Sports in brief: Levenseller transfers to EWU

Sophomore quarterback J.T. Levenseller has transferred from Washington State University to Eastern Washington, EWU head coach Beau Baldwin said Thursday.

Baldwin said the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Levenseller has been admitted and enrolled at EWU after receiving his release to transfer from WSU. The Pullman High graduate will be eligible to play this season and has three years of eligibility plus a redshirt season left.

Baldwin said Levenseller would become Eastern’s sixth quarterback in the program. He joins four-year senior starter Matt Nichols, freshmen redshirts Jeff Minnerly and Scott Burgett, true freshman Anthony Vitto and walk-on junior Nick Gauthier.

Levenseller’s father, Mike, is the receivers coach at WSU.

Gonzaga women on Wooden list

Women’s basketball: Gonzaga seniors Heather Bowman and junior Courtney Vandersloot, the past two West Coast Conference Players of the Year for the five-time defending West Coast Conference champions, were named to the John Wooden Award watch list.

Only three other schools had two players on the list of 31 names: Connecticut, Stanford and Ohio State.

Spokane native Angie Bjorklund, a junior at Tennessee, is also on the list.

Ferris No. 1 in preseason poll

Cross country: The Harrier Magazine has put Ferris’ boys No. 1 in its national preseason poll of high school teams.

“Led by trackman Adam Thorne, coach Mike Hadway has everyone back – with the Saxons buoyed by the city’s auspicious running heritage,” writes Marc Bloom of The Harrier Magazine.

The North Central boys are ranked 14th. The Indians were the top-ranked team in the 2008 preseason poll.