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MARCH 2022
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Desk of Coach Jen Llewellyn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 New Head Football Coach Kalen Deboer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Volleyball Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 UW Women’s Golf — Youth Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Teed Up with UW Men's Golf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 10 Questions with Will Simpson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 History in the Makeing — Terrell Brown Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 UW Softball is Battle Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 The Shot: King of the Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
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FROM THE DESK OF COACH JEN LLEWELLYN VOLUME 15 / ISSUE 3 / MARCH 2022
For Information on Advertising, Please Call Brandon Forbis at (206) 695-2562. GoHuskies Magazine is published five times a year by Huskies Sports Properties, in conjunction with the University of Washington Athletic Department.
GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE Huskies Sports Properties 2825 Eastlake Ave E — Suite 320 Seattle, WA 98102 All material produced in this publication is the property of Huskies Sports Properties and shall not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from Huskies Sports Properties and the University of Washington Athletic Department. Please send all address changes to the attention of Tyee Club at University of Washington; Box 354070; 202 Graves Building; Seattle, WA 98195-4070 or by email at huskies@uw.edu.
H
usky Nation! Washington is absolutely amazing and I couldn’t be happier and more grateful for the opportunity to coach the GymDawgs. I have felt immense support since my first day on campus and am deeply thankful for how Husky nation has welcomed me and my family. How incredible is it to be a Husky? We are a community of people from all over the world who passionately pursue greatness in everything we do. Thank you for inviting me into the Husky family. “Grit before Glory” is a guiding principle for us and our team motto this season. We call ourselves the “Great 48” and aim to work hard to be a part of the legacy that is Washington Gymnastics. Grit can be defined as determination, finding a way to push through despite obstacles, the little things we do when no one is watching, sacrificing our own desires for the team, or persisting when times are challenging. Our team is filled with grit. We love the pursuit of excellence, and know that glory is on the other side of grit. We are building our team culture and fostering it daily. While it is filled with grit and work ethic,
Jen Llewellyn
it is also filled with joy, passion, and purpose. This team is on a mission and eager to get better in all they aspire to do as students, athletes, and as people. This team enjoys being around each other, learning together, and growing together. The future is bright and we can’t wait to continue to bring the magic to Montlake! Thank you for all of your support! Go Dawgs!
EDITOR Dick Stephens WRITERS Bob Sherwin, Mark Moschetti PHOTOGRAPHERS UW Athletics ADVERTISING
Brandon Forbis, Molly Mueller (206) 695-2562 brandon.forbis@ HuskiesSportsProperties.com DESIGN Robert Becker
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GoHUSKIES
With a long history of turning things around, new Husky football helmsman
I
is equal to the task BY BOB SHERWIN • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
n the bucolic southeast South Dakota city of Sioux Falls, 250 miles from the nearest metropolis, crossroads have few stop signs. You can sometimes just roll past without even pausing. Back in the fall of 1998, Kalen DeBoer was rolling through life nowhere else he would rather be. He enjoyed his first gig as head coach of the sophomore team at Sioux Falls’ Washington High School. His team put together an 8-0 record. And on the weekends, he would help coach the varsity. He was comfortable and content, working a job he loved within a state where he had lived his entire life. There were no thoughts on where he would be in a year, in five years, no wild ambitions, no career choices to make, no crossroads to pause or ponder. Continued on page 6
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RESUME COACHING HISTORY Head Coach Record 79-9 3 NAIA Natinoal Championships 3X NAIA National Caoch of the Year •
WASHINGTON Head Coach 2022-
•
FRESNO STATE Head Coach 2020-2021
•
INDIANA Off. Coord. & Assoc.Head Coach/QBS 2019
•
FRESNO STATE Off. Coord. & Asst. Head Coach/QBS 2017-18
•
EASTERN MICHIGAN Off. Coord./QBS 2014-16
•
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Off. Coord./WRS 2010-13
•
SIOUX FALLS Head Coach 2005-09 Off. Coord. 2000-04
•
WASHINGTON H.S. (S.D.) Asst. Coach 1998-99
•
SIOUX FALLS Student Asst. Coach/WRS 1997
EDUCATION •
UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS 1998 Bachelor's in Secondary Education
“I just loved that,” said DeBoer, hired as the Washington Huskies head coach in November. “It allowed me to organize things. You’re learning the ropes, concepts, and the strategy component. They’re counting on you to put things together. Then two years later, in the summer of 2000, DeBoer moved up, but not away, to the University of Sioux Falls. It’s just a three-mile drive away. If you’ve gone past the Dairy Queen Grill and Chill you’ve gone too far. Cougars head coach Bob Young invited him to return to the school — as offensive coordinator — where he was a recordsetting wide receiver (1993-96). Sioux Falls, an NAIA school of 1,600 (35 percent male students), was his big time. “I loved the challenge, changing so many of their lives,” he said. “I enjoy being around people, wearing many hats. I was the equipment guy, video guy, we built lockers, made playbooks. There were no graduate assistants there. You name it, we did it.”
A
s it happened, that same week he also met a woman, Nicole Tendler, a former basketball star at nearby Augustana College. The two married in December 2001, would raise two girls, Alexis and Avery, and settle into a most satisfying South Dakotan lifestyle. In DeBoer’s first season as offensive coordinator, Sioux Falls was 6-4. The program then embarked into a remarkable run for the next decade. The Cougars went to the NAIA national championship game in 2001, the semifinals in 2002 and 2003 and the quarters in 2004. After the 2004 season, Young retired and DeBoer was named head coach. The Cougars went to the national semifinals in 2005 then played in the title game the next four years, winning the championship in 2006, 2008 and 2009. In his five seasons at Sioux Falls, DeBoer’s teams went 67-3, including 49-1 in conference play. Still, he was unmoved. DeBoer was an admirer of former Pacific Lutheran Coach Frosty Westering, the winningest coach in NAIA history. He had read Westering’s book, Make the Big Time Where You Are, and couldn’t be happier with where he was.
