UC Santa Barbara Men’s Water Polo has appointed James Wolff as its new assistant coach for the upcoming season. With 15 years of coaching experience and 18 years officiating water polo, Wolff has played a significant role in developing the sport on the East Coast. He expressed his excitement to contribute to Santa Barbara’s rich water polo legacy. Wolff previously served as head coach at LaSalle, where he guided notable players to honors while maintaining academic excellence.

By the Numbers

• 15 years of coaching experience.
• 18 years of officiating experience in water polo.
• Led LaSalle to the best team GPA in Division I during his first season.

State of Play

• Wolff takes over an UC Santa Barbara team coming off a 15-12 season.
• The team reached the Big West Championship, falling to Long Beach State.

What’s Next

Wolff aims to harness his extensive experience to elevate the team’s performance and develop future talent, potentially leading to more competitive seasons in both conference play and national tournaments.

Bottom Line

Wolff’s hiring signals a strategic move for UC Santa Barbara to strengthen its coaching staff and enhance its competitive edge in collegiate water polo.

Eight individuals and two teams will celebrate their induction as the 36th class to join the Hastings College Athletic Hall of Fame during a reception and banquet held in conjunction with Hastings College Homecoming on Saturday, September 27.

The celebration begins with a social hour at 5:00 p.m. in Kiewit Gymnasium (715 E. 7th Street, Hastings) on campus, followed by a banquet at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for adults, $20 for children ages 4-12 and free for children ages 3 and under. Tickets may be purchased online at hastings.edu/homecoming, or by contacting the Hastings College alumni office at 402.461.7363 or alumni@hastings.edu.

The Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to honor and preserve the memory of athletes, teams, coaches and those who have contributed meritorious service to Hastings College and its athletic programs.

The 2025 Hastings College Athletic Hall of Fame class includes:

• Lloyd Smith ‘52 of Manitou Springs, Colorado, (posthumously) for tennis
• Weboon Peboontom ‘70 of Woodridge, Illinois, for tennis
• Ron Hergott ‘82 of Ayr, Nebraska, for coaching
• Allen Haynes ‘96 of Laveen, Arizona, for track and field
• Kory Bumgardner ‘97 of Hastings, Nebraska, for football
• Chelsey (Woodside) Jacobitz ‘10/MAT ‘13 of Holstein, Nebraska, for softball
• Alicia (Statler) Templin ‘12 of Bruning, Nebraska, for women’s basketball
• Tom Van Haute ‘13/MAT ‘15 of Gretna, Nebraska, for football
• 1994 Men’s 4×100 Meter Relay Team, which finished as conference champions and runner up in the NAIA Outdoor National Championships
• 2008-09 Women’s Basketball Team, which finished as the NAIA Division II national runner up

Previous Hastings College Athletic Hall of Fame recipients can be found at hastings.edu/halloffame.

Biographies of the 2025 Inductees

The late Lloyd Smith was a force to be reckoned with on the tennis court. The four-year letterwinner captured two individual conference titles and was a member of three consecutive Nebraska College Conference (NCC) team championships. Smith passed away in 2019 at the age of 90.

Weboon Peboontom won two individual Nebraska College Conference (NCC) titles in tennis during his junior and senior seasons and was a member of the runner up NCC team in 1967.

Ron Hergott coached many All-Americans and All-Conference performers during his 20-plus years coaching track and field, football, women’s basketball and bowling at Hastings College. He started and built a national powerhouse bowling program and coached the only individual to win back-to-back national titles in bowling (Emily Eckhoff).

Allen Haynes ranks third all-time in the 100-meter outdoor event and fourth all-time in the 200-meter outdoor event and is a member of the school record-setting 4×100-meter relay team. Haynes placed fourth in the outdoor and indoor events in 1995 and was a three-time All-American in the 60-meter indoor, 100-meter outdoor and 400-meter outdoor events.

Kory Bumgardner began his collegiate football career at running back before moving to I-back in his senior season. He was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection in 1995 and 1996. He currently ranks fifth in career rushing yards with 3,018 – accumulating 1,063 of those yards during his senior season and is also fifth in career touchdowns with 26.

Chelsey (Woodside) Jacobitz was an Honorable Mention All-Conference selection in 2008, a First Team All-Conference selection in 2009 and a Second Team All-Conference selection in 2010. As of 2025, the southpaw pitcher ranks first in career ERA’s with a 2.52 average, first in season strikeouts with 175 and second in season ERA’s with a 1.32 average.

