Prep notebook: Ferris hires former Gonzaga star Sam Brown as baseball coach

With the close of the school year, several area schools announced coaching changes.

Ferris was the busiest, adding four new coaches.

Sam Brown replaces Scott Ward as baseball coach. Ward stepped down after accepting the girls basketball position in May.

Brown was a four-year starter at Gonzaga, where he was two-time WCC All-Conference and four-time WCC player of the week. He is fourth in career hits list at Gonzaga with 246.

Brown was a student-teacher and assistant coach in football, girls JV basketball and boys JV baseball at Shadle Park this year. He also has extensive experience coaching with clubs and camps.

Chris Caviness was hired to coach boys cross country, replacing Mike Hadway, who has retired from coaching. Caviness has been a JV and assistant boys cross country and track coach at Ferris for 13 years.

He coached cross country and track for 10 years at Spanish Fork (Utah) HS, winning two state championships in track, and was head coach at Rogers girls track for three seasons, leading the Pirates to a second-place finish at state.

Caviness was a 1982 Ferris grad and a three-sport athlete for the Saxons in cross country, basketball and track.

Nate DeSantiago was brought on as wrestling coach. He replaces Tim Owen, who is retiring from teaching and coaching. DeSantiago has been an assistant football, wrestling, and baseball coach at Ferris.

He brings seven years of wrestling coaching experience and was a three-year state wrestling placer in high school in Arizona at Phoenix Christian High School.

Linda Bushinski added fastpitch softball to her list of responsibilities. She has been the slowpitch softball coach for many years and won a state volleyball championship in 1995 at North Central and a state golf title at Ferris.

She was a long-time assistant in the Ferris volleyball program in the 1990s.

Bushinski was an All-American softball player in both modified pitch and fastpitch softball and was a standout volleyball and softball player at Rogers. She was an all-conference volleyball player at Gonzaga, where she held the career digs record for many years.

Ferris’ Campbell signs with Carroll in two sports

Carroll College men’s basketball coach Kurt Paulson and track and field coach Harry Clark last week announced the signing of point guard and triple jumper Shamrock Campbell from Ferris.

Campbell was a four-year starter in basketball and a four-year letterman in track and field, where he won the Washington 4A triple jump championship.

“Carroll basketball gained a unique player with the commitment of Shamrock Campbell,” Paulson said via press release. “He brings a competitive spirit and athleticism that will be a dominant combination for the Saints.”

Campbell was a Greater Spokane League first-team selection for both his junior and senior seasons. He averaged 17 points, six rebounds and four assists during his senior year.

He is a five-time state medalist and his state-championship triple jump of 48-feet, 3-inches would have placed seventh at the NAIA Outdoor National Championship.

Campbell carries a 3.5 GPA and was an A.P. Scholar.

East Valley hires pair of new coaches

The Knights brought in a couple of new coaches for the fall, according to athletic director Alec Vermaire.

Tom Griggs was hired as football coach, replacing Adam Fisher who retired after the season.

Griggs was the coach at North Central from 2015-17 and finished 2-8, 1-2 last season with the Indians. He coached the previous three seasons at 1A Riverside. Griggs played football at Washington State. The Knights went 4-5 overall, 2-2 in the Great Northern League last season.

Jeremy Knee replaces Jason Wilson as boys basketball coach. Knee is from Scottsdale, Arizona, where he coached middle and high school basketball and served as the assistant athletic director for Scottsdale Christian Academy. East Valley went 3-17 last season, 1-11 in the GNL.

Moscow names Karlee Wilson girls hoops coach

Former Idaho basketball star Karlee Wilson was hired by Moscow as head girls basketball coach.

Wilson, from Lewiston, started 78 games in her four-year career for the Vandals and finished eighth in program history with 362 career assists. She was 2016-17 Big Sky co-defensive player of the year. She helped Lewiston to state title her junior season and was named first-team all-state.

CdA coach Lanker to head women’s Team USA

Coeur d’Alene High School track coach Linda Lanker has been selected as head women’s coach for Team USA Track & Field in the inaugural Athletics World Cup, to be held in London July 14-15.

Eight countries are competing in all IAAF-recognized events up to the 1500m.

A former national hurdles champion, Lanker is entering her 40th year coaching track and field and is in her third year as an assistant hurdles coach for the Vikings, following a six-year head coaching stint at CHS. She has also coached hurdles at Spokane Community College for 19 years.

Lanker was inducted into the Washington State Coaches Hall of Fame in 2017.