As January comes to an end, it is time to grade the Cougars’ athletic achievements on the month.

In Football, WSU continued to take major steps as they built an entirely new coaching staff to support Jimmy Rogers. They added Jesse Bobbit to be the defensive coordinator and Danny Freund to be the offensive coordinator, along with nine other coaches and various support roles.

Zevi Eckhaus announced he would be staying in Pullman, giving the Cougs their QB1 of 2025, and the team brought in over a dozen transfers from South Dakota State as they filled out their depleted roster. It was ultimately a quite successful month for Cougar football. Grade: B

In men’s basketball, WSU started the month strong with a Quad 2 win over San Francisco at home. However, the team suffered a pair of losing streaks, including two losses against Pacific (Quad 4) and a 28-point beat-down at Santa Clara. With any hopes of a potential NCAA tournament appearance hanging by a thread, the team set themselves back in January. Grade: C-

In women’s hoops, the Cougars had a solid month, with a trio of road wins against Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara and San Francisco propelling them into a five-way tie for first place in the WCC. That was followed by a pair of defeats at the hands of Portland and LMU, setting the Cougs back. Grade: B-

Overall, WSU had a somewhat successful month in athletics, which was also boosted by the announcement of a new NIL collective, the Next Chapter. But the losing streaks at the end of the month from both basketball teams will give the final week of January a sour taste. Grade: B-