Locally: Cheney’s Evan Stinson commits to play basketball at Washington State

There will be one more member of the Stinson family on the WSU campus next fall.

Evan Stinson, the Cheney High basketball star and nephew of WSU volleyball coach Jen (Stinson) Greeny, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Cougars.

WSU coach Kyle Smith announced the signing of Stinson and Marcus Wilson of Albuquerque, New Mexico, last week.

Stinson, a 6-foot-7 forward, is ranked as the No. 2 recruit from Washington this year. He was All-GSL as a sophomore but missed most of his junior season with a broken foot. He had a successful 2023 AAU season with Spokane Elite, a team coached by former Gonzaga standout Dan Dickau.

As a sophomore at Cheney, Stinson averaged 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game. He will be the seventh Washington-born student-athlete on the Cougar basketball roster.

Wilson is a 6-2 combo guard. He is currently playing for highly regarded Bella Vista Prep in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Following are the latest National Letters of Intent announcements from area colleges:

• Eastern Washington volleyball: Bria Carlisle, middle blocker, Phoenix, amassed 694 kills, a .371 attack percentage and 172 blocks.

Tennille Gonder, outside hitter, Delta, Utah, 6.0 kills per set, with a .338 hitting percentage, 3.2 digs per set.

Quincy Moran, outside hitter, Bothell, Washington, KingCo most valuable player.

• Gonzaga baseball: The Zags welcome five members of the Class of 2024, along with two college transfers, all set to arrive next fall.

• Gonzaga baseball: Deer Park’s Hunter Dryden joins the Bulldogs after three seasons with Whitworth University, where he compiled All-NWC honors. In 2023, he was named second team All-NWC as a starting pitcher, his second consecutive selection.

Other recruits at Gonzaga are Simon Baker, an outfielder from the Canadian Junior National Team; Ryder Cutlip, a first baseman/outfielder from two-time Idaho 5A State champion Owyhee High School in Meridian; Justin Garcia, catcher from College of Southern Idaho; Craig Kabat, a right-handed pitcher from Green Bay, Wisconsin; Michael LeJeune, LHP from Puyallup High; and Karsten Sweum, LHP from Snohomish, Washington, who posted a 1.47 ERA last season;

• Gonzaga men’s cross country: Hayden Roberts, from Ephrata, Washington, who finished second at the WIAA State 2A cross country meet earlier this month and second in the State 2A 1,600 meters in the spring.

• Gonzaga women’s rowing: Kana Barlaq, Kailua, Hawaii; Sydney Bland, Tacoma; Lia Brackney, Davis, California; Avery Day, Paoli, Pennsylvania; Jose Marti, Bellevue, Washington; Julia Palmer, Seattle; Isabella Romain, Windermere, Florida; Katherine Ward, Pasadena, California.

Basketball

Aaliyah Alexander earned the season’s first Big Sky Player of the Week award I women’s basketball. It is her second career Player of the Week honor.

She averaged 22.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 59 minutes played in EWU’s wins over Southern Utah and Utah State. She set her career-high with 27 points against Southern Utah.

Cross country

Brooklyn Shell, a senior at Lewis-Clark State College out of Coeur d’Alene High, earned All-America honors at the NAIA national championships. She finished in 39th place with a time of 22:34.1, leading the Warriors to 11th place at the race in Vancouver, Washington.

Soccer

Four members of the Gonzaga men’s team picked up All-WCC honors for their accomplishments this season.

Robbie Mora was tabbed to the All-WCC second team with Sam Dahlin given All-WCC freshman honors. Mora started in 16 games for GU this season and logged 1,288 minutes. He scored two goals and recorded 18 shots with nine of those being on goal. Dahlin started in every game this year for Gonzaga and played in over 1,400 minutes.

Stefano Campisi and Farhan Moustafa were both named to the All-WCC honorable mention list. Campisi led the team with five goals and four assists this season to record a team-high 14 points. Moustafa started in all 18 games this year and recorded over 1,500 minutes. As a strong defender for the Zags, Moustafa also recorded a shot on goal against San Diego.

This marks the first All-WCC honors for all four players.

Softball

Steve Quaid, who has umpired for 18 years and worked in Washington high school state tournaments and USA Softball national tournaments, received the Spokane Softball Umpires Association’s top honor, the Campbell-Stewart Award, at its season-ending banquet Nov. 12.

Named for two former long-serving Spokane umpires in chief, Bruce Campbell and Chuck Stewart, and originated in 1975, the award annually recognizes an individual for “longevity, dedication, excellence and service to softball umpiring in the Spokane area.” Quaid is a five-term SSUA president.

Other SSUA awards for 2023: Dan Karber, umpire of the year adult; Dave McCarty, umpire of the year youth; Keith Barnes, most improved; Derek Sosky, rookie of the year; and Jeff Camp, presidential pride. Gary Blake, USA Softball of Idaho District 8 Junior Olympic commissioner, received the Home Run Award that goes to a non-member for a significant contribution to the association.

Besides Quaid, SSUA officers for 2024 are Carl Durr, vice president; John Isles, secretary; and Gary Kuck, Lexi Shay and Stan Calder, board members. Rich Hobson is the treasurer and Marty Boles the assignor.