Category: Washington Huskies

Jake Lamb inks minor league contract with San Francisco Giants

Jake Lamb is looking to make a return to the major leagues.

Former Washington Huskies star Jake Lamb is looking to make an MLB comeback. On Monday, the former All-Pac-10 and All-Pac-12 honorable mention signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants that could help him be promoted to the major league club if he makes the team out of spring training.

The 34-year-old journeyman has had a successful MLB career, including an All-Star appearance for the third baseman during the 2017 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Lamb, who is a career .235 hitter with 96 home runs, spent his first six seasons with the Diamondbacks before the organization chose to release him in 2020. Since then, he’s seen time at the big league level with the Oakland Athletics, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and Los Angeles Angels.

He’s also signed minor league deals with the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates, but hasn’t seen MLB action since June 2023 when he was desginated for assignment by the Angels.

Lamb will be fighting for a bench spot with the Giants, who signed Matt Chapman to a six-year contract extension during the 2024 season, and Wilmer Flores manning the designated hitter spot. He could share some time with Lamont Wade at first base, but if he’s able to make the big club, Lamb projects as a solid option off the bench for manager Bob Melvin against right handed relievers.

Two Huskies earn weekly Big Ten awards after blazing performances

Senior miler Nathan Green and freshman sprinter Bodi Ligons were named Big Ten Athletes of the Week for their performances on the track.

Two members of Washington’s track and field program were awarded with Big Ten Athlete of the Week nods on Wednesday, their second and third such honors of the year.

The Huskies already knew that senior Nathan Green would be a force to be reckoned with in the NCAA Indoor season. But freshman Bodi Ligons joined Green in being honored after a torching start to his Huskies career.

Green was named Co-Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week alongside USC sprinter Johnny Brackins Jr. for his performance at UW’s annual Mile City event on Saturday. The senior’s 3:50.74 mile at the meet set school and Dempsey Indoor facility records, was the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history, and is the world-leading time in the event in 2025.

Head coach Andy Powell will hope Green’s dominance continues, as the senior is Washington’s major hope in their quest for a sixth consecutive NCAA title in the mile. Eight other Huskies went under the 4-minute barrier at Saturday’s meet, giving Powell the deepest roster in the nation in the event.

Ligons took home Washington’s first-ever Big Ten Indoor Track Freshman of the Week award after setting a school record in only his second race in purple and gold, running a 1:16.48 600 meters that beat former Pac-12 400 meter hurdles champion Cass Elliott’s record by 3 hundredths of a second.

Green and Ligons, along with the rest of the Huskies, are expected to be back in action on January 31 at the UW Invitational held at Dempsey Indoor.

Nathan Green runs the fastest mile time of 2025 at Mile City

Senior Nathan Green set the world’s pace in the mile while crushing Huskies school and facility history at the annual Mile City event.

Seattle is beginning to garner quite the reputation as the nation’s mile capital.

Washington has won the last five national titles in the event between the trio of Luke Houser, Joe Waskom, and Nathan Green, all of whom competed in the US Olympic Trials last summer. Only Green has eligibility remaining on Montlake, however. His senior season kicked off on Saturday at the Huskies’ annual Mile City event.

Mile City, as the name suggests, is an extension of the annual UW Preview track meet dedicated entirely to the mile. 48 consecutive heats of the event were run by a variety of Huskies athletes and community members, with hundreds of participants crowding into Dempsey Indoor on Saturday.

Those who stuck around for Green’s heat got to see history.

Green broke a Washington and facility record with a 3:50.74, a personal best by two seconds that also moved the senior into fourth on the all-time NCAA list and eighth in the all-time American indoor record book. It was also the fastest mile time run in 2025.

Green’s heat was filled with big names. Huskies assistant coach Sam Prakel, a former Pac-12 champion at Oregon, was second in 3:51.28. Senior Ronan McMahon-Staggs set a personal best by nearly 3 seconds and finished third in 3:51.85 to move behind Green into second in the NCAA this season, third in Huskies history, and sixth in NCAA history.

Senior Leo Daschbach led the next group in the heat, finishing in 3:55.64 in front of Waskom, who now runs professionally for Adidas. Behind them was Nike runner Kenneth Rooks, who won a silver medal at last summer’s Paris Olympics in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Nine current Husky athletes broke the 4-minute barrier, the most to ever do so at a single meet at any school. Green, McMahon-Staggs, Daschbach, Texas transfer Cole Lindhorst, Cornell transfer Rhys Hammond, Harvard transfer Acer Iverson, and sophomores Thom Diamond, Evan Jenkins, and Jamar Distel all got under the mark.

On the women’s side, Arkansas transfer Mia Cochran finished eighth in school history in her Huskies debut at 4:33.52. Cal transfer Claire Yerby set a personal best by nearly seven seconds in 4:35.99.

The Huskies will take next week off from competition before the annual UW Invitational at Dempsey Indoor on January 31 and February 1.

