team, were named to the StarkVegas Classic all-tournament team as the Zags went 1-2 in the season-opener in Starkville, Mississippi, during the weekend.
Marshall, a junior outside hitter, led the Bulldogs in kills (34), points (39.0) and kills per set (3.09), including a tournament-high 19 kills in a win against Southeastern Louisiana on Friday. McKenzie, a grad student middle blocker, had a team-high 12 blocks, 11 block assists and just one blocking error.
• Gonzaga sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Hughes, a second-team all-conference selection in the spring 2021 season, has been named to the fall 2021 Preseason All-West Coast Conference team in volleyball, and the Bulldogs were voted to finish seventh in the coaches’ preseason poll.
As a freshman, the 6-foot-2 Hughes had 134 kills and was first on the team with a .328 hitting percentage, second best in the program during the rally scoring era. Defensively, she also led the Bulldogs, and the conference, in total blocks (72), solo blocks (9) and block assists (63).
Miscellany
Jerek Wolcott, an assistant athletic director for communications at the University of Northern Iowa since 2018, was hired by the University of Idaho as assistant athletic director for brand engagement and digital strategy.
A 2009 University of Montana graduate, he will be responsible for oversight and integration of strategic communications, marketing and content creation for UI athletics. The sixth-generation Idahoan has also worked in communication at Carroll College, Idaho State and Montana.