Category: Washington Huskies

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.

Washington women’s soccer falls 1-0 to top seed Mississippi State in NCAA Tournament

The Washington Huskies are heading home after a 1-0 loss to Mississippi State in the NCAA Tournament.

The Washington Huskies women’s soccer team fell just short of the Sweet 16 in the 2024 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament when top-seeded Mississippi State found the back of the net with only 18 minutes remaining in the match after Bulldogs forward Zoe Main beat goalie Mia Hamant.

In front of a record-setting crowd in Starkville, Mississippi, it was a hard-fought battle where the Huskies held a slight advantage in shots on the goal during the first half but couldn’t capitalize with a score. Coach Nicole Van Dyke’s team started the second half with a frenzy of counterattacks as the pace of the game picked up, firing multiple shots on goal, but still failed to beat Bulldogs goalkeeper Maddy Anderson.

With 12 minutes remaining, junior defender Kolo Suliafu received her second yellow card of the match, which led to an ejection, leaving Washington shorthanded to finish off the night.

Hamant was outstanding throughout the game, tallying 8 saves, including a spectacular stop with 10:18 left in the game to keep Washington’s chances alive. That led to a late push, but the Huskies were unable to even the score.

Senior Ioanna Papatheodorou and sophomore Jadyn Holdenried led Washington with 5 shots each as the Bulldogs outshot the Huskies 17-13, while both teams were charged with 12 fouls apiece in what turned into a chippy game in its waning minutes.

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Washington men’s soccer tops Seattle University in NCAA Tournament

The Washington Huskies are moving on in the NCAA Tournament after a victory in penalty kicks over Seattle University.

The Washington Huskies are moving on in the NCAA Tournament following a victory over the Seattle University Redhawks on Thursday night. The matchup was scoreless until penalty kicks, where coach Jamie Clark’s team was able to pull off a 3-0 win in the shootout thanks to goalie Jadon Bowton.

Bowton was the hero of the night, as the Redhawks controlled the pace for the majority of the night and sent 18 shots in his direction. He tallied saves on all 6 shots on goal, including two in overtime, while the Huskies were able to muster 11 shots, 3 on goal, against Redhawks goalkeeper Charlie Lanphier.

After 20 minutes of extra time, the match went to a penalty shootout, where Bowton stopped all three Redhawks shots, the first time he’s done that in his career.

“I don’t think so,” Bowton said after the game when asked if he’s ever saved three straight penalty kicks. “I saved three out of five once, but three in a row, I’ve never done that.”

Charlie Kosakoff, Chris Meyers, and Egor Akulov all found the back of the net for the Huskies to secure the victory and a date with the No. 12 seed SMU Mustangs on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 4:00 p.m. PST.

Washington soccer to face Seattle University to open NCAA Tournament

Washington’s men’s soccer team is facing an in-state battle with Seattle University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Washington Huskies men’s soccer team has had a very successful first campaign, going 8-5-6 in their first campaign in the Big Ten, including victories over three ranked teams, highlighted by a non-conference upset over No. 4 Oregon State.

That was good enough to get head coach Jamie Clark’s team to its No. 30 appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history and No. 11 in his tenure, which began in 2011. Washington is set to take on the Seattle University Redhawks in a crosstown rivalry matchup that also decides the Fewing Cup, which the Huskies took home following a 2-1 victory in September.

The Huskies have won five of the last seven matchups against the Redhawks and have been led by fifth-year senior Peter Kingston, who has a team-high 6 goals on the season and was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten, along with sophomore forward Charlie Kosakoff, who has 5.

Washington has hosted a first-round matchup in 10 of 11 appearances in the tournament under Clark, with the only exception being the 2020 tournament, which was all held at a neutral site. The winner of Thursday’s game, which is set for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff, will travel to Dallas for a second-round matchup with the No. 12 seed, SMU.

Lindsay Lopez signs with Sultanes Femenil

Washington Huskies alum Lindsay Lopez is heading to Mexico to play professional softball.

After transferring to Washington from Arizona State, Lindsay Lopez helped anchor coach Heather Tarr’s pitching staff for two seasons. In that time, she made 58 appearances and helped the Huskies reach the Women’s College World Series in 2023 before they were ousted in the NCAA Regionals in 2024.

A reliable No. 2 starter behind Ruby Meylan during her time in Seattle, Lopez now has an opportunity to continue her softball career on the professional level. On Wednesday, Sultanes Femenil, a professional softball team in Monterrey City, Mexico, announced her addition to the roster on social media.

During her two years at Washington, she was named an NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete in both seasons while compiling a 24-6 record, a 3.22 ERA, and a 2.57 batting average against. Lopez also had 6 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 4 saves over 182 1/3 innings with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 158:55.

When factoring in her three years with the Sun Devils, the left-hander finished her five-year career with a 52-18 record, a 2.77 ERA, and 339 strikeouts across 434 2/3 innings pitched. Lopez has also spent time pitching with Team Mexico across various international tournaments over the last few years.

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Washington Women’s Soccer survive shootout to eliminate Utah State

Washington survived on the road at Utah State, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament thanks to a penalty shootout victory.

In what was a defensive battle that went scoreless through 110 minutes, coach Nicole Van Dyke and the Washington Huskies women’s soccer team prevailed in a penalty shootout 3-1, knocking out No. 25 Utah State on the road in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies didn’t have many opportunities to score in the first-round match, finishing regulation time with no shots on the goal. A quick kick from midfielder Kelsey Branson and a shot faded wide of the post off a header from forward Kalea Eichenberger were as close as they got the entire first half.

The second half of the match was a defensive battle, with goalkeeper Olivia Juarez clearing the ball at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. Then, with less than a minute remaining in the first overtime period, Juarez, who was stellar and finished her day with 7 saves, collided with an Aggie player and had to be helped off the field.

Junior Mia Hamant replaced her in the net and is in the midst of a breakout year, ranking No. 3 in the Big Ten conference with a .688 goals allowed per game average.

Ioanna Poapatheodorou, Jadyn Holdenried, and Alex Buck all found the back of the net during the penalty shootout, with only Alysia Butters converting for the Aggies.

Washington will face off the winner of Southern University vs. No. 1 seed Mississippi State, which is scheduled for Nov. 16, on Nov. 22, with the time and location to be announced.