Former Gonzaga WBB Forward Yvonne Ejim Searches for WNBA Opportunity
With the WNBA’s 30th season now officially underway, Gonzaga women’s basketball is still searching for more representation at the highest level. To this point, only two former Zags have logged minutes: future Hall of Famer Courtney Vandersloot and point guard Katelan Redmond, who played 42 total minutes over seven games with the New York Liberty in 2012.
Yet, the Bulldogs have had nine players drafted to the W throughout their history, including three across the last three years. In 2024, GU had a couple of second-round selections, Brynna Maxwell and Kaylynne Truong, who were taken 13th and 21st overall, respectively. But Maxwell suffered an injury in training camp and was cut by the Chicago Sky, opting to play professionally in Spain for a year before becoming an assistant coach at Eastern Washington. Meanwhile, Truong was waived by the Washington Mystics shortly before regular-season games commenced and has played the last two years competing overseas in Greece and Poland.
Their teammate of six seasons combined in Spokane, 6-1 forward Yvonne Ejim, heard her name called in New York a year later. The Indiana Fever selected Ejim 33rd overall and waived her less than a month after drafting her as well. But unlike some of her alma mater peers, Ejim recently signed a training camp contract with the Toronto Tempo, remaining in the mix as one of those on the cusp of making her WNBA debut.
Washington State Signs Roman Stathis, Dips Into Australian Pipeline Again
The Washington State Cougars continued their aggressive offseason rebuild with another international addition, landing 6-7 wing Roman Stathis from Sydney, Australia.
Stathis spent his lone prep season at Golden State Prep in Napa, California, and becomes one of several newcomers added to a dramatically reshaped Cougar roster heading into the 2026–27 season.
There is limited publicly available information on Stathis, but early film suggests he possesses intriguing upside. In the clips currently available, the Australian wing shows a smooth perimeter shooting stroke and appears comfortable operating as a catch-and-shoot threat from beyond the arc. At 6-7, his size and shooting ability give Washington State another developmental piece to mold, as he’s the second Australian addition of the offseason along with Fraser Roxburgh.
Sounders Equalize Late, Survive San Diego with Draw Despite Missed Chances
It's becoming a theme, and the Sounders don't seem thrilled with it.
For the second straight game, the Seattle Sounders have taken a 1-1 draw in a game where they generated far more than one goal's worth of opportunities. Last time came at a struggling Sporting Kansas City squad, and this time was against a floundering San Diego FC squad (3-5-4, 11th in Western Conference), trying to pick up the pieces after a slow start.
In all, Seattle (6-1-3, fourth in Western Conference) took 25 shots, just four on frame, and generated 3.6 expected goals.
To create all of that, the Sounders forced eight corner kicks, crossed the ball into scoring chances 11 times, had seven of their shots blocked, and touched the ball 52 times in San Diego's box after doing the same over 40 times against KC.
But after all those chances that ended in poor decisions or a lack of quality in bringing them to fruition, the Sounders finally broke through in the 80th. They had trailed nearly all night thanks to an 18th-minute goal from San Diego's Marcus Ingvartsen as Nouhou failed to mark the Danish national in a run-of-play goal.
After multiple chances ended in a Seattle corner, though, Albert Rusnak found Cristian Roldan at the near post, who flicked the ball back to Danny Musovski through a sea of bodies in the box. Musovski did what he does best, tapping it in with precision just moments after hitting the crossbar on one of many frustrating opportunities on the night.
Jacks Full of Threes: Raley Clubs Seven RBIs, M’s Bash White Sox 12-8
Things go a lot more easily for a baseball team when they hit three home runs to score three or more men each. Good offense over nine innings can more than smooth out a bad inning on the other side, though the Mariners’ 12-8 win on Friday night against the White Sox took a while to get to the coasting stage.
In a sense, it wasn’t nearly as close as the score said; most of the high-end relievers were able to rest as Chicago scored three runs in the final two innings to turn a giant lead into a respectable one.
But in another sense (it was a one-run game until the seventh), the game was closer than its final score. M’s starter Emerson Hancock slipped quite a bit in the third inning and gave up five runs on the night, but recovered enough to go six innings and preserve the bullpen. Seattle’s first chance with the bases loaded didn’t produce anything else, but they broke the gates later on.
The big hero of the night was the still-mashing Luke Raley, who upped his season line to .258/.314/.567 with eight homers and 23 RBIs.
Luke Raley began the barrage with the first grand slam of his career.
The Mariners gave White Sox starter Sean Burke a couple of easy innings on Friday, falling in seven pitches in the first and 11 in the fourth. But crucially, they also put tons of traffic on the bags in the second and third, and though the second was underwhelming, things came together in the following frame.
Instant Takeaways: Inexperienced Storm Lose Early Mojo in Season-Opening Loss to Valkyries
A hot start for the new-look Seattle Storm and first-time head coach Sonia Raman rapidly fell back to Earth in a 91-80 loss against the Golden State Valkyries in the 2026 regular season opener on Friday, May 8, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Dominique Malonga unsurprisingly led the way for the Storm to begin her second season, totaling 21 points (8-of-15 FG), eight rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes. The Valkyries were led by an impressive 20 points from forward Janelle Salaun.
Seattle stormed out of the gates early with efficient shooting, but that quickly fell off, the turnovers piled up and its lead evaporated. The potential was apparent in the new lineup, which included six players who didn’t play for the team last season, but it also proved they have a long way to go.
Sounders, Reign Look to Make Statements Ahead of World Cup Break
The Seattle Sounders (6-1-2, 4th in MLS Western Conference) and Seattle Reign (3-2-2, 7th in NWSL) have gotten off to strong starts, but are both coming off draws in which they could have come away with more on the offensive end.
The Reign’s Mia Fishel also spoke with The Spectrum on Wednesday about reigniting the team’s offense, which is coming off three straight scoreless showings as the striker recovers from an injury-riddled stretch.
Big-Time Bryan Woo Bounce-Back Outing Gives Mariners Series Win vs. Atlanta
It might have seemed that the Atlanta Braves were the worst possible team for a struggling Bryan Woo to face. Woo, whose arsenal depends almost entirely on two zippy fastballs thrown over the plate, was set to face an aggressive squad that feasted on fastballs. That ability to jump on the heater has been the lynchpin of Atlanta’s stellar opening salvo of the 2026 campaign, and Woo had to stare them down as the M’s tried to be the very first team to hand the Braves a series defeat.
On the other side of the ball, the Mariners needed to produce more with the stick, having logged quite a few uncompetitive innings on offense in both previous games in the series, with a pair of well-timed homers providing just enough runs on Monday but not on Tuesday. The hitting took a bit of an improvement overall on Wednesday, and though the sequencing didn’t do them many favors, the runs they scraped across were enough for a 3-1 victory.
There were banner days for several involved. For Julio Rodríguez, who came about 20 feet from denting the newly-unveiled Randy Johnson plaque with a mammoth homer; for Cole Young, who put together a three-hit outing; and for Josh Naylor, who showed up with the glove, the bat, and the well-renowned mind to find stolen bases.
But it all started with the guy on the mound, who gave his team an excellent chance to win the game.
Storm Nearing Final Roster After Waiving 2 Players
One day after re-signing rookie No. 14 overall pick Taina Mair to a developmental contract, the Seattle Storm waived guards Jaelyn Brown and Rennia Davis, the team announced. They are now one player away from finalizing their 12-player roster.
Davis and Brown were battling tough odds to try to make the Storm’s roster, but Davis looked like she might have a legitimate chance to be a surprise retention after a pair of strong preseason performances. Instead, it’s down to Mackenzie Holmes and rookie No. 39 pick Grace VanSlooten for the final spot.
Kraken Receive No. 7 Pick in 2026 NHL Draft Lottery: What Now?
The NHL lottery for draft picks 1 through 16 took place on Tuesday night, ahead of the draft on June 26 and 27. The Seattle Kraken entered the lottery sixth in line, with a 7.5% chance at getting the No. 1 overall pick with an average projected draft position of 5.9.
For yet another season, Seattle got the short end of the lottery. The Toronto Maple Leafs nabbed the top pick, followed by the Sharks getting second overall. Seattle did not hear their name called until No. 7. They will pick seventh, which is one spot higher than their slot last year when they selected Jake O'Brien.
Picking seventh means for another season, they are picking lower than their initial position in the final standings. However, this will actually be Seattle’s highest draft pick since taking Shane Wright fourth overall in 2022.
Mariners Bats Give Kirby Vintage King Félix Treatment, M’s Drop Winnable Contest to Braves
The names and faces change but the general concept remains the same. Gone are the days when a pitcher like Steve Carlton could win 27 games for a team that only won 59 games total; in modern baseball, such pitchers get saddled with no-decisions, a concept pioneered by a 13-12 Félix Hernández in 2010 who won the Cy Young Award on the back of his league-leading 2.27 ERA.
That was still 21.3% of that awful Mariners team’s wins. They weren’t quite as bad as Carlton’s old side. They may have given 702 plate appearances to Chone Figgins and 278 more to Milton Bradley, but there are few teams who were ever as bad as the ‘72 Not-Really-Phightin’ Phils.
