It has been quite a year for Cougar sports.
Football made the Holiday Bowl and defeated Washington in the Apple Cup. Men’s basketball had its best start in years, going 13-3 before losing at home to Pacific in overtime and struggling with injuries the rest of the way.
In the water, swimming sent three Cougs to the NCAA championships including junior Enily Lundgren, who won her preliminary race in Federal Way, Washington, and was named Mountain West Swimmer of the Year and an All-American Honorable Mention this year. Back on land, Evans Kurui qualified for the NCAA cross country championships and was named WCC Men’s Cross Country Co-Runner of the Year.
Women’s sports had more success with golf star sophomore Alice Johansson, who was named to the All-West Coast Conference team and had a team-best three top-10 finishes including a pair of individual titles. The men’s and women’s track teams captured first and second at the MFSP indoor track championships and sent Micaela De Mello to the NCAA indoor championships.
With commencement approach and a successful year of athletics wrapping up, now would be a good time to recognize the most impactful seniors from this last year. Here are the top ten senior athletes from the 2024–25 year:
10. Ethan Price, forward, men’s basketball
Price and teammates Cedric Coward, LeJuan Watts and Dane Erikstrup followed their head coach, David Riley, when he was hired at WSU away from Eastern Washington University and had a strong senior season. Price was the team’s third-leading scorer this past season, averaging 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds on 38.2% shooting from beyond the arc. The Englishman formed a formidable frontcourt duo with Erikstrup as the Cougs went 19-15 in Riley’s first season.
9. Will Cresswell, catcher, baseball
The long-time WSU catcher is second on the team in batting average this season at 0.354 (min. 100 at-bats). Cresswell has already hit four home runs and leads the team with 36 RBI. Last week he was named Buster Posey Award Midseason Watch List and his 11 runners caught stealing is second in the Mountain West. The Posey award is given to Division I’s best collegiate catcher.
Cresswell has started 105 out of 120 possible games since his freshman year and was named to the same watch list in 2023. Cresswell steadily improved his batting average each season.
8. Ashley Hollenbeck, sprinter, track and field
On a team full of talented runners, Hollenbeck has been a standout for the Cougs. Hollenbeck finished top three on six different occasions during the indoor season and running a personal-best 11.79 seconds in the 100-meter dash in the Cougar Classic. Hollenbeck had two second-place and one first-place finish at the Cougar Classic. Hollenbeck has been running at WSU for four years.
7. Kyle Thornton, linebacker, football
Thornton is the ultimate definition of a come-up story. A five-year Coug, Thornton started as a walk-on before earning a scholarship spot in 2021 and later elevating to a team captain in 2024. Thornton was named to Lombardi Award Watch List and nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the country’s best former walk-on. Thornton was third on the team with 71 tackles last season and had the game-sealing tackle to force a turnover on downs and secure the 2024 Apple Cup.
6. Nadia Cooper, goalkeeper, soccer
Cooper’s senior season was not the strongest of her career, but she left a lasting mark on Todd Shulenberger’s storied program. Cooper was named to All-WCC Second Team in 2024 and won a WCC Defensive Player of the Week while posting a 1.08 goals allowed average. The Houston native started her career off strong, winning Pac-12 Freshman and Goalkeeper of the Year.
Cooper finished her career sixth in program history with 217 career saves, third in career shutouts and third in career wins. She started 71 of 73 career games at WSU and recently signed with USL W League club, Minnesota Aurora FC.
5. Grayson Lynch, forward, soccer
Another Cougar soccer player makes the list and this time it is a team co-captain Lynch. The fifth-year redshirt was the team’s points leader in 2024 with four goals and five assists and was named to All-WCC First Team. Lynch finished her career with 97 matches played, second-most in program history and one shy of tying the school record. Lynch played in the 2019 College Cup as a freshman and scored 21 career goals.
4. Micaela De Mello, hurdles, track and field
De Mello capped off her collegiate career with an excellent indoor season, competing at the NCAA indoor championships in the 60-meter hurdles. The Brazilian native matched her personal best and was just 0.01 seconds shy of a program record to advance to the final of her event. De Mello would proceed to finish fourth in the final. She also finished first and second in her events at the MPSF indoor championships.
De Mello holds the freshman and program record for the 100-meter hurdles at 12.98 seconds and is a Brazilian national champion.
3. Katy Ryan, opposite, volleyball
While Ryan worked through recovering from shoulder surgery in the 2024 season, she still ended her career as one of the best players in program history. Ryan led the team in kills and points on her way to an All-WCC First Team selection alongside fellow senior Sage Brustad. She was also fifth in the conference in kills and points per set.
Ryan finished her career sixth in attack percentage, seventh in points and 10th in sets played in program history. Ryan helped the Cougars to the NCAA tournament in each of her first three seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2023.
2. Tara Wallack, guard/forward, women’s basketball
Wallack saw career success similar to Ryan’s and came into her own during her senior year. The Canadian forward averaged a career-high 12.5 points and 6.7 rebounds on her way to an All-WCC First Team selection. Wallack’s 1.9 blocks per game was good enough for second in the conference.
The Cougs made the postseason in every year Wallack played, including two NCAA tournament appearances, a WBIT runner-up finish and a WNIT appearance. Wallack was the first Coug in the program’s history to reach 4,000 minutes and finished second in blocks all-time.
1. Kyle Williams, wide receiver, football
Getting drafted by an NFL team earns you the No. 1 spot. After concluding one of the best offensive seasons in WSU history, Williams was drafted in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft by the New England Patriots.
Williams was named to the Senior Bowl after leading the team with 70 catches for 1,198 yards and 14 touchdowns. Williams had the first 1,000-yard receiving yard season for WSU since 2019 and his total was fourth in the team’s single-season history. His touchdown mark was second in WSU single-season history and his five 100-yard games was 10th. Williams capped off the season by breaking former Dallas Cowboy Dez Bryant’s Holiday Bowl receiving yards record with 172 yards on 10 catches.