PLAYING EXPERIENCE •
SIOUX FALLS Wide Reciever 1993-96 All-American 1996 NAIA Division II National Champion PAGE 6
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He had occasional offers from colleges trying to lure him away, “but I had no intention of going anywhere. It wasn’t about how far you could go. Life is always good when you’re winning.” For DeBoer, born and raised in (Millbank) South Dakota, his entire education experience was within the state, through to Sioux Falls. He and Nicole had built a house in 2007. He had remarkable coaching success and folks around campus loved him. He said, “by 2008, 2009 (back-to-back NAIA champions), we were having such a good time.” However, he was 35 years old in 2009. He had been at Sioux Falls for a decade, winning three NAIA titles and three NAIA coach-of-the-year awards. It was now hard for him to suppress the one big fat question that creeped into his mind — is there something for me beyond these borders? “If I was going to coach at a higher level, I needed experience,” he assessed. “There wasn’t much more I could do. I felt we had accomplished our goals.” He finally answered the call — from Dale Lennon, head coach at Southern Illinois, a program a step just below Division I. DeBoer accepted the role as the Salukis’ offensive coordinator. Thus, it began. After decades in one place, for the next 10 years, DeBoer became one of the college game’s most sought-after coaches, serving as OC at Southern Illinois for four years (2010-13), OC at Eastern Michigan for three years (2014-16), OC/assistant head coach at Fresno State for two seasons (2017-18), OC/assistant HC at Indiana for one season before returning to Fresno in 2020 as head coach. His Fresno team went 3-3 in his first COVID-altered season then 10-3 last season. “I wouldn’t change my path for anything,” DeBoer said. “I learned from so many different people, Coach Young at Sioux Falls, Dale Lennon at Southern Illinois, Chris Creighton at Eastern Michigan, Jeff Tedford at Fresno State, and Tom Allen at Indiana.
Continued on page 8
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“I wouldn’t change my path for anything,” DeBoer said. “I learned from so many different people, Coach Young at Sioux Falls, Dale Lennon at Southern Illinois, Chris Creighton at Eastern Michigan, Jeff Tedford at Fresno State, and Tom Allen at Indiana. They were all guys who won championships or were extremely successful. “You take bits and pieces from every step along the way.”
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THIS PLACE IS A
I’ve seen what 1-11 looks like and I’ve seen what 14-0 looks like,” DeBoer said. “What matters are the little details and how we get there.
PAGE 8
They were all guys who won championships or were extremely successful. “You take bits and pieces from every step along the way.” In a combined seven seasons as head coach, DeBoer’s teams went 79-9 (87-9 including those Washington High sophs). That was the shining object that caught the eye of Washington Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen, the .898-win percentage. As he says, “those programs were better and won more games when I was there than when I wasn’t there.” Indeed, just before he took over as OC at Sioux Falls, the Cougars were 2-8. Within four years, they were 14-0 and on a path to three NAIA titles. Eastern Michigan, as DeBoer explained, “was as tough as it gets.” The Eagles were 7-41 from 2012 to 2015 then went 7-6 in 2016 and earned their first bowl invitation in 30 years. At Fresno State, the Bulldogs were 1-11 in 2016 before he became OC. They went 10-4 in 2017 and 12-2 in 2018. Indiana went from 5-7 to 8-5 and a Gator Bowl appearance in his one-year turnaround at Bloomington. It was the most victories for Indiana in 26 years. This is paramount for the Washington football program, perhaps in its most precarious cir-
cumstance since 2008 when the team suffered through its worst season in history at 0-12. The Huskies were 4-8 last season, fired coach Jimmy Lake and dispatched much of the staff. Current players and recruits are in flux with uncertain allegiances. The roster and 2022 season are left to DeBoer to unscramble. “I’ve seen what 1-11 looks like and I’ve seen what 14-0 looks like,” DeBoer said. “What matters are the little details and how we get there. “Being 4-8 in a place like Washington where it has great resources, that has tradition and history that you can recruit to, that has amazing people and academics, this place is a gold mine,” he added. “They’ve (Huskies) proved that they can win at a very high level.” DeBoer’s other eye-catching quality — what has stoked his reputation through six programs at three levels in his role as either the offensive coordinator or head coach — has been the high offensive proficiency of his multiple pro-spread offense. “The explosive element to it,” he said, “big chunks of yardage at a time. We have a system that creates explosive plays.” He said the system adjusts to any personnel strength. It could be the wide receiver focus one year and tight ends the next, always striving for a powerful running component. And his performance standard is higher than most. “It’s hard to put a lot of points on the board when you are picking up just five yards at a time,” he explained. Think about that. When an offense effectively averages first-down yardage every other play, that just is not enough for him. How about 30 yards and a cloud of dust? Or rubber pellets. “We built that reputation,” he said. “And better players are attracted to you.” When DeBoer says ‘we’ he means those who have joined him on his journey. Chuck Morrell (UW’s co-defensive coordinator/safeties) goes back to South Dakota with him. He played and GoHUSKIES
coached with DeBoer at Sioux Falls and rejoined him at Fresno, and now here. William Inge (co-defensive coordinator/linebackers) was with DeBoer at Indiana and Fresno. Eric Schmidt (special teams/edge) goes back to Southern Illinois and Fresno the past two years. Ryan Grubb (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) was on the staff at Eastern Michigan and two Fresno stints with DeBoer. Nick Sheridan (tight ends) was with him in Indiana while Julius Brown (cornerbacks), Lee Marks (running backs) and Ron McKeefrey (strength) came over from Fresno. “It’s been 20 years of building a staff,” DeBoer said. “Being an assistant at these places allows you to connect with these guys.” It has been a peripatetic journey for DeBoer, from a small pond to the shores of Lake Washington. The Husky nation will be keenly interested in how his humble background, his vast variety of experiences and this collection of coaches can take the UW program to where it can be again. “It’s a little path that most people wouldn’t want to take,” he added. “That’s why I’m proud of my journey. It has taught me so many things along the way.” GoHUSKIES
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Vaulting
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GoHUSKIES
Forward New UW Gymnastics Head Coach
Jen Llewellyn
comes back home to Seattle after a D-II rocket ship ride at the helm at Lindenwood (Mo.)
