June 6, 2023- The Utah Statesman- Utah State University

USU names Jason Brei as new police chief

By Jenny Carpenter NEWS STAFF REPORTER

After a nationwide search, Utah State University named Jason Brei as its new police chief. Brei will begin his service July 1.

Brei has worked for 26 years in law enforcement, starting in the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona, and moving to the University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) in 2000, according to USU’s police chief candidates website.

While serving at the UAPD, Brei gained several leadership experiences through acting as assistant chief in field operations, corporal, lieutenant, commander, assistant chief and interim chief of police. He also completed the FBI National Academy in 2010.

The new police chief has received many awards throughout his career, including the Accredited Command Executive Award from the Arizona Association of Chief of Police in 2023.

“Brei offers USU enormous leadership experience in law enforcement in a higher education environment,

which can hold unique challenges in policing,” said Mike Kuehn, the executive director of Public Safety in a Utah State Today article. “We’re looking forward to working with him to make our university community as secure as it can be.”

One of the first actions Brei plans on taking when he comes to the university is engaging with the student body and listening to their concerns.

“I want to learn both the department and community culture, you know, you get a glimpse and a snapshot from the time you’re there to when you’re on the ground from discussions with people,” Brei said.

The police chief also said that he will “look for the areas of need and opportunity” as he starts serving the university.

While he is excited to begin his service with USU, Brei said he will miss the culture and people at the UAPD.

“I’ve got a lot of relationships (there); I’ve been there a long time — memories, friends, it’s like a family, so I will miss that,” Brei said.

After leaving his old family at the UAPD, Brei said

that he’s ready to commit to starting a new family at USU and interact with students as much as possible.

“As people see us, as people engage with us, it continues to foster those relationships and build that familiarity, that trust,” Brei said.

Jenny Carpenter is majoring in print journalism and minoring in English. When she’s not reading or writing news, she’s practicing Chinese, spending time with her spouse, and writing Dungeons and Dragons campaigns —

PHOTO BY Samuel Warner

New police chief Jason Brei speaking to students at a public presentation on April 25.

Elizabeth Cantwell to serve as 17th university president

By Jake Ellis STAFF WRITER

Elizabeth “Betsy” R. Cantwell will be the 17th President of Utah State University. She was selected by a unanimous vote of the Utah Board of Higher Education on Friday afternoon. Cantwell addressed a crowd inside the Taggart Student Center ballroom after the announcement.

“Thank you all for your faith in me. I will do everything to make good on my capacity to serve,” Cantwell said. “I am so pleased to be able to take everything that I’ve done and bring it here and really offer it to all of you as service because I think that is the best way to enable you all to move forward.”

Cantwell was selected from a pool of three finalists after a national search was conducted by a 19-member search committee. She will succeed President Noelle Cockett who will step down in June.

“I am enormously grateful to the board for their faith in me,” Cantwell said.

“I will do everything in my power to step into a place that has been basically made beautiful by President Cockett and move us all forward into what is truly an incredible future for Utah State University and for the state of Utah.”

Abe Rodriguez, student body president of the Utah State University Student Association, said it will take some time for students to adjust to Cantwell, but they will come to see her “genuine interest in wanting students to succeed.”

“What I am really excited about her is how she is going to bring real change,” Rodriguez said.

Some of that “real change” includes plans to simplify university policies into “plain English” as well as elevate the community and focus on research that will “improve our communities across the state,” according to Rodriguez.

Rodriguez believes Cantwell will be open to student input. Rodriguez added that he’s “humbled and honored” to be the first student body president to serve with Cantwell. He said he will strive to

“establish good working relationships with Cantwell and her administration.”

“I want students to know your voices will be heard,” Rodriguez said. “I understand that there can be a lot of uncertainties when there’s change but I do believe that it is time to change so I’m really excited to see the ways that she will bring change that will put our university in a better position to be successful.”

Cantwell comes to Utah State from the University of Arizona where she has been serving as the institution’s senior vice president for research & innovation. Before that, Cantwell was the vice president for research development and CEO of the ASU Research Enterprise at Arizona State University.

Cantwell’s background before academia was in science and research as she previously worked as director for both economic development and engineering mission strategy at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Cantwell serves on several boards including NASEM Committee on NASA Critical Workforce, Technology & Infrastructure and the ISS National Laboratory. She is also the chair

Jake Ellis is a 2023 USU graduate and former sports manager for the Statesman

The rise of pickleball in Logan

By Avery Truman LIFESTYLES EDITOR

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S. with an estimated 36.5 million players in the country. Logan has been quick to jump on this popular sport as its impact has exploded in Cache Valley.

