COUGARS OPEN ROAD TRIP WEDNESDAY AT UC DAVIS
Washington State opens its four-game California road trip with a Wednesday night contest at UC Davis. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.

FOLLOW ALONG
Wednesday's game will be webstreamed on ESPN+ and have live stats but will not be on the radio.

THIS WEEK IN COUGAR BASEBALL PODCAST
Every Wednesday a new episode of This Week in Cougar Baseball Podcast presented by Coors Light will be released featuring head coach Nathan Choate, a member of the Cougar Baseball program and the host, Chris King.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters the week with a 15-23 overall record and 8-10 mark in Mountain West Conference play after dropping two of three to Nevada in Pullman last weekend. The Cougars added 24 newcomers to its 34-player roster and were picked to finish third in the Mountain West Conference. WSU enters the weekend leading the Mountain West in getting hit by the pitch, second in hitting, on-base percentage and third in stolen bases while Will Cresswell is seventh with 36 RBI. Head coach Nathan Choate is in his second season at WSU after five seasons at Loyola Marymount.

ABOUT UC DAVIS
UC Davis enters the week with a 19-20 record after dropping a Monday night matchup at Stanford and 8-10 in the Big West Conference. WSU leads the all-time series with the Aggies 8-5 and last met in 2021 where the Cougars opened the season taking three for four in Davis. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
100 - WSU's 7-4 win over Iowa in Texas Feb. 28 was Nathan Choate's 100th career win
24 - WSU's 2025 roster features 24 newcomers, 14 junior college, 8 high school, 2 transfers
10 - WSU used 10 pitchers in the 7-6 10-inning win at Gonzaga April 1 (GU scored 5 in 1st, 1 in 10th)
5 - Ollie Obenour's 5-hit game at Air Force March 14 was 5th 5-hit game by a freshman since 1995
4 - WSU's roster features 4 players who were named JUCO All-Americans last season; 
      RHP Luke Meyers, INF Jonah Shull, RHP Griffin Smith, RHP Trevor Stowe
3.41 - WSU's 3.41 team GPA this past fall semester is a program record
3 - 3 Cougar pitchers returned with Division I innings pitched 
     Rylan Haider, Kaden Wickersham, Jake Tedesco - DAYTON
3 - 3 former Cougs finished 2024 in the big leagues; 
      Ian Hamilton - RHP, NYY; Kyle Manzardo - 1B, CLE; Ryan Walker - RHP, SFG

NEW FAN EXPERIENCE AT BAILEY-BRAYTON FIELD
Cougar Athletics and Aramark Sports announced additions to the fan experience for Cougar Baseball at Bailey-Brayton Field in 2025. 
 
- Enhanced views of the ballpark with the new backstop netting
- RV Weekends (May 9-11 vs. UNLV)
- Fans 21 and over will have the opportunity to take all food and beverage menu items, including beer and wine, to their seats for the 2025 baseball season
- Upgraded concession items including a walking taco cart (open weather dependent), footlong hotdogs, and a specialty brunch burger during Sunday games which includes bacon, egg, and cheese.
- Section 11 remains an alcohol-free section
- No re-entry to the ballpark
 
Beer and wine sales will continue to be located down the first base line in front of the Miller Indoor Training Facility (Beverages must be taken back to their seats).

KYLER NORTHROP NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK APRIL 7
Kyler Northrop was named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week April 7. Northrop hit a team-best .389 for WSU who went 3-1 last week with a ten-inning road win at Gonzaga and a weekend series win over San Jose State in Pullman. The Billings, Mont. native led the team with seven hits and recorded a double, four RBI, scored a run, stole one base, hit safely in all four games and drove in a run in all three games of the series win over SJSU. Northrop started in left field in Tuesday's win at Gonzaga and reached base three times as his first career hit was a double off the left field wall, he later singled, walked and stole a base. Northrop started all three games at third base against SJSU, recorded 11 assists and fielded at a 1.000 clip in 16 chances. Northrop had two hits and two RBI in Friday's win, had two hits and drove in the game-tying run in the 11th-inning for Saturday's win and delivered an RBI-single Sunday.

LOGAN JOHNSTONE NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK March 24
Outfielder Logan Johnstone was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week March 24. Johnstone helped WSU to a three-game series sweep of San Diego State after hitting .667 (6-9) with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI and eight runs scored. The redshirt-junior slugged 1.889, had an on-base percentage of .786, had a hit, an RBI and scored multiple runs scored in all three games and did not strike out in the series.

OLLIE OBENOUR NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK MARCH 10
Freshman second baseman Ollie Obenour was named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week March 10. Obenour helped the Cougars to their second straight series win after taking two of three games from Seattle U at Bailey-Brayton Field. Obenour tied for the team-high with a .462 (6-for-13) batting average the three games, also had two doubles, four RBI and two runs scored. 

HARTMAN NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
Junior outfielder Max Hartman was named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Conference Team and WSU was picked to finish third. Last season, Hartman hit .286 with 55 hits, 11 doubles, three home runs and 41 RBI along with 32 runs scored and 10 stolen bases as the Cougars leadoff hitter.

COUGS PICKED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL BY MWC COACHES
As voted on by the league's eight coaches, WSU received 30 points including one first-place vote to finish behind Fresno State and Nevada, respectively. UNLV, New Mexico and San Diego State all tied for fourth while Air Force was picked to finish seventh and San Jose State, eighth.