A
MARK MOSCHETTI • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
s a young gymnast growing up in the Seattle
Llewellyn had with the Huskies, the idea of coaching them
suburb of Kenmore, Jen Llewellyn often
someday was nowhere on her calendar. Until that calendar
would come across to Montlake to watch
turned to last May 24 when she was named as the eighth
whenever the University of Washington had a home meet.
head coach in the school’s 40-year gymnastics history. “It’s
As a national-caliber collegiate performer for Oregon
amazing. It’s very surreal,” the 32-year-old Llewellyn said
State, she would compete against the Huskies numerous
of leading the program she once watched as a child. “It’s
times during her career. Even while serving as an under-
super humbling and really special to be back home, and just
graduate student assistant coach
feel all the emotions. It definite-
at OSU, Llewellyn and the Beavers
ly was a job that I 100 percent
had the UW on the schedule.
couldn’t pass up the opportunity
But for all of those encounters
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to go for it.”
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“It was evident that she has a passion, commitment, and vision for developing young women...” UW Athletic Director Jen Cohen
Given her remarkably successful nine seasons at NCAA Division II Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo., with six Midwest Independent Conference championships, three USA Gymnastics Collegiate national championships, and 64 All-American athletes, the Huskies decided they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go for Llewellyn, either, “It was evident that she has a passion, commitment, and vision for developing young women, both in and out of competition, and the tremendous success she has experienced exemplifies this on every level,” UW Athletic Director Jen Cohen said in a statement on the day Llewellyn was hired. “Those qualities, coupled with her local ties to Seattle and her experience as a studentathlete in the (Pac-12) make her an unbelievable fit for our department.”
?
Business — or Coaching
So many coaches feel a calling to that pursuit after their competition days end. However, that wasn’t Jen Llewellyn. Known then as Jen Kessler, she was a threetime All-American at Oregon State from 2008-11, capping her career with a second-place finish on the uneven parallel bars at NCAA nationals as a senior in 2011. Back in Corvallis the following school year to finish her degree in merchandising management, she was trying to fill her now-open afternoons. “So I went to the gym because that was my passion,” Llewellyn said. “I started helping out wherever I could, moving mats or just observing. I really got to see the other side of what college gymnastics was about and see what coaches do behind the scenes and what went into it. I didn’t see myself as a coach until I took that fifth year. I always thought I wanted to be in the business world and follow after my mom.” Business — specifically, her dream of working in merchandising with a major athletic apparel company — would have to wait. The coaching bug had bitten.
Continued on page 15 PAGE 12
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Thrust Into Lead Role Halfway across the country in Missouri, Lindenwood was getting its gymnastics program started. In the summer of 2012, Llewellyn joined the staff as a graduate assistant while pursuing a master’s degree in communications. In November of that year, the assistant coach left for family reasons. Then, after the inaugural meet on the first weekend of January 2013, the Lions’ head coach stepped down. Just like that, Llewellyn was in charge. “It was me — a 23-year-old — and 11 women, all freshmen,” she said. (A local club coach later came aboard to help with spotting and safety.) “I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the group we had, I fell in love with what I thought was possible with the resources and the location and the community. … People believed in me and believed in us, and it was fun to see what we were able to do there.” What they were able to do in the weeks that followed was take fifth place at the conference meet and bring home a national balance beam champion from the USAG Collegiate nationals. “I had a chance to figure out who I wanted to be as a coach and what impact I could leave for a studentathlete,” she said. “It was trial-and-error, every single meet, every single day. I really learned that if I do want to be in (coaching), who do I want to be? How do I want to treat young women and impact young women and help them figure out who they are as people and who they are as their best selves as an athlete?”