Brandon Mackie is a co-founder of Pickleheads, a resource for players trying to find a court or other players nearby.

“We have one of the most comprehensive databases of pickleball courts in the country,” Mackie said. “Over 13,000 profiles between the U.S. and Canada. So, no matter where you are in this country, you can use our site to find a place to play.”

Users of the site can organize games, invite others to play and make a game public to find new people to join.

“The sport has grown times 10 in maybe two years,” Mackie said. “Utah, as you know, is an absolute hotspot for pickleball. Some of the first-ever pickleball tournaments back in the 90s were played here.”

According to Mackie, by tracking the number of pickleball facilities and available courts, he has found that this growth is also true for Logan.

“Utah has the highest number of Google searches for pickleball of any state,” Mackie said.

Mackie, who has been a player for three years, attributed the sudden rise of pickleball to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Pickleball is a very social sport,” Mackie said. “It lets you get out, socialize responsibly, it gets activity when all the gyms were closed.”

According to pickleball statistics, Logan is the 6th most popular city in Utah to play pickleball.

“Pickleball is a social activity as much as it’s a sport. It’s commonly played in an open-play format where 50 or even more players show up and rotate games and partners,” a Pickleheads team member wrote. “You also almost always play pickleball as doubles, which leaves many opportunities to socialize and meet players.”

Mackie said in the past, pickleball was very popular among seniors. Now high schoolers, college students and young professional players are the fastest-growing demographic for pickleball players.

“The magic of pickleball is it’s easy to learn, but hard to master,” a Pickleheads team member wrote. “Beginners can go out their first time, learn the game, have fun, and even win a few games. But advanced players stay challenged, and keep coming back for more. This dynamic is a big reason why pickleball continues to grow like crazy.”

According to Mackie, pickleball is great for the community because it’s a good source of exercise, it’s a social outlet and it brings people together.

“I would call it a mix between ping pong, badminton and tennis,” Mackie said. “It’s basically a mini version of tennis but the premise is similar to ping pong- it’s a plastic paddle, plastic ball. The scoring is closer to badminton.”

According to Mackie, pickleball’s easy nature is what draws people to the sport.

“You don’t really have to have an athletic background to be able to pick it up and enjoy it,” Mackie said. “If you go into pickleball, people are always welcoming.”

Mackie recommends that beginners check out Pickleheads.com for their virtual clinic series of short videos to learn the basics before hitting the court.

“I’ve never seen somebody go out and not have fun on their first time playing pickleball,” Mackie said. “Something tells me you’ll be back for more.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF Avery Truman Pickleball players tap racquets ahead of two on two game.

Avery Truman is a first-year student pursuing environmental studies and geography. She is passionate about astronomy, writing and reading science fiction and learning about wildlife.

Gymnastics join Mountain West Conference

By Emma Becerra SPORTS REPORTER

On May 24th, Utah State University gymnastics announced they’ll be joining the Mountain West Conference (MWC) starting with the 2023-2024 competition season. Also set to join the MWC are Boise State University, Air Force and San Jose State.

USU Gymnastics was previously in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference where they competed against Boise State University, Southern Utah University and Brigham Young University. The decision to accept USU into the MWC came after BYU gymnastics moved to the Big 12 Conference.

It wasn’t until a new commissioner for the Mountain West was hired that the sport was added to the conference.

Gloria Nevarez, the new MW commissioner said, “the addition of women’s gymnastics to the Mountain West will allow us to cultivate more opportunities for female student-athletes to compete at the highest level while promoting the academic missions of our member institutions.”

Head coach Kristin White is going into her second season as the head coach and is excited about this opportunity to compete in the MWC. She believes it’s a step forward as the other sports at USU already

compete in the conference.

White believes the competitive atmosphere fostered in the MWC will allow their team to stand out as one of the better teams in NCAA gymnastics.

“All four of the programs are really excited to be joining the Mountain West and I know it’s been something that a lot of us have been hoping will happen over the last couple of years,” White said. “Just to be a part of the conference is a huge opportunity for our sport. Our sport has continued to grow over the last couple of years and has become a very popular sport among our fans in the NCAA.”

Brianna Brooks, one of the stars from last year’s team, is returning for her senior year. Last competition season, Brooks earned many accolades including North Central Region Gymnast of the Year. Going into this conference, she believes her team will be successful and is excited about the new competition.

“I think we have a great chance to be great in this conference,” Brooks said. “We have a lot of great freshmen coming in with amazing talent and we are going to be a great team.”

Going into the 2023-2024 competition season, both White and Brooks believe the team is capable of being successful. They plan to be one of the best in the conference and win their competitions.