IN THE CLASSROOM, IN THE COMMUNITY
- WSU set a program record with a 3.41 team GPA in the 2024 fall semester
- 35 players posted a GPA of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester
- WSU earned a 2024 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award, 3.29 team GPA
- WSU had 17 President's Honor Roll selections
- WSU's record-setting team GPA in the 2023 fall semester (3.32) and the highest team GPA for a full academic year (3.29)
- WSU partners with WSU ROAR to host a Lentil Cookoff each fall. WSU ROAR is a two-year postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

COUGAR BASEBALL JOINS MOUNTAIN WEST AS AFFILIATE MEMBER
Washington State entered into a conference affiliation agreement to have baseball participate in the Mountain West Conference. The agreement began July 1, 2024. Affiliate status through the NCAA allows for member affiliates to compete for conference and national championships. Cougar Baseball has a long and storied history, including four College World Series and 16 regional appearances. 

TOMMY RICHARDS BACK HOME AS ASSISTANT COACH
WSU added former Cougar infielder Tommy Richards as an assistant coach. Richards  served as the head coach at Bushnell University (NAIA) the previous three seasons after the school started the baseball program in 2022. The Beacons increased their win total each season under Richards, capped by 29-win 2024 campaign that saw Bushnell win the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship and earn the program's first NAIA National Tournament appearance. The former Cougar infielder played for Washington State (2009-12), appeared in 155 career games, played on WSU's last two NCAA Tournament teams in 2009 and 2010 and was later drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 24th round of the 2012 MLB Draft.

JOHN OLERUD NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE CENTURY
The Pac-12 Conference inducted Coug legend John Olerud into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2019. Olerud was named the Pac-12 Conference's Baseball Player of the Century in 2016. During his three seasons in a Cougar uniform, Olerud (1987-89) had one of the finest careers of any Cougar student-athlete, in any sport, in Washington State history, rewriting the WSU record books and becoming the only Cougar baseball athlete ever to be named College Athlete of the Year. In 1988, Olerud became the only player in NCAA history to win 15 games on the mound and hit 20 home runs in the same season, going 15-0 with 23 home runs that year. Olerud went 26-4 overall with a 3.17 ERA over 241.1 innings during his three seasons, hitting .434. He set two Pac-10 records and 10 Pac-10 North marks, highlighted by his sophomore season when he was named Athlete of the Year by Baseball America. In January prior to his junior year at WSU, Olerud suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of brain seizure. He missed the first 28 games of the spring season, but returned to hit .359 for WSU over the final 27 games. Prior to his senior season, Olerud signed a contract with Toronto and went directly to the Major Leagues. In 1993, he became the first Blue Jay to win a batting title, hitting .363. Olerud played for Toronto, the New York Mets and Yankees, Seattle and Boston during his 17-year career, winning back-to-back World Series titles with Toronto in 1992 and 1993. In 2001 he joined his father, John Sr., in the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame, and is a member of the College Baseball, State of Washington and Inland Northwest Sports Halls of Fame. The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, given annually by the College Baseball Hall of Fame, was named in his honor and in 2016, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Century.

INTERIM TAG REMOVED, ANNE MCCOY TO LEAD WASHINGTON STATE ATHLETICS
The interim tag was removed and Anne McCoy was named the WSU Director of Athletics, it was announced June 25. McCoy, who spent the previous three months as Interim Director of Athletics, officially becomes the 15th person to lead Cougar Athletics and the first woman to hold the position. McCoy is no stranger to WSU, serving a variety of roles on the senior administrative team since arriving in 2001 as associate director of athletics for internal operations. McCoy, who was hired by former Cougar Athletic Director Jim Sterk, has risen within the athletic department. Most recently, she served as senior deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator (SWA) before assuming the interim director of athletics title in March of this year.  Throughout her time on WSU's senior leadership team, McCoy has been actively involved with all facets of the department, having a role in all head coaching hires since her arrival, including all current head coaches. McCoy has played a role in each area of Cougar Athletics during her tenure and served in a supervisory capacity for every WSU sport. Most recently, McCoy served as WSU's interim director of athletics since late March of 2024. In the span of three months in the interim role, McCoy secured the hiring of WSU Men's Basketball Head Coach David Riley, Head Swimming Coach Russ Whitaker and Head Women's Golf Coach Kevin Tucker, extending the contract of Women's Head Basketball Coach Kamie Ethridge, secured a home for baseball and women's swimming through affiliate membership with the Mountain West Conference for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, and was involved with the Pac-12 Conference' securing a media rights agreement with the CW Network and FOX for the 2024 football season.

WASHINGTON STATE ALUM CHRIS KING NAMED VOICE OF THE COUGS
WSU Athletics and Learfield's Washington State Sports Properties named Washington State alumnus Chris King as the new "Voice of the Cougs" in August. King, from Marysville, Wash., takes over play-by-play duties for Cougar Football, Men's Basketball and Baseball. King returns to Pullman – where he graduated from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication in 2009 – after gaining 13 years of Division I broadcasting experience in neighboring Idaho. After two years announcing women's basketball at Boise State, King became the men's basketball broadcaster for the Idaho Vandals in 2013 before adding football broadcasting duties in 2021. In addition to his time calling college football and basketball, King also has extensive baseball experience, broadcasting Minor League Baseball for the Tri-City Dust Devils from 2012-2021. Away from the radio booth he has worked in a communications role with the West Coast League since 2016, most recently as the league's deputy commissioner. King has twice been honored as the Idaho Sportscaster of the Year (2017, 2023) by the National Sports Media Association for his work with the Vandals.