The File Jen Llewellyn • HOMETOWN: Kenmore, Wash. • HIGH SCHOOL: Inglemoor • COLLEGE: Oregon State • AGE: 32 • PREVIOUS COACHING JOBS: Oregon State, 2012 (undergrad student assistant), Lindenwood, 2013-21 (head coach) • Two-time NCAA Division II Regional Coach of the Year (2019, 2021) • Three-time Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year (2015, 2016, 2018) • 64 Women’s Gymnastics Coaches Association All-Americans • 78 All-Conference honorees • 3 Conference Gymnast of the Year honorees • 2 Academic All-Americans • 6 Midwest Independent Conference championships • 3 USA Gymnastics Collegiate national championships
Continued on page 16 GoHUSKIES
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Relationships And Routines “My favorite part of coaching is being able to see an athlete come in freshman year and see them grow through their senior or fifth year, watch them develop, watch them find theirniche,”
PAGE 16
At Washington, Llewellyn takes on a program that is beginning its fifth decade of existence, and returns 10 athletes from last year’s team. Among them are 2021 NCAA Regional all-around qualifier Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, vault / floor exercise qualifier Amara Cunningham, and vault / bars qualifier Geneva Thompson. After opening their schedule with a score of 194.000 at Oregon State on Jan. 15 — inside Llewellyn’s college home of Gill Coliseum — the Huskies added more than a full point just one week later, tallying 195.400 in their home opener against California. “Overall, I think it was a great start,“ Llewellyn said during the week between those two meets. “It was really nice to get a true baseline of where we’re at as a team and how this team competes. “There were so many highs we saw with first-time competitors and people hitting routines for the first time in college in that arena and that atmosphere,” she added. “We left a lot on the competition floor, which is good this early in the season. It allows us a lot of room for growth.” Llewellyn, one of whose assistants is husband Cody Llewellyn, whom she met while at Lindenwood, emphasized that this season will be as much about relationships as it is about routines. “It takes time to get to know someone and truly trust someone, so we’re really being methodical and taking or time in building those relationships so they can see who we are as people in the gym and out of the gym,” she said. Whether it’s regional veterans or freshman going through all of this for the first time, those athletes are the reason Llewellyn is still thrilled to do this every day — even more so now that she’s doing it at Washington. “My favorite part of coaching is being able to see an athlete come in freshman year and seem them grow through their senior or fifth year, watch them develop, watch them find their niche,” she said. “I also love watching them find their passions outside of the gym, watching them go on to bigger and better things once the graduate. “There are days that are frustrating, when it feels like nothing is working,” Llewellyn added. “Then there are those a-ha moments when they get it. “When you have those moments, it’s a reminder of why I do what I do.” GoHUSKIES
6.125 × 9.25 SPINE: 1
FLAPS: 3.5
FEAR NO MAN
DON JAMES, THE ’91 HUSKIES, AND THE SEVEN-YEAR QUEST FOR A NATIONAL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
MIKE GASTINEAU
FOREWORD BY NICK SABAN The inside sTory of one of The mosT elecTrifying college fooTball Teams of all Time augusT 2021 $29.95 HC
GoHUSKIES
“Fans oF the Don James era and anyone who loves college football are in for a gourmet feast. In meticulous yet breezy detail, Mike Gastineau recounts n 1984 the University of Washington the greatest team in Washington HusHuskies won every game but one, rankkies football history. Never-before-told ing second in national polls. For most storiescoaches, about the indomitable Steve Emtsuch a season would be a career man, the irrepressible Joesecond Hobert, pinnacle. But for DonBilly James place and the savviness coordinators motivated him of to set aside what heJim knew about football and Gilbertson rethink the game. Lambright and Keith lightJames up made radical changes to his coaching phithe drama of James’s pinnacle achievelosophy, from recruitment to becoming one ment.”—Art Thiel, Sportspress Northwest of the first college teams willing to blitz
I
on any down and in any situation. His new
“the passage oF time approach initially failed,has yet made it finally culminated inofone the most explosive teams the greatness theof1991 Washington in college football mystical, history. Huskies seem almost and it In Fear No Man, Mike Gastineau takes incredible effort to humanize them recounts the riveting story of Don James while also appreciating their team criminally and the national champion he built. underrated significance college footUndefeated, the 1991 to Huskies outscored opponents by an average of 31 points ball. Mike Gastineau accomplishes thisper game on their way to winning the Rose difficult task and then some in a definiBowl and a national championship. The tive account of these national champions. team included twenty-five future NFL playThis book frames properlygripping all the account dimeners, and in Gastineau’s sions of Don James’s masterpiece of aand they come alive with all the swagger joy they brought to the game. A brilliant team.”—Jerry Brewer, Washington Post examination of one of college football’s coaches and teams, Fear No Man “mikegreatest gastineau pulls back the is the inspirational story of an improbable purplejourney curtain and gives the reader an that led to one classic and unforunvarnished, up-close, and surprising gettable season.
view of what was happening behind the scenes. If you care about University of Washington football, this is a must-read.” —Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times “as someone who has been Fortunate to grow up around the University of Washington, I can recall firsthand how special the ’91 season was. A team and staff led by Don James, an individual who had an incredible impact on me, put together one of the most notable seasons in Husky history that will be forever remembered on Montlake. This book tells that story.”—Jen Cohen, University of Washington Director of Athletics
AvAilAble At bookstores And online · uwApress.uw.edu
PAGE 17
Adithi Anand
Jamie Hsieh
Jenny Chang
Camillle Boyde
Head coach MARY LOU MULFLUR’S young 2022 team is poised to be at the top table — again
Brittany Kwon
Winnie Ng
Hannah Elaimy
Kennedy Knox
Martha Lewis
Stefanie Deng
Chen Chen GoHUSKIES
I
BY BOB SHERWIN • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
t can be confirmed that when the Washington women’s golf team won the NCAA title in 2016, every member on this season’s Husky team was already born. This is to say, with some jocularity, that the Husky women’s team, with coach Mary Lou Mulflur in her 38th season, is remarkably young. It might be among the youngest ever to tee up for the Huskies with five freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and just one senior. It’s the program’s first fully 21st Century team. “We’ll have two freshmen in the lineup every week contributing,” said Mulflur, whose team begins the season Feb. 14 in Las Vegas. Mulflur will have until then to sort out the pecking order among the new and slightly used. “It’s a hard-working team. They want to be as good as they can be,” she added. “They’re not afraid of challenging each other.”
Continued on page 21 PAGE 19
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Mary Lou Mulflur
Among the young expected to show the way is sophomore Camille Boyd, from Yorba Linda, Calif., who went to Shanghai American School. She flashed her potential this past September at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville. Boyd tied for individual second place with the three lowest rounds of her career, 66-70-69. It equaled the third lowest three-round score (11-under) in UW history and the best since Soo Bin Kim shot 11-under in 2012. “Camille had the best fall. She really was outstanding,” Mulflur said. “Two of our freshmen (Jamie Hsieh, Kennedy Knox) got better every week, which is what we want to see.” Hsieh, from Taiwan through Hill International Golf Academy in Australia, had the best showing among the Huskies at the Pac-12 Preview in Hawaii last November. She finished 10th with a three-round score of 230 (73-75-72). Knox, who went to Mt. Rainier in Normandy Park, is coming off a stellar summer in which he won the PNGA Junior Girls, WJGA State, Seattle Women’s Amateur and Washington State Amateur. Also, last fall, Winnie Ng, a junior from Malaysia, finished fifth out of 110 competitors at the Pat Lesser-Harbottle Seattle U. Invitational. After their Feb. 14-15 opener in Las Vegas, The Show at Spanish Trail, the Huskies are scheduled to compete about every two weeks. That will be followed by the Gunrock Invitational Feb. 28-March 1, Juli Inkster Invitational (March 7-8), Ping/ASU Invitational (March 25-27), the Silverado Showdown (April 4-6), and the Chambers Bay Invitational (April 11-12). The Chambers event, co-hosted with Seattle U., is held in advance of the USGA Women’s Amateur Aug. 8-14 at the University Place facility. Mulflur appreciates that the event, featuring the best 144 amateur in the world, is right in their backyard. Boyd or other Huskies might be among the qualifiers. “They (players) were thrilled when they became aware of it,” Mulflur said. “USGA is as good as it gets. It’s a great measuring stick for them.” A week after Chambers, the Pac-12 Championships will be held at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club, the site where six years ago the Huskies won the national title. That will be followed by the NCAA Regionals, beginning May 9, and then the NCAA Championships May 20-25 in Scottsdale. Mulflur, a member of the Women’s Golf Coaches Hall of Fame, has led the Huskies to 27 of the 29 NCAA Regionals that have been contested since their inception in 1993. Her success has a chance to continue as the program has an eye on next fall when touted newcomer Carmen Lim of New Zealand joins the team. “She’s a stud. She will play for us right away,” Mulflur said. “She has ice water in her veins.” Lim won the 2019 New Zealand Stroke Play Championship by seven shots as a 15-year-old. Mulflur and her staff saw Lim play at the Astor Cup in Vancouver, B.C. She was offered a scholarship, she accepted and will be in Seattle this fall along with another newcomer, Angela Park of Pasco. The next youth movement. GoHUSKIES
Jamie Hsieh
Jenny Chang
Adithi Anand
PAGE 21
With
R.J. MANKE
and stable of top Husky linksters, 2022 men’s golf team is grooved in and ready to rumble
BY BOB SHERWIN • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
t was serendipity that R.J. Manke, one of the best collegiate golfers in America, decided last spring to enter the portal as a senior graduate transfer from Pepperdine to Washington to play one final season for his hometown Huskies. UW coach Alan Murray and his Husky players didn’t realize at the time what Manke would bring along with him. Such things as: leadership, motivation, dedication, inspiration, and all those intangibles that tend to benefit a team. “Absolutely,” said Noah Woolsey, a senior from Pleasanton, Calif. “There aren’t enough words to describe what he does for the team. He’s such a good golfer, a good guy and a good teammate.” “I didn’t know what to expect but he had an incredible fall. He pushed me a lot. I don’t like getting beat. He made me a better golfer.” Manke was raised in Lakewood, helping Bellarmine Prep win three state golf titles before he spent four seasons at Pepperdine — the 2021 NCAA champion. He always held onto the idea of returning to the state to play at least one season for the Huskies. The transfer portal and an extra COVID season provided the opportunity.
SENIOR R.J. Manke
GoHUSKIES
Continued on page 24
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SOPHOMORE Teddy Lin
Petr Hruby OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Teddy Lin
SOPHOMORE Taehoon Song
Noah Woolsey OF PLEASANTON, CALIF. PAGE 24
Manke took advantage from the start, finishing third in his first tournament as a Husky last September. He then won two of the next four events. His stroke average was 67.40. He moved to No. 1 in the Golfstat collegiate player rankings and ranks 16th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). “RJ is a great guy, instantly likable,” Murray said. “You see how intelligent he is, how well raised he is. And he’s really passionate about being a Husky.” Manke, Woolsey and junior Petr Hruby, a junior from the Czech Republic, decided to room together this year. From them, the leadership flows. “There have been a lot of eyeballs on him (Manke) and he’s embracing the leadership role. He has a great balance of school and life,” Murray added. “Noah has had an impact as well. It’s been tandem leadership.” Woolsey came into this season after adding a nice prize to his profile. He won the California Amateur last summer in a grueling seven-round competition (two medal play; five match play). “I was not playing well last spring going into the summer, but I won the Cal Amateur and really worked hard to get better,” Woolsey said. “From this time a year ago, I feel way more confident and comfortable.” When Woolsey arrived on campus five years ago in 2017, he admitted “we were bad and not really close. My goal was I wanted to make changes, to have a better culture and a better team. So far, so good.” It is quite a balanced squad with three seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen. Murray, now in his sixth season, said, ‘this is the deepest team I’ve had since I’ve been here.” The team used January for intra-squad competitions to determine the lineup for a season that opened Jan. 24-26 at the Southwestern Invitational in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Based on the fall results, Manke, Woolsey and Hruby should be the three pillars. Sophomores Teddy Lin of Taiwan and Taehoon Song of South Korea each played in five fall matches, and each had identical 71.40 stroke average but Song twice placed in the top 10.
Continued on page 26 GoHUSKIES
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Aifdan O’Hagan FROM SCOTLAND Aidan O’Hagan, a freshman from Scotland, also played in five events — with a third-place finish — but was not as consistent, averaging 72.73 through his 15 rounds. The Huskies, with seven international players on their 11-player roster, will tour the West Coast this spring for prestigious matches against national caliber opponents. After the Southwestern, the Huskies head to Hawaii (Amer Ari) in early February, San Diego (The Lamkin) March 7-8, Eugene (Duck Invitational) March 21-22, Stanford (The Goodwin) March 24-26, and Santa Cruz, Calif., (Western Invitational) April 11-13. What all the players have circled, however, is the Pac-12 Championships April 25-27 at Aldarra Golf Club in Fall City, Wash. Each conference school hosts the tournament every 12 years and this year it’s Washington’s turn. Aldarra is the Huskies’ home course. “For the ‘northern’ schools, you hope to build your competitiveness and sharpness as the season progresses,” Murray added. “We really won’t be as sharp in January as we will be by the end of March.”
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UW BASEBALL STANDOUT
WILL SIMPSON BY BOB SHERWIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
B
aseball is a game Will Simpson has played since he was a tyke growing up on the playgrounds, backyards and cul de sacs in Sammamish. He played it for fun, in youthful passion with his buddies, not realizing that it would be a means for his education and possibly one day, a living. Simpson, a redshirt sophomore first baseman for the Washington Huskies, is preparing for his third full season for UW, which opens its schedule Feb. 18 at Cal Poly. Last season, Simpson led the Huskies with a .310 average while smacking seven home runs and driving in 35. UW Baseball Coach Lindsay Meggs didn’t have to travel far to recruit Simpson, just 20 miles up to the Plateau. He watched Simpson earn first team All-State honors in both 2018 and 2019. After his senior season, he handed Simpson a scholarship while the Pittsburgh Pirates also did him a solid. The Pirates drafted him in the 18th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. “I was very blessed to have that opportunity,” Simpson said. He decided at that stage in his life there was more value in a UW education than the itinerant life of a minor-league ballplayer. Professional baseball will be there again, as he is eligible for the draft after this collegiate season. Perhaps the Pirates will be interested again. Perhaps the hometown Mariners will be as well. Or maybe his all-time favorite team, 2,000 miles away, will be moved to bring him into the franchise.
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Is Pittsburgh now your favorite team, or the Mariners? “I’m actually a (Chicago) White Sox fan. I had the opportunity to be the bat boy for the White Sox at a spring training game when I was like 8-years old. Ever since then I’ve been a White Sox fan. This guy named Josh Fields gave me a broken bat of his. It’s like the only memorabilia I got from that game.’’ You are eligible for the MLB draft again this summer. Would you like the Pirates to commit to you again or perhaps the White Sox or Mariners? “Every kid dreams about playing for their favorite team they grew up rooting for. That (White Sox) would definitely be a dream come true. Every kid (also) dreams about playing for their hometown professional sports team. That (Mariners) would be cool as well.’’ You live in a house with eight Husky baseball players. How crazy is that and can everyone remain on the straight and narrow disciplined life of a college athlete? “We love living together. We have a blast. Everyone has their priorities set in stone. We all want to make sure we have the best chance to have a successful season and get the Huskies back to Omaha.’’
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Did you always play organized ball as a kid or did your neighborhood buddies get together for pickup games? “Just about every night during the summer, me and my friends would play a game of Wiffle Ball out in the cul de sac. We kind of lobbed it in there. We didn’t have a lot of movement on our pitches. We played for a lot of offense.’’ What is your favorite uniform number? “My favorite number is 6. The reason is there are six members of my family. I always like to have a reminder of them wherever I’m playing. I wear 10 right now and some guys on the team have created some pretty cool nicknames for me. They call me ‘10er’ a lot. So, when I had the chance to change numbers this year I thought, ‘I can’t ruin the nickname. I’ll stick with 10.’’’ Did you enter UW with any friends, or teammates or opposing players? “(UW second baseman) Dalton Chandler, one of my best buddies on the team right now, he actually went to high school (Eastlake) just down the road from our school. Throughout our entire childhood we played against each other. It’s been really cool to play together in college. ’’
How did you prepare for this season? “I hit the weight room harder than ever before. I also had the chance to play in the Cape Cod League (wood bats) this past summer. It was a great opportunity for me to play against some of the best talent that college baseball has to offer. ’’
Is it true that you have never traveled outside of the United States? “Not one time. I actually have a lot of family in Bellingham, so I get even closer (to Canada) but never made my way across the border. No travel plans, no family trips. During spring break when everyone goes on vacation, that’s right in the heart of baseball season. I couldn’t miss baseball for the world. ’’
What were your earliest baseball memories, or memories you cherish thus far in your career? “The one I remember most was we were playing Little League All-Stars and I think I was 9-years old. I hit a walk-off grand slam to get to the ‘mercy rule’ against the other team. I don’t remember a walk-off in high school but one of the best moments I had was near the end of my senior season when Cole Hinkelman (now at Stanford) went back-to-back (home runs) in a game. In college, the best moments I had was when I had two walk-offs in one weekend. But I make memories every day with the guys that I’ll never forget.’’
How much do you pay attention to the mental element of the game? “I’ve kind of developed that the past couple months because I realize how important the mental part of the game is. Baseball is 99 percent mental and one percent physical. If I can get a grip on the mental side, it will take my performance to a new level. The Husky program brought in a guy named Brian Cain, who is a well-known mental performance coach. We took his plan and use it for what works for us. When you go through the trials and tribulations, it’s always something to lean on.’’
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After a west coast tour of collegiate stops,
is ready to write his final NCAA chapters in purple and gold BY BOB SHERWIN • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Terrell Brown, Jr., has the basketball now. It has been handed down to him from a long succession of Seattle legends. Decades crammed with players who thrived in the city’s rich and competitive basketball tradition, many with the opportunities, like Brown, to flash their skills at the University of Washington. Continued on page 32
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“It’s great having ‘Washington’ across your chest and look up (to the rafters) and see Brandonand Thomas’ numbers retired. There’s pride there. You can always come back home and feel the love.”
Brown, the Seattle native and Garfield grad, made it to Montlake this season, at 23 years old after playing in three programs at three different levels over the past four seasons. He follows others who have proudly worn the Purple before him: Brandon Roy, Isaiah Thomas, Terrence Ross, Tony Wroten, Nate Robinson, Will Conroy, Donald Watts, Markelle Fultz, Andrew Andrews, Dejounte Murray and Jaylen Nowell, among so many others. Then there are other locals, many also counted among his friends, who slipped away to win conference and national honors such as: Jamel Crawford, Doug Christie, Marvin Williams, Martell Webster, Zach Lavine, Aaron Brooks, and Jason Terry, who played two years at Franklin High with Terrell Brown, Sr. When Junior was born in 1998, he was honored to be his godfather. “Playing for the University of Washington and having those dudes come before me, like Brandon Roy or Will Conroy, whose coaching (assistant) me now, it’s bigger than basketball. It’s the pride of putting on the Purple and Gold. It’s really big. “The whole basketball community in Seattle is like family based, like a brotherhood.” Brown knows all those fellows. From a young age, he watched them. He played with and against some of the city's playgrounds and hardwoods. He’s an old-school vestige, a connection -- and, he hopes, a continuation -- of the program’s glory days. “It’s great having ‘Washington’ across your chest and look up (to the rafters) and see Brandon and Thomas’ numbers retired. There's pride there. You can always come back home and feel the love.” Brown did come home to UW, although it was a crazy circuitous route. At Garfield, he was part of back-to-back state championships (2014-15) then decided to play for Western Oregon, a Division II program. But believing that he was selling himself short, he backed away and decided to take a year off, using it to work on his strength and his grades.
Continued on page 34 PAGE 32
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PAGE 33
“We are getting better each day. We’re more comfortable with each other. We’ve been through everything already,” Brown said. “We come into games wanting to prove people wrong. The biggest thing is we’re consistent in our level of fight.” PAGE 34
He then played one year for Shoreline Community College and led the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) in scoring at 30 points a game. Seattle University took an interest, as Brown spent the next two seasons playing for the Redhawks. He was invited to walk on but quickly earned a scholarship. He led the Redhawks in scoring his first season at 14.1 ppg and followed that by leading his team and the Western Athletic Conference in scoring at 20.7 ppg, 20th best in the nation. At season’s end he told himself, “it was time for me to grow up, get away and see how world operates.” He transferred to Arizona, where his godfather Jason Terry played and was an assistant coach at the time. Brown appeared in all 26 games, had 90 assists and just 23 turnovers, the second-best assists-to-turnovers ratio (3.91) in the country. “In my heart I always wanted to be a Husky,” said Brown, a one-and-out Wildcat. He transferred to UW. “They (Huskies) were at the bottom of the Pac12 last year. What kind of story would it be if me and my friends came back and turned this thing around and turned it over to the next generation?” he said.
Brown was the first to commit then, as a natural point guard, he worked on his assists. He helped convince three other transfers — all players he played with or against in Seattle — to join him with the Huskies. His cousin, Daejon Davis, who played at Garfield, transferred in after four seasons at Stanford. P.J. Fuller, who also played a couple seasons at Garfield before finishing his prep career at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, came over from TCU. Emmitt Matthews, Jr., went to Tacoma’s Wilson High and had played three previous seasons at West Virginia. “It was kind of surreal to have us all on one court together,” Brown said. “We’re all from Washington and we all came back home.” It was, not unexpectedly, a rough homecoming. The four were among seven newcomers trying to get accustomed to playing with each other, in a new system, new terminology, in revised roles and adjusted playing time. The Huskies struggled to a 5-4 record through the first month then ran into Covid issues, forcing the cancellation or postponement of three games. They endured three weeks without playing a game. They found their rhythm in early January with
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a three-game conference win streak. During last season’s 5-21 campaign, their longest win streak was two. Brown has been consistent in his level of scoring. He led the team — and the Pac-12 Conference — in scoring at 20.9 ppg. If he can hold on and win the conference scoring crown, it’s believed he would be among the few — perhaps the only — player to win scoring titles in two D1 conferences (WAC and PAC). Then add his community college (NWAC) title and he might stand alone. “I’m not too aware of it. The biggest thing for me is our team’s wins and losses,” he said. “As a point guard, I could score 20 points or zero points. I don’t care. I only care about the wins.” He has shown he also cares about his city, his school and his teammates. He’s a leader on the court and in the locker room. “It’s super fun. The locker room is loud, happy, with music playing,” he said. Players unwind with video games, but Brown said his teammates’ favorite pastime is a 50-year-old card game called Uno. “It’s the No. 1 game in the locker room right now,” he added. Fittingly, old school.