Two Huskies set school records in indoor track & field opener

Two Huskies set school records on the track in their Washington debuts, one in the 600 meters and one in the 800 meters.

The Washington Huskies got off to a fast start to NCAA Indoor Track & Field season on Friday.

Pun intended.

Two Huskies set school records in their debuts at Dempsey Indoor at the UW Preview, Washington’s annual warm-up meet before the season gets going in earnest.

Freshman Bodi Ligons set a school record in the 600 meters with a time of 1:16.48 in just his second race as a Husky, edging out former Pac-12 champion and All-American Cass Elliott’s 1:16.51 time that also stood as the Dempsey facility record.

Later in the day, graduate transfers Kyle Reinheimer and Justin O’Toole ran clear of the rest of the pack in the 800-meter event. Reinheimer, who came to Washington from North Carolina, and O’Toole, who came from Columbia, both came in with personal records in the high 1:47 or low 1:48 range.

But the adrenaline of their first race on Montlake propelled the pair under the 1:47 barrier, with Reinheimer crossing the line in 1:46.45 to erase Nathan Green’s 1:46.50 school record from last season. O’Toole came in at 1:46.59 to move to third in Huskies history. The times brought the pair to No. 1 and No. 2 in the NCAA this season.

Junior Anna Terrell also reached a top-three finish in Huskies history with a 1:30.64 in the 600 meters, her first race at the distance. Danielle Hunter moved to No. 7 in school history in the 60 meters with a personal best of 7.48.

The Huskies’ next scheduled action is at the annual UW Invitational on January 31 and February 1 at Dempsey Indoor.

Washington left off Softball America’s Preseason Top 25

Washington softball will start the 2025 season outside of the top 25.

With coach Heather Tarr at the helm, the Washington Huskies have become a fixture inside the top 10 of the national rankings. However, according to Softball America, they’ll start the 2025 season outside of the top 25.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise to Husky fans, since Tarr is losing 12 players from her 2024 roster, four to graduation and eight to the transfer portal. Among those losses are the top eight hitters from last season’s lineup and every pitcher from the 2024 rotation, headlined by All-American Ruby Meylan, who transferred to Oklahoma State.

But Tarr did an impressive job utilizing the portal herself, bringing in transfers Sophia Ramuno and Stevie Hansen to anchor the pitching staff, while infielder Riley Peschek and outfielder Ava Carroll could establish themselves as key pieces of the lineup.

Combined with a strong incoming freshman class, headlined by infielders Sophi Mazzola and Alexis DeBoer, the Huskies have all the pieces they need to climb back into the top 25, which may be a tougher task than initially expected in the Big Ten.

Five members of Washington’s new conference are inside the initial rankings, with UCLA leading the way at No. 5, followed by No. 18 Northwestern, No. 21 Nebraska, No. 23 Michigan, and No. 25 Penn State. However, Tarr has proven to be one of the nation’s best coaches and as she enters her 21st season at the helm, she should be expecting a quick return to prominence.

Tampa Bay Rays acquire Washington alum Will Simpson in trade

Former Washington star Will Simpson will have a new home for the 2025 season.

Former Washington Huskies infielder Will Simpson was involved in a trade between the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics on Saturday. Centered around pitcher Jeffery Springs, who will be sent to the Athletics, Simpson was part of the return package for Tampa Bay in an attempt to bolster the organization’s infielder depth.

He took a major step forward during the 2024 campaign, batting .282 with a .378 on-base percentage and .860 OPS (on-base + slugging) among Oakland’s High A and AA affiliates. Now, Simpson, who was ranked as the Athletics’ No. 29 prospect before the deal, will have an opportunity to take a major step forward in his development in Tampa Bay’s system.

In MLB.com’s latest farm system rankings, the Rays topped the list and will get a boost from Simpson, who has drawn some high praise during his breakout season.

“He understands the game,” A’s director of player development Ed Sprague told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos early in the season. “The new ways of analytics and everything about how to approach it. How pitchers attack hitters based on the stuff they do. He’s really advanced in that aspect of it. He’s a pretty solid defender at first in spite of his size.”

The A’s asked Simpson to play both corner infield slots in 2024 after mainly playing third base on Montlake, which may be one reason the Rays were drawn to his skillset in the deal.

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United Soccer Coaches name two Huskies to All-North Region teams

Two members of Washington’s women’s soccer team were named to the United Soccer Coaches’ All-North Region teams.

Ioanna Papatheodoru emerged as the biggest star for the Washington Huskies women’s soccer team this past season by not only leading the team, which earned her a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team. She also routinely came in clutch in big moments, like Washington’s upset win over No. 5 Michigan State.

The Greek star added one more honor to her resume by landing on the United Soccer Coaches All-North Region Second Team.