Arisen during the career of that selfsame Hernández was the term “Félix Quality Start”, based on the definition of quality start (six innings or more, three earned runs or less) but narrowed in scope to seven innings or more and two earned runs or less. Hernández got plenty of those in his career.
Another Mariner got such a start on Tuesday night, and like a lot of those “King Félix” outings of old, his team lost 3-2. Whether it is an aberration or a harbinger, it is still too soon to tell. But the hour of judgment is drawing nearer than those in T-Mobile Park might like to admit.
George Kirby put together a “Félix Quality Start” against one of the best teams in baseball.
With a direly stretched bullpen, the Mariners needed their starter to go deep into the game. And with an offense once again struggling to put anything together, he needed to keep the Braves to a low score.
Two Electric Homers Give Mariners Comeback Win against White-Hot Braves
Home runs are thrown, not hit. That is an adage that holds up among the best and most consistent hitters in the game, who take what is given to them and do the most they can with it, whether that means lining one the other way or launching it in the air. When a hitter tries to force a home run on a pitch that won’t allow it, there are a whole lot of outcomes like strikeouts and rolled-over grounders that end up much worse for the hitter.
Paradoxically, this also means that home runs are determined by the hitter. Pitchers who allow fly balls will allow home runs, but it’s up to the hitter to put that swing on it when it comes.
A lot of hitters tried to hit homers on Monday night in Seattle as the Braves took on the Mariners, the visitors white-hot and the home crew struggling. While nobody could get it done with the bases loaded, six hits left the yard: four for Atlanta and two for Seattle, but the M’s got theirs with men on base and won 5-4.
Logan Gilbert got through six innings by the skin of his teeth, with three solo shots coming in the last frame.
Gilbert’s efficiency issues over the past two seasons are well documented. After throwing a combined 3.8 pitches per plate appearance from 2022 through 2024, Gilbert threw 5.2 per plate appearance from May 2025 through the end of 2025. Batters’ adjusted to his style of pitching, laying off the splitter thanks to the predictability of its usage, but they still had issues squaring up the pitches, jacking up his pitch counts thanks to tons of foul balls and good takes.
Huskies Land Commitment From Coveted 2027 Offensive Line Target Reis Russell
The Washington Huskies football team received its first offensive lineman commitment from the Class of 2027 on Monday.
Reis Russell, a three-star interior line prospect from Valor Christian (Littleton, Colo.) chose UW over Georgia, Miami and USC. With recent additions of Russell and Glacier Peak (Snohomish, Wash.) tight end Zach Albright, Washington head coach Jedd Fisch’s 2027 class stands at No. 10 in the 247Sports composite rankings.
Seawolves Bounce Back Against Free Jacks, Become All-Time Winningest MLR Team
Sometimes, as it turns out, the fifth time is the charm. While the Seawolves had gotten a grand total of six points over their first four games, a Coffee Cup match against the Free Jacks in New England. But despite being down 11-5 at half, Seattle roared back for 22 unanswered points in the final 40 minutes to take a 27-11 victory and get back into the playoff hunt. And with the 73rd win in franchise history, they officially passed the San Diego Legion with the most in the history of the MLR.
While the Seawolves went into Quincy, Massachusetts off a brutal defeat to the MLR-leading Chicago Hounds, the need for a bounce back game was shared by a set of opponents who also entered the match in a rough rut of early form. Both teams were 1-3 over their first four games. Though New England had a worse -52 point differential as opposed to Seattle’s -36, the Free Jacks had managed one extra bonus point, though both sides sat in the cellar.
Seattle had to mix and match their lineup going into the game, with flyhalf Davy Coetzer out of commission, loosehead prop Ezekiel Lindenmuth suspended following a red card against the Hounds, and injuries in the forwards meant that plenty of the pack would have to go deep into the game while André Warner took up the flyhalf duties on the field and Divan Rossouw took the conversions.
Storm Waive No. 14 Pick Taina Mair
The Seattle Storm have waived rookie No. 14 overall pick Taina Mair, per the WNBA transaction wire. Mair is the first 2026 draft pick that the Storm has waived.
Waiving Mair brings the Storm down to 15 players, which still puts them three away from reaching the final 12-player roster limit. The deadline for cutting to 12 players is on Thursday, May 7, before the team’s season opener the next day.
Mair is somewhat of a surprising cut, though it’s still possible the Storm are planning to try and bring her back in a developmental roster spot. Seattle will have to wait and see if Mair clears waivers before they can try and re-sign her.
Sounders Draw with Struggling Kansas City Despite Wealth of Chances
The Seattle Sounders went into their Saturday matchup with Sporting Kansas City in great form.
Seattle was 6-1-1, in the thick of the Supporters Shield race, going to play the bottom-ranked team in the Western Conference, fresh off six straight losses at 1-7-1.
After Paul Rothrock scored his team-leading sixth goal in all competitions just two minutes in, it looked like the Sounders were about to repeat the 5-0 drubbing the Chicago Fire had subjected Kansas City to the week before.
But 16 minutes later, USMNT hopeful and Sounders legend Cristian Roldan made a lackadaisical pass deep in Seattle territory to let KC striker Dejan Joveljic strike a first-time shot past Andrew Thomas for what was the final goal of the game.
Yes. Seattle had scored just two minutes into the game on a fortuitous bounce forced by Jesús Ferreira to find a waiting Paul Rothrock in close, only to be held scoreless for the remainder despite 26 shots and three expected goals generated.
Mariners Suffer Second Straight Bryan Woo Beating, Drop Randy Johnson Series Opener to Royals
The Mariners and Royals spent most of Friday evening locked in a back-and-forth batter’s duel, with the Royals eventually coming out in front. In all the action of the game - from the Royals knocking four first inning runs off Bryan Woo to Julio Rodríguez’ two homers to a late Kansas City rally off Jose A. Ferrer to Alex Hoppe blowing down the Royals’ best hitters in the ninth only for the Mariners to go down with a whimper in the bottom half by a 7-6 score - there were a lot of moments that made the difference.
But among those, there is one that is perhaps most instructive in two concepts: one, that baseball is a game of inches where defense matters (you already knew that), and two, that a run in the first is worth as much as a run in the ninth. This isn’t about ABS, but based on how ABS strategy is often discussed, a reminder is perhaps in order.
Bryan Woo’s two bad bookends fell in two separate but similar buckets.
Woo came into his start against the Cardinals as a potential clear Mariners ace. He left the sixth inning of his start against the Royals having given up 13 runs in his last nine innings and carrying a 4.61 ERA.
The story of how he got rocked for seven runs in three innings against the Redbirds has already been told, though that game was not defined by the bad start thanks to a big-time offensive showing. The M’s got four homers to power six runs at home, but it wasn’t enough this time.
Defense Rules Huskies ‘Dawgs After Dark’ Spring Game
It was a beautiful night for some football, even if the football itself wasn’t always a potential pageant winner.
That’s the nature of spring football when a team is expected to have a good defense, as the Washington Huskies plan to roll out when the season begins against Washington State in the Apple Cup on Sept. 5.
With Corgi races, head coach Jedd Fisch playing emcee at times, a few guest kickers and some big plays on defense and offense, Purple got the better of Gold in Friday’s “Dawgs After Dark” spring game, 27-10 at Husky Stadium.
Most importantly, there was some actual football in Friday’s culmination of five weeks of spring football, and no apparent injuries.
Reign Bounce Back with Rainy Road Draw in Houston
The Seattle Reign followed their worst loss of the season (by goal totals, at least) last Sunday with a 0-0 draw to the Houston Dash on Friday night.
The result moved Seattle (fifth in NWSL) to 3-2-2 and marked the Reign's third straight game without a goal, despite 1.4 expected goals on 16 shots.
The Reign were without the services of veteran Jess Fishlock, set to miss an extended period of time after a scary ankle injury in that 3-0 loss to Utah on Sunday. They also had a flu bug run through the team throughout the week, as Nerilia "Coco" Mondesir had to sub on late as she was sick during the abbreviated week — Seattle held its only practice on Thursday in Houston.
Despite it all, striker Mia Fishel had an up-and-down game while young wingers Maddie Dahlien and Emeri Adames powered the offense for much of the night.
Spurring the clean sheet on was star keeper Claudia Dickey, who made five key saves, while facing multiple dangerous set pieces and five Houston corners.
Seahawks Announce Jersey Numbers for Jadarian Price, 2026 Draft Class
Set to kick off their two-day rookie minicamp on May 1, the Seattle Seahawks announced jersey numbers for their entire incoming rookie class, including signed undrafted free agents.
With few numbers to choose from due to 75 players already under contract before the 2026 NFL Draft, first round pick Jadarian Price will don No. 8 as he begins his NFL career in Seattle. His predecessor, Ken Walker III, wore No. 9 during his four seasons with the team, and second-round pick Bud Clark will wear that digit as the newest safety on coach Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Projecting Storm Final Roster After First Cuts
The Seattle Storm made their first round of roster cuts on Thursday, waiving forward Beatrice Mompremier and guards Jalyn Brown and Elle Ladine, the team announced.
Seattle’s cuts bring their current roster down to 16 players, meaning the team only has to let go of two other players before the regular season begins. Under the new CBA, teams are required to keep 12 players on their active roster and now have access to two developmental roster spots.
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