By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – Both the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Week and Softball Player of the Week awards went to sluggers from Montana State Billings, who helped propel their teams to conference series victories over the weekend.
SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bryn Lucht – Montana State Billings
Second-career player of the week, second this season.
Lucht sparked the Yellowjackets to a 5-1 week with a stellar performance at the plate. The first-year ‘Jacket posted a slash line of .500/.636/1.500, homering five times in six games and totaling six extra-base hits. Lucht drove in eight, scored seven times and drew six walks as she got out just six times on the week. Helping the Yellowjackets secure a 3-1 GNAC series win over Simon Fraser in the finale on Saturday, Lucht went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, four RBIs and three runs scored. The sophomore leads the GNAC with eight home runs and a slugging percentage of 1.479, while ranking second in hitting at .431 so far this spring.
MSUB Head Coach Joe Yegge: “Bryn has been locked in the past few weeks at the plate. She has a great mindset and understands what she is looking for. Her hard work in the fall is really paying off.”
Also Nominated: Jessica Reitz-Eaton, Central Washington; Charlotte Forniss, Northwest Nazarene; Heather Ebner, Saint Martin’s; Abby McGlynn, Simon Fraser; Hailey Rath, Western Washington.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Riley McGee – Northwest Nazarene
First-career pitcher of the week.
McGee was stellar in two outings against Central Washington, as she played her part in helping the Nighthawks secure a 3-1 series victory. The freshman allowed just six baserunners in 6 2/3 innings for a WHIP of 0.90 and allowed one run for an ERA of 1.05. After earning the win with four strong innings on Friday, McGee followed up by posting a save with 2 2/3 perfect innings on Saturday. In her debut collegiate campaign, Mcgee has logged 35 innings and holds an ERA of 4.11.
Also Nominated: Payton Kessler, Central Washington; Emily Watters, Montana State Billings; Chloe Leverington, Saint Martin’s; Alli Kimball, Western Washington.
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ryan Jeffrey – Montana State Billings
First-career player of the week.
Jeffrey led all GNAC players last week in hitting at .583, on-base percentage at .647 and slugging at 1.167 to help the Yellowjackets to a four-game sweep of Saint Martin’s. The senior had hits in all four games of the series against the Saints, driving in eight total runs and notching three extra base hits on the weekend. Saving his best performance for last, Jeffrey hit two home runs and reached base in all five of his plate appearances in the series finale on Saturday. He also played perfect defense in center field and had an outfield assist in game three of the series. Jeffrey upped his season average to .342 and he ranks second on the team with an on-base percentage of .465.
MSUB Head Coach Derek Waddoups: “Ryan had an outstanding all-around weekend for us. He was stellar defensively and did a great job cutting off balls in the gaps. He also had a power surge on the weekend and led our team offensively. His contributions and quality at-bats made our entire lineup better throughout the weekend.”
Also Nominated: Marcus Manzardo, Central Washington; Bryan Rojas, Northwest Nazarene; Kelton Tom, Saint Martin’s.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Ernesto Lugo-Canchola – Northwest Nazarene
Second-career pitch of the week, second this season.
Lugo-Canchola was dominant in his outing against Central Washington last week, authoring a four-hit shutout amid a series sweep for the Nighthawks. The left-hander struck out seven batters in his seven innings of work, scattering four hits and allowing just six total baserunners on the way to his fifth win of the season. Tossing a season-high 109 pitches, Lugo-Canchola struck out the side in the top of the first inning to hint he was locked in from the start. He worked around runners in scoring position in five different innings, including stranding a pair to end the game in the seventh with the tying run in the on-deck circle. In 38 2/3 innings pitched this season Lugo-Canchola has 48 strikeouts and carries an ERA of 2.09.
NNU Head Coach Joe Schaefer: “Ernie has been great all season long, but this was maybe his most efficient outing of the year. He made pitches all game long against a really good offense, and kept our bullpen intact for the next day.”
Also Nominated: Jonathan Garza II, Central Washington: Jackson Betancourt, Montana State Billings.
WOMEN’S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kelsie Inouye – Saint Martin’s
First-career player of the week.
Inouye was outstanding in a pair of events last week, and helped the Saints to their first team tournament win in more than a decade. The SMU junior kicked off her week by tying for fourth at the Southwest Minnesota State Spring Invitational, carding a two-round score of 2-over-par 146 (70-76) and recording her lowest round of the season. Inouye followed with a third-place finish in the Southwest Minnesota State Challenge, posting a two-round score of 154 (79-75) and propelling the Saints to a three-stroke victory over runner-up Rockhurst. Inouye lowered her season scoring average to 75.9 strokes per round, ranking her fifth in the conference in 2024-25.
SMU Head Coach Anne Bahr: “I’m incredibly proud of Kelsie’s performance in Arizona. She tied our 18-hole program record again and notched two top-five finishes in competitive fields. She is a player we can always count on for consistency and I know her teammates always look to her for guidance and support. Watching her play golf is a treat for me as a coach and I’m excited to see what else she can accomplish this spring.”
Also Nominated: Orraya Tipasathien, Montana State Billings; Meera Minhas, Simon Fraser.
MEN’S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Benjamin Mulder – Northwest Nazarene
Third-career player of the week, third this season.
Mulder was once again the conference’s top finisher last week, as he tied for 10th place among a field of 101 players at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout. Mulder notched a three-round score of 3-under-par 213 (71-73-69), saving his best round for last with a 3-under-par 69. With two under-par rounds last week, Mulder made it 11 of 16 rounds played this season at under par, and he logged his fourth top-10 finish of the year. His strong play helped lead the Nighthawks to a fifth-place finish among the field of 17 teams competing. Mulder also moved into a tie for the lowest scoring average in the conference at 71.4 strokes per round.
NNU Head Coach Fred Sutton: “This was another great tournament for Ben. He had a slow start, but he was able to bounce back with a strong finish. He helped lead our team to our best finish of the year.”
Also Nominated: Rasmus Tamker, Saint Martin’s; Denby Carswell, Simon Fraser; Peter Dionne-Yahr, Western Washington.
WOMEN’S CREW OF THE WEEK
Cal Poly Humboldt Varsity 8+
cox -
Sonja Scollon, 8 -
Dana Foley, 7 -
Leah Dunn, 6 -
Elsie Stevens, 5 -
Emily Marsolais, 4 -
Kealey Scott, 3 -
Gabriella Griffin, 2 -
Dayanara Anaya, 1 -
Kylie Mosley
The Lumberjacks had a strong showing in their 2025 season debut, stacking up well against Sacramento State and Kansas State. The varsity 8+ boat clocked a time of 6:58.6 minutes to finish sandwiched between the pair of NCAA Division I opponents. Using a strong push down the finishing stretch, The Lumberjacks held off a fast-approaching Kansas State by just 0.4 seconds to secure the second-place finish at the event. Two years removed from winning the 2023 NCAA Division II national title, Cal Poly Humboldt was slated to finish second in the GNAC preseason coaches poll.
Also Nominated: Central Oklahoma Varsity 8+.
MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Luke Johansson – Northwest Nazarene
First-career track athlete of the week.
Johansson had a strong showing on his home track last week, winning the 110-meter hurdles at the NNU Nighthawk Opener. In his outdoor debut, the sophomore posted a PR time of 14.83 seconds to top a field of eight competitors. It stands as the third-fastest 110-meter hurdles time among GNAC competitors thus far in the early 2025 outdoor season.
Also Nominated: Jaycee Herbert, Montana State Billings; Kainalu Pagente, Saint Martin’s; Augustas Haynes, Western Washington.
MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Noah Turner – Western Washington
First-career field athlete of the week.
The GNAC gold medalist in the indoor shot put had a standout performance at the PLU Invitational, winning the shot put and placing third in the discus in his second event of the 2025 outdoor campaign. Turner threw a season-best 51-2.75 feet (15.61 meters) to best a field of 29 competitors in the shot put, and land the top toss of any GNAC athlete this season. Turner also had a PR discus throw of 142-10 feet (43.53 meters) to finish third of 24 and post the sixth-farthest toss in the GNAC.
Also Nominated: Isaac Perkins, Montana State Billings; Ryan Doidge, Saint Martin’s.
WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Mya Richardson – Montana State Billings
First-career track athlete of the week.
Richardson competed well in the sprints at the Yellowjackets’ home meet, winning the 200 meters and finishing second in the 100 meters. She had a PR time of 12.48 seconds in the 100 meters, which stands as the fifth-fastest mark on the GNAC performance list this spring. She was also just off her PR in the 200 meters at 26.17 seconds, moving her name up to No. 6 on the GNAC performance list.
MSUB Head Coach Jon Woehl: “Mya had an outstanding meet, with a huge PR in the 100 and nearly a PR in the 200. She has been very coachable and has been improving every week.”
Also Nominated: Keelin Stewart, Northwest Nazarene; Madison Vu, Saint Martin’s.
WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Destany Herbert – Northwest Nazarene
Second-career field athlete of the week, first this season.
Herbert landed a provisional qualifying mark in the shot put at the NNU Nighthawk Opener, with a throw of 47-0.75 feet (14.34 meters) last week. That was good enough to top a field of 15 competitors in the event, and it stands as the second-longest shot put by a GNAC athlete this spring. Herbert also won the hammer throw, posting a mark of 159-1 feet (48.50 meters). That moved her name up to No. 2 on the GNAC performance list in that event as well.
Also Nominated: Hannah Cooper, Montana State Billings; Jocelyn Saribay, Saint Martin’s; Jessica Polkinghorn, Western Washington.