On the eve of the Cougar soccer team’s second round match-up against the Georgetown Hoyas the women’s team reloaded with nine new recruits. Included in the new group are two daughters of former NFL defensive backs.

Defender Sophie Dimry of Carlsbad CA is the daughter of former Bronco Charles Dimry and forward Skye McMillon of Phoenix is the scion of ex Bear Tim McMillon. Both youngsters have excelled in club competition over the past few years eschewing the high school level in search of higher competition.

The Cougars also scored a couple of high level in-state recruits in defender Rose Young of Des Moines and MacKenzie Frimpong-Ellertson of Vancouver. Frimpong’s mother happens to be to the all-time scorer in UW (!) women’s history and also played in the women’s world cup. The new recruit is one of the best players in state and scored an incredible 37 goals as a senior. Young is another club star who played for the dominant Crossfire Premier alongside Frimpong-Ellertson. Young also earned herself an invite to the US national training center.

A couple more northwest players were signed with the addition of goalkeeper Aly Hay of Vancouver BC and midfielder Bridget Rieken of Couer D Alene. Hay is considered one of the top youth goalkeepers and has been a two time invitee to Canada’s U-17 national camp. Rieken is a two-time league MVP who is a regular at ODP National Camp.

Finally, the Cougars went around the country for the last three players in this dynamic class. Defender Kaitlyn Kowalchuk hails from Henderson NV, forward Grayson Lynch is from Castle Rock CO, and Midfielder Liz Weis is from head coach Todd Shulenberger’s hometown of Carlisle PA. Kowalchuk is a two-time league defensive player of the year while Lynch plays for the club Real Colorado which is a Pac-12 pipeline. Weis scored over 100 career points playing under Shulenberger’s cousin.

The future sure looks bright for the Cougar women who face #2 Georgetown in the second round of the NCAA tournament at 10:30 AM Friday.

Football

Washington State QB Gardner Minshew recognized as semifinalist for Walter Camp Player of Year | The Spokesman-Review

Minshew is the only Pac-12 player on the wach list, which is comprised of 15 names, but he’s the second Washington State player in two years to earn the distinction. Defensive tackle Hercules Mata’afa was named a finalist for the award last season.

Weekly Washington State football chat transcript: Recapping Colorado and previewing Arizona | The Spokesman-Review

The full transcript from Wednesday's Washington State football live chat with Spokesman-Review beat writer Theo Lawson.

Pac-12 picks: Lots on the line in five of the six games across conference landscape this weekend | The Spokesman-Review

In the South, there’s still plenty of sorting to do. Four teams in the division could gain bowl eligibility by winning this weekend. Three teams in the division are still hunting for a spot in the Pac-12 title game, as are two in the North. One of those could be eliminated by Sunday if it can’t take care of business against a heavy underdog.

Pac-12 Bowl Projections: Signs still point to Huskies in Rose Bowl | The Seattle Times

The week before the Apple Cup, Jon Wilner still sees no reason to believe UW won't beat WSU and get a bid to the Granddaddy of Them All in Pasadena on New Year's Day.

Basketball

Washington State coach Ernie Kent signs pair of Juco players with Division I experience | The Spokesman-Review

The Juco influence on this particular WSU team is heavy and it’ll be even more so in 2019-20 after Kent inked two JC players Wednesday, getting signatures from Daron Henson of Salt Lake Community College and Ryan Murphy of New Mexico Junior College.

Soccer

Soccer Reloads With Nine New Cougars - Washington State University