PORTLAND, Ore. – Two top-notch performances by Western Washington golfers highlighted the latest group of Great Northwest Athletic Conference Players of the Week announced on Monday.
WOMEN’S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lauren F. Lee – Western Washington University
Fifth-career player of the week, third this season.
Lee won a one-hole playoff against Cal State San Marcos’s Carmella Carlisi at last week’s Fujikura Invitational in Vista, Calif., breaking a tie for first place to claim the individual medalist honors. Lee carded a three-round score of 5-over-par 221 (75-71-75) to tie atop the leaderboard, before making par on Hole 18 to beat Carlisi by a stroke. Lee’s stellar performance included a 1-under-par 71 in her second round of the event, as she notched three birdies and a front-nine of 2-under-par 34 to help fuel her victory. Overall Lee made eight birdies at the tournament. On the 2025-26 season, Lee has a scoring average of 73.7 strokes per round which leads the GNAC.
WWU Head Coach Luke Bennett: "Lauren had another fantastic performance this week at the Fujikura Invitational. From start to finish she looked calm, confident and in control of her game. The most impressive part of her week was her mental focus; she stayed present and never got too high or too low emotionally."
Also Nominated: Lynea Kelsey, Northwest Nazarene; Kelsie Inouye, Saint Martin’s; Izzy Ferguson, Simon Fraser.
MEN’S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Conrad Brown – Western Washington University
Fourth-career player of the week, second this season.
Brown was the top NCAA Division II finisher at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout last week in Alameda, Calif., carding a three-round score of 9-under-par 207 (69-70-68) to place second among a field of 102 players. Tucker Sweeney, competing as an individual for NCAA Division I Santa Clara, was the only player to finish ahead of Brown as he shot a 10-under-par 206 (72-71-63). Brown was clinical across the three-round event, carding nothing worse than a bogey. He totaled 13 birdies including two or more on each of the six sets of nine holes, showing consistency throughout the tournament. He saved his best round for last, making just one bogey and a tournament-high five birdies his final time through the course to post a 4-under-par 68. The strong performance lowered Brown’s season scoring average to 70.6 strokes per round, which is the best in the conference.
WWU Head Coach Luke Bennett: "From afar, Conrad looked locked in all week at the Tim Tierney Shootout. His closing round of 68 was his best of the tournament and it gave him a great shot at the individual title. I wish I could have been there to watch, because I am sure it was an outstanding display of ball striking and putting. It was a top-level performance and one that I'm very proud of."
Also Nominated: Noah Larson, Northwest Nazarene; Rasmus Tamker, Saint Martin’s; Denby Carswell, Simon Fraser.
WOMEN’S ROWING CREW OF THE WEEK
Cal Poly Humboldt Varsity 8+
Coxswain –
Giania Bogacki 8 –
Lily Storseth 7 –
Leah Dunn 6 –
Elsie Stevens 5 –
River Walkington
4 –
Royce Ankel 3 –
Dayanara Anaya 2 –
Adelaide Toll 1 –
Ellie Walters
Cal Poly Humboldt's Varsity 8+ boat.
Competing against a stacked field of NCAA Division I teams at the Sacramento State Hornet Invitational, Cal Poly Humboldt’s varsity 8+ boat stood out with a strong performance. The octet’s weekend was highlighted by a Sunday morning victory with a time of 6:51.1 minutes, as they defeated Kansas State (6:54.1 minutes) and UC San Diego (6:56.5 minutes) in their final performance of the event. It was a six-second improvement upon the crew’s next-best time of the event, which came in Saturday’s morning race at 6:57.1 minutes. The Lumberjacks are the reigning NCAA Division II national runner-up and were selected as the GNAC favorite in the 2026 preseason coaches poll.
CPH Head Coach Matt Weise: "I was very pleased with the performance of all of our crews this weekend but particularly the Varsity 8+ as they made progressions in each of their three races. They did a great job of analyzing their performance, setting goals for the next competition and then acting on those goals."
Also Nominated: Central Oklahoma Varsity 4+.
SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Keana Bell – Northwest Nazarene University
First-career player of the week.
Bell slashed .643/.643/1.357 to help the Nighthawks to a four-game sweep of Montana State Billings. The junior had two home runs and four doubles among her hitting line of 9-for-14, while driving in a team-high eight runs in the series. Bell also scored six runs and played error-free defense at third base. Bell raised her season slugging percentage to .720 which ranks her fourth in the conference, and she ranks second in the GNAC in both home runs (6) and RBIs (30).
Also Nominated: Marleigh Nieto, Montana State Billings; Heather Ebner, Saint Martin’s; Lauren Mauer, Western Oregon; Maleah Andrews, Western Washington.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Kayla Vaughan – Saint Martin’s University
First-career pitcher of the week.
Vaughan was a force in a week where Saint Martin’s went a perfect 8-0 on its trip to Florida, as she collected three victories in the circle. The right-hander logged 14 2/3 innings, allowing just two earned runs and 12 baserunners for a WHIP of 0.82 on the week. Vaughan had at least three strikeouts in all three of her appearances, racking up 14 total against just three walks issued. After tossing five shutout frames in SMU’s win over Northwood, she delivered her first complete game of the season allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk in a victory over California (Pa.). The junior transfer from Academy of Art lowered her season ERA to 3.48 across her first 48 1/3 innings of the season.
