PORTLAND, Ore. – Stellar performances across a multitude of spring sports were produced by the latest group of Great Northwest Athletic Conference Players of the Week announced on Monday.
WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Elise Hopper – Central Washington University
Third-career track athlete of the week, second this season.
Hopper had a busy week on her home track at the CWU Wildcat Invitational, posting four outstanding marks in the sprints. One of the highlights of her week was a personal-best time of 11.71 seconds in the 100-meters, which moved her name up to No. 6 on the GNAC all-time list. She also clocked a PR in the 400-meter hurdles, running 59.87 seconds which stands as fourth-fastest in conference history. Hopper then helped the Wildcat women run a 4x100-meter relay time of 46.02 seconds – the fourth-fastest in GNAC history. Hopper’s name now appears six times on the NCAA Division II outdoor national qualifying list, with her top figures being 12th in the 400-meters, 13th in the 200-meters and 14th in the 400-meter hurdles.
CWU Head Coach Jonathan Hill: “Elise is on fire. She is demonstrating the form it takes years to build, and she is taking full advantage of it. Her fitness combined with her race understanding and execution are at all-time highs. She is ready to do whatever she wants these next few weeks as the weather gets better and the meets get bigger.”
Also Nominated: Bella Klein, Montana State Billings; Hazel Kunkel, Northwest Nazarene; Hannah Chang, Seattle Pacific; Raiya Matonovich, Simon Fraser; Kyla Potratz, Western Oregon; Ari Nguyen, Western Washington.
WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Rae Smart – Montana State University Billings
Second-career field athlete of the week, second this season.
Smart excelled in all four of the throws at last week’s Northwest Nazarene Open in Nampa, Idaho. Her top performance was a provisional qualifying mark in the shot put, as she threw a season-best 47-10.5 feet (14.59 meters) to move her name up to No. 16 on the NCAA list. Smart also hit a season-best in the javelin at 137-3 feet (41.84 meters), which was the third-best in the conference this spring.
MSUB Head Coach Jonathan Woehl: “Rae had a phenomenal meet. She has been putting in a lot of work in all four of her events and really clicked in the shot and javelin last weekend.”
Also Nominated: Maliyah Gordon, Central Washington; Macie Kern, Northwest Nazarene; Janess Blackburn, Saint Martin’s; Lysandra Plant, Seattle Pacific; Domfo Abekah, Simon Fraser; Jessica Polkinghorn, Western Washington.
MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Colton Plummer – Simon Fraser University
First-career track athlete of the week.
The GNAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year had a stellar showing at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational last week in California. Plummer ran 1:48.15 minutes in the 800-meters, marking the third-fastest time in GNAC history and winning among a field of 92 competitors. It also stands as the fifth-fastest 800-meters time by any NCAA Division II athlete thus far in 2026,. Plummer also contributed to an SFU 4x400-meter relay unit that clocked a time of 3:13.13 minutes to win among 15 teams.
SFU Head Coach Brit Townsend: “Colton had a fantastic performance following up on his opener last weekend at Stanford. A personal best this early in the season shows great promise for the rest of the year. He followed up the 800 with a 46.2-second leg of our 4x400, which was his fastest-ever split. I am excited for what’s to come.”
Also Nominated: Colton Magruder, Central Washington; JayCee Herbert, Montana State Billings; Robert Joshua, Seattle Pacific; Tate Herber, Western Oregon; Lucas Brenek, Western Washington.
MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jacob Behrman – Western Oregon University
First-career field athlete of the week.
Behrman was the winner among 46 throwers in the shot put at last week’s John Knight Twilight meet in Monmouth, Ore. The junior posted a personal-best heave of 54-7.5 feet (16.65 meters) landing just outside a GNAC all-time top-10 mark. It also got his name onto the NCAA provisional national qualifiers list, and it was the furthest shot put by any GNAC thrower this year. Behrman also ranks fourth on the GNAC performance list in the discus, hitting 159-0 feet (48.46 meters) earlier this spring.
WOU Head Coach Zach Holloway: “Jake has been on a very steady progression of improvement this entire year. He had some big PRs indoors and has already started this outdoor season with three meets throwing over 16 meters. It has been fun to see his consistent improvement this season.”
Also Nominated: Drew Klein, Central Washington; Johnnie Young, Montana State Billings; Amos Lewis, Northwest Nazarene; Gage Pedro, Saint Martin’s; Tawaf Aboudou, Seattle Pacific; Daanish Adams, Simon Fraser; Jakob Braunstein, Western Washington.
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
River Smith – Montana State University Billings
Second-career player of the week, second this season.
Smith supplied the pop for the Yellowjackets in last week’s series victory over Saint Martin’s. All seven of his hits on the weekend went for extra bases as he homered twice and collected five doubles on his way to a slugging percentage of 1.500. Overall he was 7-for-12 (.583) with three RBIs, seven runs scored and an on-base percentage of .667. Smith upped his season batting average to .328 and his slugging percentage to .552 in his first season as a regular starter in the Yellowjacket lineup.
