HILLSBORO, Ore. – Willamette has been selected as the Northwest Conference frontrunner for the 2022 season, as voted on by conference head coaches. The Bearcats earned 63 points and seven first-place votes. Whitworth ranks second in the poll with 58 points and two first-place votes.
Whitman received 50 points for third, followed by Pacific Lutheran with 41 points for fourth. George Fox takes the fifth spot on the list with 38 points, while Linfield received 29 points to rank them sixth. Puget Sound (19 pts) Pacific (Ore.) (14 pts.) and Lewis & Clark (12 pts) round out the poll.
The NWC Spring Classic will be hosted by Puget Sound April 9th-10th and the NWC Championship will be hosted by Willamette on April 23rd-24th.
Below are key returners and players to watch from each team as well as NWC accolades from 2021.
George Fox
Dante Heitschmidt | JR | Vancouver, WA | Prairie | Second Team All-NWC
Mason Rohleder | FR | University Place, WA | Curtis
Lewis & Clark
Matt Siemer | SR | San Diego, CA | Canyon Crest Academy
Alex Hong | FR | Los Angeles, CA | Harvar-Westlake
Linfield
Trevor Price | SO | Bullhead City, AZ | Mohave Accelerated Learning Center
Chris Cayford | SO | Beaverton, OR | Mountainside
Pacific (Ore.)
Kaleb Makimoto | JR | Wailuku, HI | Maui
Tyler Bryant | FR | Olympia, WA | Capital
Pacific Lutheran
Cameron Klundt | SR | Stanwood, WA | Stanwood
Joshua Clogston | FR | Mukilteo, WA | Kamiak
Puget Sound
Reynn Hoshide | JR | Mililani, HI | Punahou | Second Team All-NWC
Connor Siebert | JR | Eugene, OR | South Eugene
Whitman
Max Ray-Keil | JR | Seattle, WA | Seattle Academy | Second Team All-NWC
Alex Knox | FY | Seattle, WA | O’Dea
Whitworth
Caleb Belton | GR | Zillah, WA | Zillah | First Team All-NWC
Sam Pauly | JR | Spokane, WA | Shadle Park
Willamette
Andrew Kibbee | SR | Kenmore, WA | Bothell | First Team All-NWC
Austin Davis | SR | Culver City, CA | Culver City | First Team All-NWC
| Team |
Pts. |
2021 NWC Finish |
| Willamette (7) |
63 |
1st |
| Whitworth (2) |
58 |
2nd |
| Whitman |
50 |
7th |
| Pacific Lutheran |
41 |
3rd |
| George Fox |
38 |
4th |
| Linfield |
29 |
6th |
| Puget Sound |
19 |
5th |
| Pacific (Ore.) |
14 |
8th |
| Lewis & Clark |
12 |
9th |
(Points awarded on a 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches could not vote for their own teams; numbers in parentheses indicate first place votes)