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TOP DAWG
Statistically speaking, Brown is in a special company Brown has been consistent in his level of scoring. He leads the team — and the Pac-12 Conference — in scoring at 20.9 ppg. If he can hold on and win the conference scoring crown, he would be the fifth player in collegiate history to win scoring titles in two D-1 conferences (WAC and PAC). (See chart). He would be just the second — to Jarvis Hayes — to do it with two different teams in two separate conferences. Then adding Brown's community college (NWAC) scoring title and he would stand alone. “I’m not too aware of it. The biggest thing for me is our team’s wins and losses,’’ he said. “As a point guard, I could score 20 points or zero points. I don’t care. I only care about the wins.’ Div I, Players to Lead 2 Different Conferences in Points Per Game — Since 1996-97 (minimum 75% of team games played to qualify) Player Jarvis Hayes
Seasons Leading Conf. 1999-00 (Western Carolina/Southern), 2001-02 (Georgia/Southeastern)
Chris Davis
1999-00 (North Texas/Big West), 2001-02 (North Texas/Sun Belt), 2002-03 (North Texas/Sun Belt)
Tim Smith
2004-05 (East Tennessee State/Southern), 2005-06 (East Tennessee State/Atlantic Sun)
Doug McDermott
2011-12 (Creighton/Missouri Valley), 2012-13 (Creighton/Missouri Valley),
2013-14 (Creighton/Big East)
Terrell Brown Jr.
2019-20 (Seattle/Western Athletic), 2021-22 (Washington/Pac-12)
As you can see, Hayes is the only other one who did so at two different schools (the others stayed at the same school but their school switched conferences) PAGE 35
With a schedule that is the toughest in the NCAA and talent filled to the brim,
UW
SOFT BALL IS BATTLE READY Jadelyn Allchin
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CHALK
FULL BY MARK MOSCHETTI • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Anyone. Anytime. Anywhere. When coach Heather Tarr puts together a schedule for her national power University of Washington softball team, she doesn’t shy away from top-caliber opponents. Arkansas? Bring ’em on. Oklahoma State? Let’s play. Tennessee or LSU or Missouri? See ya on the field. And that’s before tangling with the likes of UCLA, Arizona, Oregon, or anyone else in the perennially potent Pacific-12 Conference. The only opponent Tarr doesn’t ever want to come up against anymore is the Coronavirus pandemic. The same pandemic that wiped out the 2020 season just a month after it got started, with 23 wins in the first 25 games. The same pandemic that limited her scheduling options in 2021. Continued on page 38
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BATTLE
Olivia Johnson
READY
Baylee Klingler
Sami Reynolds
Jadelyn Allchin Gabbie Plain
For the upcoming 2022 season, with her entire pitching corps back from last spring, and a slew of solid hitters also returning, Tarr and the Huskies are ready to take on anyone … anytime … anywhere. “We’re probably going to play one of the nation’s toughest schedules, not only in pre-conference, but also in conference,” said Tarr, whose team is ranked No. 7 in the preseason poll that was released on Jan. 18, and whose non-conference slate includes seven opponents in the top-25 (plus four top-25s in the Pac-12). “We’re looking forward to the growth through those challenges. It’s just our ability to weather the storm and grow through it.” Weathering that storm starts in the circle with reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Gabbie Plain. Now in her fifth year thanks to the NCAA waiver that was granted to all spring sports athletes whose 2020 seasons were cut short by covid, the Australian native put together a 32-4 record with a 1.45 earned-run average and 337 strikeouts in 2021. While Plain got the start in 37 of UW’s 59 games, Kelley Lynch, now a junior, started 12 (when she wasn’t starting at first base). She went 5-7 with a 4.50 ERA and 69 strikeouts. Fifth-year Pat Moore (4-0 in 15 appearances), junior Brooke Nelson (2-0 in 12 appearances), and sophomore Sarah Willis (2-2 in 15 appearances) also return. Whoever has the ball will be throwing it to a different catcher, now that Morganne Flores, who was second in UW history for RBIs and third in home runs, has completed her career. Sophomore Jenn Cummings and freshman Olivia Johnson will be vying for that spot. “For the most part, we’re a pretty young team,” Tarr said. “But I’m excited for their future and their development, having to replace some legends on the team.” Speaking of replacing legends, that’s also the case with the departure of all-everything shortstop Sis Bates. The three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, who played every inning of all 59 games last season, didn’t go too far — she’s serving as a student assistant coach. But her days of anchoring the middle infield for Washington are done. Freshmen Rylee Holtorf and Kinsey Fiedler will be among those contending for playing time.
Continued on page 40
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BATTLE
SilentRain Espinoza
READY Even with the departures of Bates (.389 batting average, 55 runs scored) and Flores (.337 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs), the Huskies return some pop at the plate. Topping that list is senior infielder Baylee Klingler. She led the Huskies with a .416 batting average in 2021, including team highs of 56 runs scored, 16 homers, 137 total bases, and a .507 on-base percentage. Senior outfielder Sami Reynolds hit .337 with 43 runs scored, 12 homers and 39 RBIs, and senior infielder SilentRain Espinoza batted .314 with 12 runs scored and 11 RBIs. Junior outfielder Jadelyn Allchin hit .301 with 22 runs scored and 24 RBIs. “It’s nice to have the experience of Sami and Jadelyn and SilentRain — they’re going to be kind of the staples for us as we grow this young offense and figure out where everybody fits,” Tarr said. “Baylee comes to mind as a very big key to our offense — she has been an amazing player for us every year she has been with us.” Along with a loaded schedule for her UW team, Tarr’s own schedule is loaded. In October, she was named the head coach of the USA Softball National Team, and will guide that squad this August at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. The roster includes Sami Reynolds. “It’s a huge opportunity for my personal growth to be able to be around the nation’s best players,” Tarr said. “It’s definitely a challenge, because you can’t be in two places at once, “But it’s a welcome challenge, for sure.”
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Photographs by RED BOX PICTURES
KING OF THE COURT
Clement Chidekh celebrates a point in his match against Ohio State — the junior became the first Husky to ever earn the ITA’s No. 1 ranking in the country after his torrid start to the season.
To purchase Husky Athletics photography, visit www.HUSKIESPHOTOSTORE.com
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