college sports
Wazzu keeps college sports in one place: 6 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Coug Women Hold Steady at No. 13, Still Top of the West”, “Wazzu golf wraps Day 2 in Hawaii with steady second-round play”, and “Hall of Fame Weekend Gets a Top-25 Test for the Cougs”. No. The Cougs are keeping it steady in Hawaii. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every college sports story on Wazzu, newest first.
Coug Women Hold Steady at No. 13, Still Top of the West
No. 13 in the country, and still the top-ranked program west of the Mississippi. That is where the Cougar women sit in the latest national poll, and it is a spot that feels earned. Not flashy, not lucky. Just steady. While other programs wobble and reshuffle, WSU's women's team keeps proving that consistency is its own kind of flex. There is no drama here, just results. Being the best in the West means something when the West includes Stanford, Oregon, and UCLA. It means Pullman is on the map for more than just football talk. If you want to dig into how the rest of Cougar sports is shaping up, Kirby Moore broke down Boise State week on the Cougar Football Hour. That is worth a listen. But for now, the women have given us a reason to hold the phone and just be proud. No asterisks. No caveats. Just a ranking that says what we already knew: this program is built right. Go Cougs.
Wazzu golf wraps Day 2 in Hawaii with steady second-round play
The Cougs are keeping it steady in Hawaii. Through two rounds of the Wazzu golf trip, the team has put together a solid, no-drama day of play on the islands. No wild swings, no collapses, just clean second-round work that keeps the momentum going. That's the kind of golf that wins trips home with something to show for it. We know the scoreboard matters, but this is also about the grind. Getting through a second round without losing your head in paradise is its own kind of win. The conditions are gorgeous, sure, but the palm trees don't make the putts for you. So far, so good. If you want more on how our guys handle the pressure, check out our earlier piece on "Boenning Holds Steady in Top 10 Through Second Round at Saint Mary's." Same steady hands, different fairway. The travel is the fun part. The scorecard is the work. Right now, the Cougs are handling both. Go Cougs.
Hall of Fame Weekend Gets a Top-25 Test for the Cougs
The Cougs are about to find out exactly where they stand, and they're doing it in front of a packed house of alumni. Hall of Fame Weekend is already a special return to Pullman, but this year it comes with a top-25 test attached. That changes the feel of the whole thing. We know the women's team is sitting pretty at No. 13, still the top dog out West. If you missed that update, go find "Coug Women Hold Steady at No. 13, Still Top of the West" on the site. It pairs well with the weekend ahead. The men's side is the one with something to prove here. A ranked opponent coming to town during a weekend built for nostalgia? That is the kind of pressure that either breaks a team or shows you what it's made of. It is easy to get swept up in the pageantry of the Hall of Fame ceremonies. The stories, the faces, the memories. But the guys on the floor have to lock in and play their game, not the one the visitors want to play. A win here means more than a notch on the schedule. It says the program is back in the conversation. This is the kind of weekend that reminds you why you keep coming back to the Palouse. The town, the people, the big game under the lights. Go Cougs.
Cougs split singles matches as Nakagawa and Harper pace day two
Day two in the desert was a split decision, and that's okay. The Cougs took the singles court and came away with a pair of wins, with Nakagawa and Harper doing the heaviest lifting. You love to see it when the upperclassmen steady the ship after a long weekend of tennis. It wasn't a clean sweep, and it didn't need to be. This part of the fall is about testing the legs and finding out who's got the gas tank for the long rallies. Nakagawa looked sharp, Harper looked composed, and the rest of the squad got the kind of reps you can't buy in practice. Splitting matches on day two isn't a headline, but it's a solid foundation. If you've been following along, you already know these Cougs don't shy away from a challenge. They opened the season by testing the legs against the nation's best in Wisconsin, and they carried that same grit into the Northwest Regionals. This weekend is just another chapter in the same story: get out there, swing big, and learn something. The wins are nice. The progress is better. And with a few more matches left in the tournament, there's still time to stack a couple more Ws before heading back to Pullman. Go Cougs.
Cougs Hit the Road for a Pair of Midweek Ballgames in Texas
Baseball is heading south. Washington State is in Texas this week for a pair of midweek ballgames, and if you are stuck in a February gray sky, this is the kind of trip you envy. Two games. Warm weather. No conference pressure yet. Just Cougs swinging bats somewhere that does not smell like fertilizer and wet gravel. That is the whole point of these midweek trips. Get out of Pullman. See some sun. Tighten up the bullpen before the Pac-12 schedule starts grinding. Texas baseball is not a joke, but neither is a lineup that has been putting in work since January. If Wazzu can take one of these, that is a good trip. Take both, and you start feeling like something is cooking. For more on how Coug sports are stacking up this week, check out our piece on volleyball, "Schroeder on the mic: WSU volleyball preps for Rams and Bobcats", because that program is also on the road and also worth your time. But back to the diamond. Two games. No excuses. Go get a couple Ws, then get back on the bus. Go Cougs.
Cougs Rack Up Four More Wins at the Duck Invitational
Four more wins. That's a good weekend, no matter how you slice it, and the Cougs came back from the Duck Invitational with a full wallet. You don't always get that in early-season golf, where the weather and the course can turn on you faster than a Pullman wind gust. But Wazzu went out there, put together a steady stretch, and handled business. It's the kind of result that builds a little momentum before the big stuff. You win four in a tournament and you start believing the next one is there for the taking. We like the sound of that. We also like the way this team has been trending, and it's worth remembering the Cougs were already smiling in the desert earlier this month. If you missed that one, go check out "Three Cougs went low in Arizona and left the desert smiling." It pairs nicely with this. Golf is a lonely sport, but the scoreboard is a team thing. Four wins means somebody stepped up every round, and that's the kind of depth that travels well. Spring is still young, but this is exactly the start you want. Keep it rolling, Cougs. Go Cougs.