SMU Head Coach Jim Peterson: “Kayla has been a great addition to our team this year and she pitched really well this week picking up three wins and only allowing two earned runs. Her 14.2 innings pitched and 14 strikeouts also led our pitching staff.
She is a steady presence in our pitching rotation and we will be relying on her to pitch quality innings for us as our GNAC league games start later this week. Overall it was a fun week of softball for our team picking up eight wins and Kayla played a big role in our success in the pitching circle.”
Also Nominated: Miah Lusk, Northwest Nazarene; Kennedy Abbas, Western Oregon.
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kyle Becker – Northwest Nazarene University
First-career player of the week.
Becker helped fuel the Nighthawks’ doubleheader win over Saint Martin’s on Saturday, with productive plate appearances in both contests. The junior reached base in 5 of 8 plate appearances including going 3-for-6. He also scored four runs, including the game-tying run and the game-winning run in NNU’s series-opening 7-1 triumph. Becker upped his season slash line to .362/.479/.534 on the season.
Also Nominated: Alohi Arecchi, Saint Martin’s; Finn O’Connor, Western Oregon.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Hudson Normand – Saint Martin’s University
First-career pitcher of the week.
Normand had the top start of any GNAC pitcher last week, limiting conference-leading Northwest Nazarene to one run in seven innings of work. The right-hander’s best start of his sophomore season included three strikeouts against just one walk, as he scattered seven hits across the strong outing. Normand did his part in giving the Saints a chance to win the game, as the score was tied at 1-1 when he exited after his seven innings of work.
Also Nominated: Gavin Brubaker, Northwest Nazarene; Mac Garrett, Western Oregon.
WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (OUTDOOR)
Maya Ewing – Seattle Pacific University
First-career track athlete of the week.
Ewing performed well at the PLU Open, winning the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:44.39 minutes. Making her 2026 outdoor debut, Ewing topped a field of 22 runners at the event to emerge with the victory. Ewing is coming off a silver-medal performance in the 5,000-meters at the GNAC Indoor Championships, and she was the individual champion at the 2025 GNAC Cross Country Championships last fall. Last spring, Ewing earned her first-ever NCAA Championships spot and finished ninth in the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
SPU Assistant Coach Eric Hansen: "Maya was dealing with a foot issue after indoors, so it was nice to see her back out there and looking strong again."
Also Nominated: Hazel Kunkel, Northwest Nazarene; Kekaihulali Halpern, Saint Martin’s.
WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (OUTDOOR)
Janess Blackburn – Saint Martin’s University
First-career field athlete of the week.
Blackburn had a strong showing in her second outdoor meet of the 2026 spring season at the PLU Open last weekend. The freshman won the discus at the event, logging a toss of 141-10 feet (43.24 meters) to top a field of 12 throwers. Getting her college career off to a good start, Blackburn leads the GNAC in the discus through the first two weeks of the outdoor season and ranks fourth in the conference in the hammer throw.
SMU Head Coach John Schultz: “We are excited about the development that Janess has made this year. She is an extremely hard worker who has focused on her technique. She is dedicated in watching video and working on doing her best.”
Also Nominated: Madilyn McCarthy, Northwest Nazarene; Lysandra Plant, Seattle Pacific; Kathryn Chapin, Western Washington.
MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (OUTDOOR)
Avery Erickson – Seattle Pacific University
First-career track athlete of the week.
Erickson won the 1,500 meters at the PLU Open over the weekend, checking in with a time of 4:01.51 minutes. That was just under four seconds off his collegiate best of 3:57.25 minutes, as he bested a field of 19 runners. The sophomore transfer’s career with the Falcons has gotten off to a strong start, after he hit a collegiate PR in the 5,000-meters (15:15.33 minutes) the previous week at the Ed Boitano Invitational.
SPU Assistant Coach Eric Hansen: "Avery bounced back well from a 5k last weekend where he wasn't feeling his best. He looked much more like himself this week and executed a good 1,500 from the front. I am happy to see both him and Maya get a win going into their first steeple of the season at Oregon State this week."
Also Nominated: Giovanni Carlino, Northwest Nazarene.
MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (OUTDOOR)
Liam Wall – Western Washington University
Third-career field athlete of the week, first this season.
Wall had a major breakthrough at the PLU Open last week, notching the third-best discus throw in GNAC history. Wall beat a field of 20 throwers at the event, with a heave of 181-4 feet (55.27 meters). That was the best throw by any NCAA Division II competitor through the first two weeks of the 2026 outdoor season, as Wall came up just 1-8 feet shy of NNU’s Jake Knight’s GNAC record of 183-0 feet (55.78 meters) set in 2019.
WWU Throws Coach Damien Fisher: “After falling short of reaching NCAAs last season, Liam re-doubled his efforts this year and has done an incredible job learning our system by bringing intention to every practice and training session. His work ethic and drive are great examples for the group, and I am excited to see how he continues to improve through the season.”
Also Nominated: Brevin Binder, Northwest Nazarene; Zander Peck, Saint Martin’s; Mason Hrcek, Seattle Pacific.