Northwest Notes: July 21, 2026

Idaho picked seventh, Eastern eighth in 

Preseason Big Sky Coaches Poll

FARMINGTON, Utah — The Big Sky Conference released its preseason coaches and media polls on Monday morning, as the 13-team league inches ever closer to kickoff for the 2026 season. Entering head coach Thomas Ford Jr’s second season at the helm, the Idaho Vandals were pegged to finish sixth in the media poll and seventh by the conference’s coaches. 

This past offseason, Ford showcased his recruiting ability by securing the strongest high school class in school history and one of the best in the nation, according to 247 Sports. UI returns eight total starters, including star quarterback Joshua Wood, who made waves in the Big Sky a season ago, posting the best rushing campaign by a Vandal signal caller since Doug Nussmeyer in 1993. In addition to a class of 21 transfers, new coordinators Ian Shoemaker and Lee Stalker join the staff for Ford’s second season, bringing new energy to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome ahead of 2026.

Idaho’s season begins on August 28 with a Friday night conference showdown at Cal Poly (7 p.m., ESPN), one of three games the Black and Gold had selected for linear distribution on ESPN networks, a program record. The Vandals open their six-game home slate against Lamar on Sep. 12. 

Eastern Washington garnered 70 points in the coaches’ poll, seven behind Idaho for seventh and 22 ahead of Weber State in ninth. In the media poll, the Eagles earned 246 points, behind Southern Utah (273) and ahead of ninth-place Cal Poly (168).

Coaches can not vote for their own team.

Eastern finished seventh in the 2025 Big Sky standings after going 4-4 in conference and 5-7 overall. 

The Eagles play seven teams in ‘26 that they faced last season, going 3-4 in those games. EWU defeated Portland State, Idaho, and Northern Colorado in ‘25, with losses against Northern Iowa, Montana State, Montana, and Cal Poly. 

The 2026 team returns 11 starters from the ‘26 team, including seven on defense and four on offense. Eastern retains 33 letterwinners overall from last year’s team. 

BIG SKY FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL

First-place votes in parentheses

1, Montana State (11), 143 points. 2, Montana 130. 3, UC Davis (2) 121. 4, Northern Arizona 108. 5, Idaho State 99. 6, Southern Utah 82. 7, Idaho 77. 8, Eastern Washington 70. 9, Weber State 48. 10, Northern Colorado 47. 11, Cal Poly 46. 12, Portland State 24. 13, Utah Tech 19.

BIG SKY FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

First-place votes in parentheses

1, Montana State (35), 490 points. 2, Montana (1) 448. 3, UC Davis (2) 421. 4, Idaho State 349. 5, Northern Arizona 339. 6, Idaho 283. 7, Southern Utah 273. 8, Eastern Washington 246. 9, Cal Poly 168. 10, Weber State 155. 11, Northern Colorado 153. 12, Portland State 68. 13, Utah Tech 65. 

Spokane Chiefs coach Lauer 

to coach Team Canada

Spokane Chiefs coach Brad Lauer will join Team Canada's coaching staff for the second straight year as an assistant coach at the IIHF World Junior Championships, the Canadian Hockey League announced.

Team Canada will be led by head coach Misha Donskov.

Joining Lauer and Donskov behind the bench will be assistant coaches Drew Bannister (Belleville, Ontario/Sault Ste. Marie, OHL), Jim Hulton (Wolfe Island, Ontario/Saint John, QMJHL), and Ryan Getzlaf (Regina, Saskatchewan). Goaltending Coach Dan De Palma (Kamloops, British Columbia/Kamloops, WHL), Video Coach Adam Filmon (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and James Emery (Calgary, Alberta), Hockey Canada’s director of performance analysis, will also be on the Hockey Canada staff.

Washington State women's basketball adds

to 2026-27 coaching staff

Washington State women’s basketball and coach Kamie Ethridge have announced the program’s coaching staff for the 2026-27 season.

The announcement is highlighted by two additions to the staff ahead of the upcoming season, featuring former Cougar standout Ula Motuga joining as an assistant coach, and recent WSU grad and WSU student manager, Mattias Lindgren, as video coordinator.

“It is with such excitement that I announce Ula Motuga returning to the Cougs as an Assistant coach, and Mattias Lindgren moving from a student manager to a full-time coach position,” said Ethridge. “Coug Nation, help us welcome these two new coaches, support our 2026-27 team and buy season tickets now for WSU women’s basketball! Go Cougs!”

Ethridge enters her ninth season as Head Coach of the Cougars, along with associate head coach Laurie Koehn also beginning her ninth season at WSU. Director of Player Personnel Deb Patterson returns for her eighth season and assistant coach Camille Williams returns for her seventh.

Prior to this role, Motuga spent two seasons as part of the Nevada women's basketball coaching staff.

Before that, she spent five years in a Cougars uniform, and ended her career with the most games played in program history and eighth all-time in total rebounds. Motuga helped take the team from just nine wins when she came into the program as a freshman, to 23 wins and a Pac-12 Tournament Championship in 2023 to cap her playing career.

Besides her accomplishments on the court, Motuga was selected to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll four times. She was also a Graduate Assistant for Student-Athlete Development in 2023-24.

Motuga, originally from Logan City, Australia, graduated from WSU with her Bachelor's in 2022 and her Master's in 2024.

Prior to his current role, Lindgren has served as a student manager with the staff for three years overseeing data analytics.

 He also spent time in the department as an intern with the creative media team and produced content for the women’s basketball in that time.