Papatheodoru was joined by junior defender Kolo Suliafu, who was named to the third team. Suliafu was one of Washington’s leaders on the field and a big reason the Huskies recorded 11 clean sheets during their first season in the Big Ten.

The Huskies exceeded all preseason expectations in 2024, climbing to No.5 in the conference, which undoubtedly stemmed from the play of both Papatheodoro and Suliafu.

“A lot of people play with a lot of forwards on the field. I played forward,” said coach Nicole Van Dyke. “Maybe they create some chances or they have a few assists over time. But the thing that separates Pap is she can create moments. Her moments can be huge, and they can be small. But they’re these moments that impact the game in such a drastic way.”

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Washington volleyball earns bid to NCAA Tournament

After a one-year layoff, the Washington Huskies are back in the NCAA Tournament.

It came down to the wire, and two nights after closing the regular season with a loss to Purdue on Senior Night, the Washington Huskies women’s volleyball team was one of the last four in, announced as part of the field of 64 for the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Huskies will face off No. 7 seed Loyola Marymount in a match held at Stanford on December 6 at 4:30 p.m. PST.

The Huskies, who are led by head coach Leslie Gabriel, are the healthiest they’ve been all season after fighting through injuries to key players. They finished the regular season at 19-11, going 9-11 in their first year in the Big Ten conference, which had nine teams make the tournament.

“It’s just nice to have everyone back from injury,” Gabriel said in a statement. “I have a full squad now, so just giving them a couple more days of practice next to each other will be helpful, and we will just go out there and compete as hard as we can.”

In her second season, Gabriel led the Huskies back to the tournament after they missed it in 2023 for the first time in 22 years. This appearance will be No. 28 for Washington in school history and No. 22 for Gabriel, who was an assistant coach for 21 trips.

“I’m super excited for the players. This was a goal that we set for ourselves in January. We wanted to get our program back into the tournament, so I’m super excited to get back in, and we’ll get back to work tomorrow to make the most of this opportunity.”

If the Huskies are able to advance, they’ll face off with the winner of No. 2 seed Stanford vs. Sacramento State.

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Washington men’s soccer falls 2-1 to SMU in NCAA Tournament

The Washington Huskies men’s soccer team’s season came to an end in Dallas on Sunday.

The Washington Huskies’ season came to an end on Sunday afternoon when coach Jamie Clark’s team suffered a 2-1 loss to the No. 12-seeded SMU Mustangs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Following a victory in penalty kicks over crosstown rival Seattle University on Thursday, the Huskies couldn’t keep the magic alive in Dallas, losing their shot at the College Cup. Washington opened the scoring at 29:05 thanks to Joe Dale’s second goal of the season, but from that point on, it was all Mustangs.

Forward Stephan Soghomonian netted the equalizer at 39:30, and even though the Huskies outshot the Mustangs 10-6 in the second half, the Huskies were fended off by goalie Martin Dominguez, who had 3 saves in the contest. Defender Owen Zarnick netted the game-winner at 88:52 off a corner kick, to give SMU the victory and a date with No. 5 in the Sweet Sixteen.

Washington tried to muster a late counterattack following Zarnick’s score, but came up empty, finishing their season with an 8-6-7 record and a 4-3-3 finish in Big Ten play, placing them at No. 4 in the new conference.

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Washington cross country squads finish top 20 at NCAA Championships

The Washington Huskies men’s and women’s squads both finished in the top 20 of the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

The NCAA cross country season came to a close in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, with BYU hoisting the trophies on both the men’s and women’s side. While both Washington Huskies squads were ranked inside the top 15 coming into the meet, the Huskies had to battle through talented fields at the Thomas Zimmerman Championship course, finishing No. 13 on the women’s side and No. 16 on the men’s.

The Huskies women, ranked No. 6 in the country coming into the weekend, were led by Penn transfer Maeve Stiles, who finished 59th overall on the 6 kilometer course. Julia David-Smith finished No. 73, Amina Maatoug was No. 98 after recovering from a poor first kilometer, India Weir finished No. 113, and Sophie O’Sullivan came across in No. 135, finishing the scorecard for Washington.

On the 10 kilometer course for the men’s race, Washington was paced by Nathan Green. The senior, despite a national championship on the track in the mile, was making his NCAA Championship debut in cross country and gained 50 places over the final 2,000 meters to finish in No. 54. Sophomore Tyrone Gorze was No. 84, Evan Jenkins placed No. 103, Leo Daschbach was No. 117, and Ronan McMahon-Staggs finished the scoring with a finish at No. 164.

The meet gave Washington a chance to look at the future of the program, especially on the men’s side. Six of the seven starters for the Huskies’ men had never been to an NCAA Championship before (Daschbach being the lone exception), and four of the seven were either freshmen or sophomores. On the women’s side, five of the seven starters are juniors, including Stiles and Maatoug, who transferred to the program over the summer.

The Huskies will now have a few weeks off before the start of NCAA Indoor Track season in December.