MSUB Head Coach Derek Waddoups: “River had a clutch offensive weekend and drove in a lot of big runs at SMU. He had a couple of big home runs in a park that is not as offensive as some others around the league. His approach was spot on this weekend doing damage on strikes and showing the discipline to take walks.”
Also Nominated: Logan Blank, Central Washington; Noah Albanese, Saint Martin’s; Tyler Mohler, Western Oregon.
BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sam Coxen – Montana State University Billings
Second-career pitcher of the week, first this season.
Coxen delivered his best start of the year on Friday against Saint Martin’s, setting the tone in an eventual 3-1 series victory for the Yellowjackets. Taking the hill in the series opener, Coxen authored seven shutout frames with five strikeouts and just six baserunners allowed. The right-hander scattered five hits and issued just one walk in the 100-pitch effort, collecting his fourth win of the season. It was Coxen’s first scoreless outing of his sophomore season, and it lowered his ERA to 3.76 across 55 innings pitched in 2026.
MSUB Head Coach Derek Waddoups: “Sam gave us a great start to the weekend. He pitched ahead and controlled the bottom of the zone, producing ground balls and swings and misses. It was impressive seeing him command multiple pitches and watching him get ahead throughout the entire outing.”
Also Nominated: Austin Cupic, Central Washington; Shane Bailey, Western Oregon.
SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Maleah Andrews – Western Washington University
Fourth-career player of the week, first this season.
Andrews was nearly impossible to retire last week, as she reached base in 14 of 16 plate appearances and posted a slash line of .818/.875/1.727 in the Vikings’ series at Montana State Billings. Andrews homered three times, drew a walk in all four games and was 9-for-11 hitting as she made just two outs in the series. She delivered seven RBIs, scored six times, stole a base and did not strikeout in her 16 trips to the plate. Andrews was also stellar defensively at third base, handling all 13 of the chances that came her way without an error. The reigning GNAC co-Player of the Year leads the conference in slugging at .841 this season, while ranking second in on-base percentage at .567 and third in batting average at .439.
WWU Head Coach Sheryl Gilmore: “Maleah had a great weekend on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side, she is just flat-out hard to pitch to. She has incredible plate discipline and covers both sides, all planes and all speeds. If you put her on base, she runs well and has great hitters behind her. On the defensive side, she takes away the short game element from teams and plays a lockdown corner. She was putting some extra pressure on herself earlier in the year, but it was nice to see her start to settle in and trust herself and her process a little more. She puts in a ton of hard work when she plays her game with the joy and freedom it deserves, there’s nothing she can’t do.”
Also Nominated: Kayla Brusseau, Central Washington; Marleigh Nieto, Montana State Billings; Elissa Dewees, Saint Martin’s; Lauren Lugtigheid, Simon Fraser; Lauren Mauer, Western Oregon.
SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Keagan Norfleet – Saint Martin’s University
First-career pitcher of the week.
Norfleet did her part in helping the Saints to a 3-1 series win over Central Washington last week, turning in a pair of strong outings in the circle. The sophomore right-hander gave up just one run across six innings pitched while striking out three hitters. She delivered three shutout innings of work on Saturday, marking her third consecutive scoreless outing. Norfleet lowered her season ERA to 2.53 across her 27 2/3 innings of work in 2026.
SMU Head Coach Jim Peterson: “Keagan did a great job in the circle last weekend coming in for relief pitching in two games. She only gave up one run on the weekend and kept the hitters off balance.”
Also Nominated: Zoey Theophilus, Central Washington; Avery Gray, Montana State Billings; Monica Bourque, Simon Fraser.
MEN’S GOLF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bowdie Fox – Montana State University Billings
First-career player of the week.
Fox was the conference’s top performer at last week’s RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Goodyear, Ariz. The Yellowjacket junior tied for eighth place among a field of 108 players including four GNAC teams. Fox carded a three-round score of 9-under-par 207 (68-69-70) in what was his best performance of 2025-26 to date. Fox’s stellar opening round featured an eagle on the par-5, 525-yard 14th hole to go along with three birdies and 13 pars. He shook off a double bogey on the first hole in round two, playing the rest of the round at 5-under-par on his way to a 69. Fox finished the event with three birdies and just one bogey his final time through the course. Overall he made 13 birdies across the 54-hole event. Fox lowered his season stroke average to 75.4, ranking him fourth on the team.
MSUB Head Coach Adam Buie: “Bowdie has been playing some strong and solid golf the last few weeks. He is one of the hardest-working players I have coached. His work is paying off because he is in a really good headspace right now, and he snagged a top-10 finish at the biggest field we have seen all year. I am very happy for him.”
Also Nominated: Dylan Christensen, Northwest Nazarene; Christopher Gunlikson, Saint Martin’s; Justin Bjornson, Simon Fraser.