WSU Baseball: MLB Draft picks Brandon White, Ky Bush to attend WSU, play for Cougars
From WSU Sports Info
PULLMAN, Wash. – A pair of Washington State Baseball incoming freshmen both chose to attend WSU after both were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft last month.
Right-handed pitcher Brandon White (6-8, 200) out of W.F. West High School was drafted in the 14th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush (6-5, 225) out of Fremont High School in Utah was selected in the 40th round by the Kansas City Royals.
“Brandon and Ky are great kids who come from great families and we are very excited they chose to attend Washington State,” head coach Marty Lees said. “Brandon and Ky will provide a boost to an already great incoming recruiting class who chose WSU to help us compete for championships and prepare themselves for professional baseball.”
White was named to the All-USA Washington second team and was Co-Most Valuable Player of The Chronicle’s All-Area Baseball Team, sharing the honor with fellow incoming Cougar freshman left-handed pitcher Tyson Guerrero. White went 7-2 with a 0.34 ERA, recorded 92 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 55 innings and was also named The Olympian’s Senior Male Athlete of the Year.
“I am excited to head to Washington State, meet new people, play the game I love and help WSU compete for a national championship,” White said. “I’ve always been a Coug fan, I really like the city of Pullman, the coaching staff and the Washington State campus. College is a great route to go, it will give me a chance to further my education, compete at a high level in the Pac-12, develop as a pitcher and prepare for a career in professional baseball.”
Bush was named to the All-USA Utah Second Team and the Standard-Examiner All-Area Most Valuable Player. Bush went 5-2 with a 2.51 ERA and recorded 57 strikeouts in 39 innings. Bush also hit .308 with team-highs in RBI (22), doubles (6) and home runs (4).
“I loved Washington State on my official visit. The campus was great, the atmosphere was great, I loved the coaching staff and I wanted to pitch in the pac-12,” Bush said. “I chose to go to WSU because I wanted to get my degree. WSU felt right, it felt like the right decision. All the young the guys get along well and we are excited to be a Coug!”
Ten members of the Washington State Baseball incoming freshman class were recently named to All-USA State teams.
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UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS
New continuous contract options added for faculty
July 11, 2018 WSU Insider
By Todd Mordhorst, Office of Provost
The new academic year will bring changes that could make the stress and uncertainty of temporary annual contracts a thing of the past.
Beginning in August, college administrators at WSU will be able to offer what are being called continuous contracts to clinical and assistant professors and instructors as a result of a change in the faculty manual sought by the Faculty Senate. Previously, the only option available was a temporary contract, often for just one year, leaving nearly half of the University’s faculty uncertain whether they’d be returning each fall.
“What I saw from some colleagues was a period of stress that started in April and lasted until they got their contracts, which sometimes wasn’t until October,” said Judi McDonald, who as chair of the Faculty Senate helped pushed for the change. “Some of them had worked here much longer than I had and they’re going through the stress of their contracts, waiting on the paperwork.”
The level of anxiety concerned McDonald and others on the Faculty Senate and they spent four or five years exploring options. The new continuous contract helps provide greater certainty for faculty but maintains flexibility for administrators.
Brendan Walker chaired the Faculty Affairs Committee, which worked on re-wording the relevant section of the Executive Policy Manual addressing the change.
“It will give these faculty members additional options, and additional security,” Walker says. “It creates a new continuous track, whereas before everyone in that classification was on a temporary track.”
The Office of the Provost was an ardent supporter of the shift.
There are other efforts in the works, and recently implemented, that aim to better recognize the contributions of clinical, assistant, and instructional faculty. Awards have been added in recent years to recognize outstanding instruction, and other vital contributions to the University’s success.
Walker points out that the continuous track is advantageous for colleges, as well as the faculty members. The continuous contracts allow for more stability and should help with long-range planning. The new track extends the notification period for non-reappointments of faculty without cause, which will help reduce potential gaps in employment.
“WSU is a haven for really quality people that are going to be committed and dedicated,” Walker says. “This was a really fantastic example of the faculty senate and administration working together to create positive change. And in terms of WSU’s overall mission and goals, this type of policy will allow us to attract better people and keep better people.”
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(Edited version of original story)
Network capacity to increase 10 fold on Pullman campus
July 11, 2018 WSU Insider
PULLMAN, Wash. – It will be life in the fast — or at least faster — lane on the WSU Pullman campus starting Saturday, July 14, when Information Technology Services begins transferring all data and voice network services from its current decade-old, 10-gigabit-per-second equipment to its new 100-gigabit-per-second infrastructure.
A 10-fold increase in capacity, which ITS compared to going from driving on a single-lane road, to a 10-lane highway.
WSU Pullman’s network cabling equipment provides data transportation via emails, voice network services and more. However, with increasing data demands, the university’s aging cable system poses potential data traffic issues.
The plan is to roll the transfer out in four phases, July 14-29.
It is estimated that this 10-fold increase in network capacity is necessary to support the next seven to ten years of network applications, data growth and equipment updates. The process will be done according to a schedule and could result in brief network service interruptions:
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Dr. Amy Nielsen elected as Executive Director of the PAC-12 Academic Leadership Coalition
July 11, 2018 WSU Insider
Dr. Amy Nielsen, Clinical Assistant Professor in Chemistry and Executive Secretary of the WSU Faculty Senate, has been elected to a three-year term as Executive Director of the PAC-12 Academic Leadership Coalition.
