Washington state staff talks Cougar athletics in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — The Washington State University tour rolled into town Thursday evening to talk Cougar athletics and stir up the fan base for future events.

The Voice of the Cougars Matthew Chazanow made the call to an estimated 40 Coug fans at The Links at Moses Pointe Mulligan’s Restaurant, introducing Cougar football assistant coaches Drew Hollingshead (offensive graduate assistant) and Darcel McBath (defensive quality control), as well as women’s soccer head coach Todd Shulenberger.

It was also a chance to welcome home Moses Lake graduate Alysha Overland, who helped led Community Colleges of Spokane to the 2015 NWAC championship and who now plays for Shulenberger at Washington State.

Unfortunately, Overland’s hero’s welcome was bittersweet. She hobbled in on crutches, having suffered a medial collateral ligament injury in spring ball and will redshirt. Overland set the Spokane scoring record (29 goals) en route to the 2015 Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer championship.

“I need a better story,” she said with a laugh. “I was running for a loose ball during a spring ball and this girl hit me on the side of my leg,” said Overland, a two-time Columbia Basin Big Nine Player of the Year as a junior and senior. “Making the jump to Pac-12 soccer is a lot of fun. I think I could have jumped right in after high school, but going to Community College of Spokane gave me that college experience first and that helped the adjustment, so I definitely had the benefit of that too.”

That was one of the things Shulenberger made clear to Coug fans in attendance is that his recruiting efforts are to lock down the state of Washington and maintain their dominance over the University of Washington, whom they’ve beaten 13 consecutive matches. How he intends to do that is with recruits like Overland.

“One of the reasons we’re so pleased with recruiting in the Pacific Northwest is the caliber of players like this young lady sitting right here,” he said, motioning to Overland at a nearby table.

“I started looking at area talent and Alysha’s name kept coming up. We watched film and I saw a goal scorer right there in Spokane. She’s one of those fine players, hard working, we’re going to redshirt her and see her get healthy and come back to us ready to go.”

The Cougars women’s program has advanced to the NCAA Championship in six of the last seven seasons, including second-round appearances in 2009 and 2011. Last season, Washington State posted its fourth-straight season of double-digit victories and finished tied for fifth in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cougs hosted an NCAA postseason match for the second-consecutive season.

Pullman is quickly becoming Lone Star State north with the new additions to the coaching staff. McBath, who begins his first season on the football staff, actually played for Mike Leach at Texas Tech (2004-08). He spent the 2016 season as a quality control intern at North Texas, working with defensive backs. McBath, who spent five seasons in the NFL after being a second-round selection by the Denver Broncos (2009), spent a season in Jacksonville and two in San Francisco. McBath, who led the nation in interceptions in 2008, also played in Super Bowl XLVII as a member of the 49ers.

Hollingshead played his college ball at the University of Houston, where he played quarterback and graduated in three years with a degree in sports administration in August 2012. He brings a certain expertise both on the field and in the classroom to Leach’s staff.

And of course, Shulenberger was an associate head coach at Texas Tech prior to coming to Pullman to coach in the Pac-12. The Wazzu Tour might have Texas ties, but they all had the same battle cry, “Go Cougs.”