“The ultimate goal is to win a championship at the

highest level,” White said. “Being a part of the Mountain West is going to give our student-athletes such a great experience with being able to compete at a high level.”

PHOTO BY Heidi Bingham

The Aggies huddle during their meet against Southern Utah University on February 17, 2023

Emma Becerra is a journalism major from California. Her hobbies include swimming, hanging out with friends and boating. She is on the Utah State soccer team.

USU Baseball builds off success

By Henry Wright SPORTS REPORTER

Utah State’s club baseball team, which operates through Campus Recreation, is receiving national attention. After going undefeated in the regular season and regional championship, they earned the top overall seed in the National Club Baseball Association World Series. The Aggies would go winless in the end-of-season tournament, but head coach Jake Anderson still took a lot of positives from a season that began in Las Vegas at the end of March.

“One of the most telling signs of our season as a whole was our first tournament. Every year we go down to those tournaments, and we’re just coming from playing inside, so I didn’t have high expectations,” Anderson said. “They went down there and they beat up on everybody that we played. And so that was one of those moments like, ‘Oh my gosh, this team is super good.’”

In the tournament, the Aggies faced UCLA, Oregon, Long Beach State, and Arizona State. USU outscored its opponents by a combined score of 38-5 in four games, winning each one.

The Aggies compete in the Northern Pacific East Conference with Boise State, Montana State, Weber State, Idaho State and the University of Montana. USU has emerged as a dominant force within their conference, winning 11 straight conference titles. A large part of their success, according to Anderson, stems from each year’s team building upon the success of the prior year.

“Seeing the program go from being competitive to being dominant in our conference has been really neat to see. One thing that continues is a lot of in-state talent comes in. Nobody’s coming to Utah State just to play baseball,” Anderson said. “Players have seen that we have a competitive club team and when they have their decisions down to a couple of schools…they end up coming to Utah State because it seems really attractive.”

In an environment without recruiting or scholarship offers, being competitive is crucial for the baseball team to retain talent. One of last season’s leaders was senior shortstop and captain Brayden Howard.

Like most others on the team, Brayden did not come to Utah State “just to play baseball.”

“I kind of just discovered it, to be honest. Beforehand, I was at a junior college up in Montana, played two years there, and then wanted to come to USU because my girlfriend was here and they had engineering. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try out and see how the team is,’ and it ended up being one of the best teams I’ve ever played with,” Howard said. Last year, Howard put up gaudy numbers at the

plate. In over 80 plate appearances, he accumulated a .587 batting average while adding 2 home runs and 23 RBIs. He also led the team with 42 runs scored and 15 doubles.

Anderson also praised Howard’s leadership. “Brayden makes the team go. He really does. I’m going to kind of help facilitate some stuff and make sure that they can focus on the games by getting some things scheduled, but on the field — man, they just take care of themselves. We had some incredible leadership, specifically Brayden.”

One of the unique aspects of the team is the sacrifice both players and coaches make to keep things running smoothly. The four-man coaching staff are volunteers, and players pay fees to travel to tourna -

cool experience for us to be a part of,” Howard said. “Parents come in, and they’re blown out of the water and are just amazed by the time and effort and the money that goes into club baseball where nobody’s on scholarship. It’s just so cool.”

The Aggies have been to 4 NCBA World Series tournaments since 2012, and they won the national championship in 2012 and 2014.

Anderson hopes to build off of their back-to-back appearances next year, but they will have some key players to replace — unlike the year before, when the Aggies returned their entire starting lineup.

“I think we’ll fill those holes pretty well. It’s hard to replace the talent of those players, but that’s just

ments and keep the program operating. This creates an environment much different from other scholarship programs at Utah State.

“It’s not all politics. Like if you’re good, you’re going to play,” Howard said. “I played on scholarship at a juco, and it just felt like it was straight business. You weren’t allowed to have fun. You know, you’re there to work. But playing here at USU, it’s like we’re here to have fun.”

Although the season ended with two disappointing losses to UW-Whitewater and Colorado in the NCBA World Series, the experience they had while participating was not lost on the players.

“I was not expecting everything that went into it. They have broadcasters, they have live streams, they have announcers, you get walk-up songs. Just such a

what this program does. Every year, we have somebody like Brayden show up,” Anderson said. “Guys just show, kind of out of nowhere. We will see, because we’ll get to the fall and maybe there will be another great player that shows up in tryouts.”

For more information on the team and their schedule for next season, visit usubaseball.com.

Statesman File Photo Utah State senior second baseman Easton Walker celebrates with teammates after bringing in a run during the USU’s April 13 doubleheader against Idaho State in Pocatello, Idaho.