The mission of the PAC-12 Academic Leadership Coalition is to improve the effectiveness and responsiveness of each member school’s shared governance organization and to facilitate academic and research cooperation that is jointly beneficial to participating institutions.
In her role, Dr. Nielsen will coordinate PAC-12 ALC staff support, assist in collaborative project implementation, liaise with institutional member institutions, and archive all final collaborative projects for the organization. Dr. Nielsen has a strong commitment to academics and service, and plans to turn that commitment into real action to support all faculty represented by the PAC-12 ALC.
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WSU men’s basketball
Washington State to take part in pre-Christmas Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic
UPDATED: Tue., July 10, 2018, 5:26 p.m.
Washington State head basketball coach Ernie Kent, center left, talks to his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, in Eugene, Ore. (Chris Pietsch / AP)
By Theo Lawson S-R of Spokane
PULLMAN – Washington State announced Tuesday it will take part in the four-team 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, a two-day tournament held Dec. 22-23 at the Orleans Arena.
Drake, New Mexico State and San Diego will join the Cougars in Las Vegas for the final rounds of the tournament. All four teams are guaranteed four games and WSU will host the first two games of the event at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman before traveling to Vegas for the final two.
The Cougars own a 3-1 overall record against teams in the tournament, with two wins and a loss against San Diego and one win over Drake. WSU has never played New Mexico State, the only 2018 NCAA Tournament qualifier from the Las Vegas Classic field.
The past champions of the tournament are Kansas State (2008), Alabama (2009), New Mexico (2010), Baylor (2011), Colorado State (2012), UNLV (2013), Loyola Illinois (2014), SMU (2015), USC (2016) and San Francisco (2017).
FS1 will air the consolation and championship games on Dec. 23. Tickets for the final rounds can be purchased through the WSU Athletics ticket office, through the Orleans Arena box office or online at www.orleansarena.com.
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Buffzone
CU football opponent preview: Washington State aims to maintain success
Cougars trying to find their new normal
By Brian Howell
BuffZone.com Writer
Posted: 07/10/2018 08:04:38 PM MDT
CU opponent preview:
For years, it seemed as if Washington State might never find a way to win in football.
From 2004-12, the Cougars went through a losing stretch with which Colorado could sympathize.
Washington State has enjoyed a run of success the past three years, however, and the challenge for this year will be to keep it going. This month, Buffzone.com is previewing each of Colorado's opponents, with this installment focusing on the Cougars, who visit Folsom Field on Nov. 10.
Under the direction of head coach Mike Leach, the Cougars have gone 26-13 overall the past three years and their 19-8 Pac-12 record has been topped only by Stanford and Southern California, which have both gone 21-6 in that stretch.
Although Luke Falk, who directed many of the wins over the past few years and finished his career as the Pac-12's all-time passing leader, graduated, there was plenty of excitement about Tyler Hilinski, who played well when given a chance.
The Cougars, however, tragically lost Hilinski, who committed suicide in January. Coaches and players, obviously, have spent much of the offseason dealing with the death of their teammate and friend. Hilinski is sure to be on the minds of the Cougars and their fans throughout this next season, and his absence was felt throughout spring practices.
In the spring, senior linebacker Peyton Pelluer told USA Today, "It's been a process. I think we made it over the hump, so to speak. It's never going to be perfect. The hardest part was finding that new normal."
Wazzu is now starting over at quarterback. Juniors Trey Tinsley and Anthony Gordon, both JUCO transfers with no game experience at Wazzu, led the way in the spring, and receiver Dezmon Patmon told media in the spring, "Everybody (at quarterback) has kind of stepped up."
The job, however, might wind up going to Gardner Minshew, a graduate transfer from East Carolina who arrived in Pullman this summer.
"This is an opportunity to compete for a (starting) job on a very good team with a staff that I've always looked up to and respected," Minshew told Sports Illustrated in March. "I've got goals as an (aspiring) coach but also as a player, and my goal right now is to get a shot in the NFL. And I think this will give me a good opportunity at that."
Minshew, or whoever takes snaps, will have plenty of weapons. Although just four starters are back on offense, six players with 30-plus catches in 2017 are back, and James Williams is one of the most versatile running backs in the Pac-12.
In his 16 seasons as a head coach, Leach has always had explosive offenses, but what really put the Cougars over the top the past three years was their defense. Former coordinator Alex Grinch, who left in the offseason for Ohio State, made an immediate impact upon his arrival in 2015.
Washington State gave up 38.6 points per game in 2014, but never yielded more than 27.7 under Grinch, and they got better every year under his direction.
Former Minnesota head coach Tracy Claeys was hired in the offseason to run the defense, and he's kept most of the terminology intact. With Pelluer, defensive end Nnamdi Oguayo and safety Jalen Thompson leading the way, the Cougars also have some talent on that side of the ball.
Certainly, it will take some time for the Cougars to adjust to significant changes to its roster and staff, but Leach has been through this before. He took Texas Tech to 10 consecutive bowl games from 2000-09.
Leach now faces the challenge of maintaining the success he's found in Pullman.
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