Raiders’ addition of Richland High grad adds to growing list of area coaches in NFL

Richland High grad Greg Olson is back in the National Football League.

The long-time pro football coach spent the 2024 season on the sidelines after the Seattle Seahawks and head coach Pete Carroll parted ways following the 2023 season.

Olson was Carroll’s quarterbacks coach at the time.

But with Carroll being hired as the Las Vegas Raiders’ newest head coach, one of Carroll’s first moves was to bring Olson back into the fold as his QB coach.

Olson, who will work with new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, started his NFL coaching career in 2001 and has worked for eight different franchises.

He is the third Mid-Columbia product who has taken on a new NFL position this year.

Prosser product Kellen Moore was hired in February to become head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

Moore, in turn, hired Sunnyside grad Scott Linehan to become a senior offensive assistant.

It was Linehan who got Moore into NFL coaching when both men were with the Dallas Cowboys.

College soccer

Columbia Basin College sophomore Olivia Mendoza signed a letter of intent to play for the Oregon Institute of Technology women’s soccer team beginning in the fall.

Mendoza, a midfielder for the Hawks, started in 13 of 15 of CBC’s matches.

Mendoza signed the LOI on April 10.

Prep baseball

River View and Tri-Cities Prep are once again headed for a showdown for the 2B Eastern Washington Athletic Conference East Division regular-season title.

Those two teams — two of the best 2B teams in the entire state — will meet in a season-ending May 2 doubleheader that starts at 3 p.m. at River View High School.

Last year, Prep edged River View 2-1 to win the state title. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the two Tri-City neighbors meet again in the state finals.

Here is a look at the latest 2B EWAC East baseball standings, through games of April 24:

River View 4-0 EWAC East, 14-4 overall

Tri-Cities Prep 2-0, 12-0

Columbia-Burbank 0-2, 5-8

Warden 0-4, 5-10

April 18 — River View 8, Goldendale 2; River View 9, Goldendale 1; Tri-Cities Prep 18, Warden 0; Tri-Cities Prep 11, Warden 0.

April 22 — Columbia-Burbank 12, Waitsburg 9; River View 6, Cle Elum 1; River View 14, Cle Elum 0; Tri-Cities Prep 29, White Swan 0; Tri-Cities Prep 11, White Swan 0.

April 23 — Kittitas at Warden, 4 p.m.

April 24 — Liberty Christian at Tri-Cities Prep, 4 p.m.

Prep basketball

Congrats have to go out to Eli Juarez, the long-time Davis High School boys basketball coach who recently retired after 41 years of coaching.

Juarez finished his career with 534 victories — 313 of them with Davis these past 20 years.

Many long-time Tri-City high school hoops fans know who Juarez is.

He started his coaching career at Dayton, but then moved up to Wenatchee, where his Panthers did battle with this area’s old Big Nine Conference squads.

Eventually, Juarez moved on to his alma mater at Wapato. But in the past 20 years he’s been with Davis, most of those seasons in the current Big Nine after the Tri-City schools, Hermiston and Walla Walla broke off into the Mid-Columbia Conference.

Juarez, who led Davis to the 2012 state championship, was inducted into the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association’ Hall of Fame in 2021.

Raul Alvarado, who has been an assistant coach for years for Juarez, was just recently named the Pirates’ new head coach.

College baseball

Junior Peyton Rickard (Kamiakin) has been a dual weapon this spring for the Corban University baseball team.

At the plate, Rickard is batting .320, and has 44 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. As a relief pitcher, he has appeared in 7.2 innings, has a 3.52 earned run average, and two saves.

Junior outfielder Chase Elliott (Hermiston) has been a regular in the lineup, and is hitting .268 at the plate. Elliott has 2 home runs, 14 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

Other Mid-Columbia connections on the Corban roster are redshirt sophomore infielder Ethan Ammerman (Richland), junior pitcher Tanner Martinez (Walla Walla CC), redshirt junior infielder Alex Swaney (Kamiakin), and sophomore pitcher Avery Williamson (Richland).

The Warriors have a 7-26 record in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, and are 12-34 overall.

College volleyball

Defensive specialist Adree Selley (Walla Walla Community College) signed a letter of intent on March 3 to play for the Walla Walla University women’s volleyball team beginning in August.

▪ Nya Calzadillas (Kiona-Benton/CBC) signed a letter of intent on March 10 to play women’s volleyball for The Evergreen State College, starting this fall.

NWAC athletes of the week

Here the latest area community college athletes of the week, as chosen for the Northwest Athletic Association:

▪ Columbia Basin College’s Lauryn Krick (Puyallup grad) earned Softball Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 24, going 3-0 and straining out 15 batters in 11 innings pitched.

▪ On March 3, CBC’s Leaia Duropan (Hawaii) was named Softball Hitter of the Week. In four games in which the Hawks went 3-1, she hit .667 (8 for 12), scored 8 runs, had 5 RBIs, two doubles, two triples, a home run, and two stolen bases.

▪ On March 17, Walla Walla Community College’s Tyra Price (Meridian, Idaho) was named Softball Hitter of the Week. The Warriors went 3-1 this week, with Price hitting .571 (8 for 14), scored 7 runs and had 10 RBIs. She hit a double, a triple and three home runs.

▪ Also on March 17, CBC’s Brayden Walls (Boise) was named Baseball Pitcher of the Week. In a 1-0 CBC victory over powerhouse Lower Columbia, Walls scattered 2 hits and walked 4 in a complete-game, 9 inning victory. Walls fanned 6 Red Devil batters.

▪ On March 24, WWCC’s Chloe Taber (Pendleton) earned Softball Hitter of the Week. Taber hit an astounding .722 (13 for 18), leading the Warriors to a 4-0 week. Taber scored 9 runs, drove in 7 more, had a double, two triples and a home run. She also stole three bases.