L-C State announces Taylor

as Robbins’ replacement

LEWISTON — Lewis-Clark State College is staying in the family with the hiring of Jake Taylor as the next baseball coach of the Warriors.

Taylor was a standout for Lewis-Clark State’s 1992 national championship team.

Taylor will replace Jeremiah Robbins, who is leaving at the end of this season to start a program at Umpqua Junior College and be closer to his and his wife’s families.

“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of Lewis-Clark State College and be a part of the tradition here,” Taylor said. “Coach Robbins has the program in such an unbelievable spot.”

Taylor is a 1994 graduate of LCSC, after playing in 1992 and 1993, with a degree in kinesiology/education. He is in the Warrior Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the 1992 championship team. While at LC, he was a team captain, team MVP, two-time Gold Glove winner (career fielding percentage of .963), and a two-time member of the NAIA all-District I team. He also was highly recognized as a scholar-athlete as an NAIA Academic All-American and Diamond Award/Outstanding Scholar-Athlete in 1993.

After completing his playing career in 1993, he served as a graduate assistant for the Warriors for one season before embarking on his own coaching career. He was the Idaho High School Coach of the Year in 2005 while at Borah High in Boise, and the 2012 recipient while at Rocky Mountain High in Meridian. He coached five conference championship teams, two state title winners and one American Legion champion in compiling 350 career victories. His 2015 Rocky Mountain team was undefeated at 27-0 in the regular season, a feat for which he was honored as the Idaho Baseball Distinguished Coach of the Year.

Taylor is a native of Troutdale, Ore., and graduated from Mt. Hood Community College, where he was highly honored as a student-athlete, before transferring to LCSC.

Robbins will continue coaching the Warriors through the 2018 season. Taylor begins July 1.

Bothell High’s all-time leading

scorer joins Vandals

MOSCOW — Bothell, Wash., native Cameron Tyson signed a letter of intent on Thursday with Idaho’s men’s basketball team.

Tyson played for Bothell High under head coach Ron Bollinger, earning All-KingCo 4A first-team honors as a senior. He wrapped up his career this spring as Bothell’s all-time leading scorer, passing NBA star Zach Lavine.

“What immediately jumps out about Cameron is that he can really, really shoot the ball and that his range extends beyond the NBA 3-point line,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “We believe that he has the skill level and the physical strength to come in and compete at a high level right away.”

The Cougars went 21-3 last year, with Tyson averaging 26.6 points along the way. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. As a junior in 2016-17, Tyson averaged 21.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per contest.

Another Bothell High grad, Perrion Callandret, wrapped up his career with Idaho this past season.

WSU signs two more

men’s basketball players

PULLMAN — Aljaž ‘Jaz’ Kunc and Isaiah Wade have each signed a letters of intent to play basketball at Washington State beginning in the fall of 2018, Cougars head coach Ernie Kent announced.

“We are excited for the additions of Jaz and Isaiah,” Kent said. “This is a very good recruiting class and we are looking forward to building on it in the near future.”

Kunc (6-8, 190, small forward, Ljubljana, Slovenia/Impact Academy-Fla.) is completing his senior season at Impact Basketball Academy at Sarasota, Fla., coming to the United States from Slovenia for his final year of high school. Kunc competed with Slovenia in the 2016 FIBA U18 European Championships. He previously played for Jance Prit from 2014-17 in Slovenia.

Wade (6-7, 215, power forward, Minneapolis, Minn./Iowa Western Community College) just completed his sophomore season at Iowa Western CC in 2017-18 where he was an All-Region XI first team performer and NJCAA All-America nominee as a sophomore after averaging a team-high 9.5 rebounds per game and a team third-best 12.1 points per game. He had a program-record 16 double-doubles on the season, 17 double-figure rebounding games and four 20-point performances. Originally from Minnesota, Wade moved to Iowa prior to his senior season where he played basketball at East HS in Waterloo, Iowa, averaging 15.2 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists per game.

Kunc and Wade join a signing class that already includes incoming freshman Charles ‘CJ’ Elleby (6-6, 195, forward, Seattle/Cleveland High School), who signed in the fall. The Cougars will continue to fill their vacant scholarships.

EWU signs finalist for prep

school player of the year honor

CHENEY — Austin Fadal, a Californian who attended post-graduate prep school this past year in Arizona, has signed a letter of intent to attend Eastern Washington and play for the Eagles next year, first-year head coach Shantay Legans announced.

Fadal was one of the eight finalists nationwide for the National Prep Hoops Offensive Post-Graduate/Prep School Player of the Year. A 6-foot-4, 175-pound guard from Danville, Calif., he attended Hillcrest Prep in Arizona in 2017-18 after graduating in 2017 from Monte Vista High School in the East Bay near San Francisco.

Fadal averaged over 18 points and six assists per game in his high school career. He was the leading scorer on teams he played for since his sophomore season, and earned first team All-East Bay honors as a junior at Monte Vista. However, his senior season was cut short with an injury. While at Hillcrest, he scored 33 points against nationally-ranked Cochise Junior College on Nov. 17, 2017.

He injured his knee in December of his senior season at Monte Vista, and the Mustangs finished just 12-14.

As a sophomore, Fadal played at Dougherty Valley High in San Ramon, Calif., and helped the Wildcats to a 16-10 record as he averaged 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists.