Eastern Washington University’s volleyball team’s match against Portland State on Nov. 21 was the final EWU fall sport event this year, and the 3-0 victory ended the fall season on a high note for Eastern Athletics. One Eagle was named the Big Sky MVP for her sport, and multiple other athletes earned All-Conference honors.
Football
The EWU football season started slowly, as the Eagles lost their first three games, which were all non-conference road games. However, the team finished with a solid 4-4 record in conference games, which included a three-game winning streak between Oct. 4 and Oct. 25. Their overall record was 5-7, and they finished seventh in the Big Sky.
Defense was the team’s highlight. EWU’s 15 interceptions were the second-most in the conference, ranked behind only Montana. Sophomore safety Jaylon Jenkins tied for the conference lead with 5 interceptions. He was rewarded with a Big Sky All-Conference first team selection.
The Eagle defense also saw graduate student linebacker Read Sunn be selected to the All-Conference second team after ranking fifth in the Big Sky with 96 total tackles. Junior defensive tackle Isaiah Perez and junior safety Drew Carter were Honorable Mentions.
The offense had standouts as well. Senior tight end/fullback Landon Cooper earned a second-team selection after setting career highs with 22 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Junior offensive lineman Dylan Conner and sophomore quarterback Nate Bell earned Honorable Mentions.
Senior punter Landon Ogles represented EWU’s special teams by earning an Honorable Mention. His 78 punts, 3167 yards, and 25 punts inside the 20 all topped the conference.
The team improved upon last season, when they went 3-5 in conference play and 4-8 overall. In total, EWU football had eight players named to the Big Sky All-Conference team this season, compared to ten in 2024.
Soccer
Eastern Washington University’s highest-placing team in the Big Sky standings was the soccer team. The team continued its rebuild from the 2023 season, where they won just two games and were in last place in the Big Sky.
Last season, EWU finished the regular season in third place with 15 points. The Eagles finished in 3rd place again this year after earning 13 points throughout the conference season by going 4-3-1. Their overall record was 8-7-4.
Senior midfielder/forward Delani Walker shared Co-Offensive MVP honors with Northern Arizona’s Micala Boex after scoring nine goals and having 24 total points. Both statistics were first in the conference.
EWU sophomore defender Iris Mattern and junior midfielder Kendall Moore were named All-Big Sky second team members, while senior goalkeeper Kamryn Willoughby, senior defender Riley Arribas, and sophomore midfielder Dakota Harris earned Honorable Mentions.
Senior forward Chloe Pattison also helped an Eastern offense that scored the third-most goals in the Big Sky. Her 6 assists and 15 total points both ranked 6th in the conference. She also finished fourth with 25 shots on goal.
EWU soccer’s season ended on Nov. 5 after the team lost 1-2 in the first round of the conference tournament to sixth-seeded Northern Arizona.
Volleyball
In 2025, EWU volleyball took a step back compared to last season. In 2024, the volleyball team finished the regular season ranked fifth in the Big Sky and had an overall record of 12-15. This season, the team was last in the conference at 3-25.
Eastern’s best stretch was their two-game winning streak from Sep. 13 to Sep. 18. The Eagles defeated Pacific 3-2 in their final game of the Nevada Invitational and Seattle U 3-2 in the first game of the Eastern Volleyball Tournament.
The team lost its first 15 games of the Big Sky Conference schedule, but finished strong with a 3-0 victory against Portland State in the final match of the season.
EWU was led by junior outside hitter Kalista Lukovich, who was named to the All-Big Sky second team in 2024. She led the team in kills with 227. Her 362.5 points were the 6th most in the Big Sky.
Redshirt junior setter Anna Bolich tallied the most assists on EWU. Despite this being her first season playing in a collegiate match, she totaled 634 assists and ranked 8th in the conference.
Cross Country
The season got off to a quick start for EWU’s cross country teams. In the first meet of the year, the Clash of the Inland Northwest, the women’s team placed second, and the men’s team finished in third.
The women also finished second at the Cougar Classic, the team’s second meet. Senior Nattie Ruzauskas was the Eagles’ top runner. She finished in 11th place, just ahead of seniors Rylee Brandon and Rhiannon Davies, who placed 14th and 15th, respectively.
The men’s best meet was the final regular-season meet. They won the George Oja Invitational behind top-10 finishes from seniors Conner Wirth (fourth) and Marcus Lemon (seventh).
At the Big Sky XC Championship, the men finished seventh and the women eighth. Wirth was again the men’s top finisher. He completed the 8K race in 25:43 to place 37th. Freshman Grant Fournier placed 38th. Junior Sara Sanders ran the 5K in 17:51 and placed 31st to pace the EWU women.
The Eagles finished the season by competing in the NCAA West Regional XC Championship. Led by Wirth’s 97th-place finish, the men placed 25th out of 30 teams. Sanders was the highest-placing EWU woman. She finished in 124th as the team placed 28th out of 38 teams.
Golf
Both the men’s and women’s golf teams competed in four tournaments during their Fall schedule. In the spring, they will each go to five tournaments before competing in the Big Sky Conference Championships.
The 2025 season is the first time EWU has fielded a men’s golf team since 2002. In the team’s first tournament in 23 years, they placed 10th out of 12 teams at the Palouse Collegiate.
The men’s best tournament was the Mark Simpson Invitational in Colorado. The team finished in 13th place out of 19 teams. Freshman Cal Anderson shot a 210 (6 under par) to lead Eastern Washington with a 21st-place finish.
The women’s strongest performance came in their first meet, the Yellowstone Intercollegiate in Bozeman, Montana. In a field of 11 teams, the Eagles placed seventh. Sophomore Berkely Ledesma finished 15th at the end of the three-day tournament.