Alicia (Statler) Templin was a two-time First Team All-GPAC selection for women’s basketball (2010 and 2011) and a Second Team All-American in 2011. As of 2025, she is the Broncos’ eighth all-time leading scorer, third all-time leading rebounder, first in career and season field goal percentages and the all-time leader in career blocks.

Tom Van Haute anchored the offensive line of the Bronco football team, starting as a right guard just four games into his freshman season before moving to left tackle midway through his sophomore season. He was what then-head coach Paul Mierkiewicz quoted as a mainstay on the offensive line armed with an unbelievable personality. He was a First Team All-American in 2011, was twice named a First Team All-Conference selection (2010 and 2011), and was Second Team All-Conference in 2009.

The 1994 Men’s 4×100 Relay Team won the Conference Championship in their event and holds the Hastings College record to this day. The team, composed of Allen Haynes ‘96, Josh Kitchen ‘97, Keith Salyers ‘96 and Craig Taylor ‘99, finished second in the NAIA Outdoor National Championships at Azusa Pacific. The team was coached by Bart Gray.

The 2008-09 Women’s Basketball Team finished as NAIA Division II national runners up in Sioux City, Iowa, falling to eventual champion Morningside by a narrow 68-63 margin. The Broncos’ Lindsay Ducey ‘10 was named to the All-Tournament First Team, while teammate Kim Faimon ‘10 was named to the All-Tournament Second Team and received the hustle award. Members of the team included Becky (Tesch) Amdahl ‘12, Rachel (Isherwood) Barry ‘10, Breanna Becker ‘11, Brittany (Hoins) Brockman ‘11, Sarah Cambridge ‘09, Kay (Broekemeier) Dent ‘09, Ducey, Faimon, Jennifer Gold ‘12, Alyssa (Farmer) Heine ‘11, Sophia McDermott ‘12, Heather McKeon ‘10, Justine (Dethlefs) Mertens ‘12, Tenaya (Howsden) Nuttelman ‘12, Lee Ann (Jameson) Roepke ‘12, Elyse (Schlake) Lukassen ‘10, Alicia (Statler) Templin ‘12, Elizabeth (Lipker) Volker ‘12, Chelsie (Wardyn) Watson ‘12, Amber (Kulus) Woitaszewski ‘09 and Jaime (Blevins) Wright ‘12. The team was coached by Jeff Dittman and assisted by Summer (Wright) Anesin and grad assistant Jessica VanLoy.

Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball program was predicted to finish third in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll released Wednesday by the conference office in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In addition, senior Taylor Underwood earned a spot on the preseason all-MW team in a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.

Collectively, the Aztecs received 96 points and two first-place votes, trailing only Utah State (114 pts, 7 first-place votes) and defending conference champion Colorado State (106 pts, 3 first-place votes), while Fresno State (86 pts) and Boise State (73 pts) rounded out the top five.

Elsewhere, UNLV and Wyoming shared the sixth position in this year’s poll with 72 points apiece, while MW newcomer Grand Canyon (61 pts) was slotted eighth, followed by New Mexico (37 pts), Nevada (32 pts), San José State (31 pts) and Air Force (12 pts).

Wednesday’s preseason prognostication was San Diego State’s highest since 2018, when the Scarlet and Black was pegged for a third-place finish as well.  The Aztecs were also predicted to finish third the year before in 2017 after claiming the top spot in the 2013 preseason MW poll.

The top six teams in the final conference standings will qualify for the Mountain West Championship, set for Nov. 26-29, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A native of Norco, California, Underwood garnered all-Mountain West accolades for the second straight second season in 2024 after posting team highs in kills (356) and kills per set (3.18), the latter of which ranked 10th in the league.

Additionally, Underwood blasted 10 or more kills in 22 matches, tying her season high with 18 put-aways on five occasions. The Aztec opposite hitter also collected 60 digs and finished third on the team with a career-high 59 blocks, including a collegiate-best six solo stops, helping the Scarlet and Black clinch a spot in the MW Championship for the second time in three years.

Last season, Underwood set a career high with a .542 hitting percentage (min. 7 kills) after launching 14 kills on 24 attempts with just one error in a home sweep of Wyoming on Oct. 19, 2024.

Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Brent Hilliard, the Aztecs return 10 letterwinners from last year’s squad that posted a 20-10 record, their best mark since the 2012 campaign. SDSU finished fifth in the Mountain West standings with an 11-7 conference record, defeating Fresno State in the first round of the MW Championship before falling to eventual champion Colorado State in the semifinals.

The Aztecs open their 2025 campaign with an exhibition match at UC Irvine on Saturday, Aug. 23, at noon PT.  SDSU commences its regular-season slate the following week when it squares off against California and San Francisco at the Golden Bears’ home tournament, Aug. 29-30, in Berkeley, Calif.

Season tickets for SDSU’s 12-match home schedule are now on sale and may be purchased online HERE.

2025 MOUNTAIN WEST PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL TEAM

MW PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Addison Haluska, Sr., OPP, Fresno State

2025 MW PRESEASON POLL (First-place votes in parentheses)

Utah State picked up seven of the 12 coaches’ first-place votes to be tabbed the Mountain West favorite after tying for second place last season.

The Lopes made strong additions in the transfer portal this offseason, adding outside hitters Sofia Österdahl and Sophia Parlanti as well as middle blocker Hayden Goodman. 

Goodman, at 6 feet 2, joins GCU as a graduate student from San Fransisico. In her senior season, the Park City, Utah, native led the Dons defensively and ranked second in the WCC with 146 blocks (averaging 1.25 per set), which placed her on the All-WCC second team.

Parlanti, a Las Vegas native, comes as a graduate student from Indianapolis where she led the team with 340 kills in 2023. Additionally, she has posted nine double-doubles in her career. 

Osterdahl comes to GCU after playing her first two seasons at American in Washington D.C. The 5-foor-11 junior from Sweden played in 112 sets during her sophomore campaign, totaling 234 kills.

The Mountain West named its preseason conference team, with six of the seven players being All-Mountain West honorees last season. 

Fresno State senior opposite Addison Haluska was named Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year. During a five-set battle in 2024, the Lopes held Haluska to a .152 hitting percentage. 

Though the Lopes did not have any preseason players honored, they do return major contributors from the 2024 season in which they would have placed fifth by RPI in the Mountain West. The Lopes who are returning to prominent roles include sophomore setter Taylor Kubacak, sophomore middle blocker Aubrey Goodere, junior libero Bella Anderson and senior outside hitter Anaelena Ramirez. 

GCU will open Mountain West play at home against Boise State on Sept. 25. The Lopes’ regular season opens at home with the Aug. 29-31 GCU Invitational at Global Credit Union Arena, where the Lopes will play Long Island, UT Rio Grande Valley and Gonzaga.

2025 MW PRESEASON TEAM

• Bre Mitchell, senior libero, Boise State
• Addison Haluska, senior opposite, Fresno State
• Taylor Underwood, senior opposite, San Diego State
• Basia Latos, sophomore outside hitter, UNLV
• Tierney Barlow, senior middle blocker, Utah State
• Kaylie Kofe, sophomore setter, Utah State
• Paige Lauterwasser, junior outside hitter, Wyoming

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) head beach volleyball coach Micheal Hobson announced the addition of seven newcomers, consisting of five freshmen and two transfers, for the 2026 beach volleyball season.?? 

“I am very excited to announce the incoming student-athletes that we have for the 2025-26 season,” said Hobson. “Our group of five freshmen all have a great mindset, and their competitive nature will help progress the Sandy Govs to new expectations.”

“They are a group that wants to put in the work and be great, by using their passion for the game to fuel them. Also, adding two experienced transfer students who have great leadership traits has us very excited about what the possibilities are for this new era of Austin Peay State University beach volleyball,” Hobson stated.

“The overarching theme in all seven of our incoming student-athletes has been a sense of community. They all want to be great teammates, create memories, and want to put in the hard work on and off the sand to elevate this program into what we as a team envision Austin Peay State University?beach volleyball can be. Our three alumni from last season, our seven returning student athletes, and now our seven new incoming student athletes make being excited about the future of the Sandy Govs easy and make every day a great day to be a Gov!” 

Giuliana Ferraro hails from Manasquan, New Jersey where she set the school’s single-season records for kills and digs with 373 and 521, respectively during her senior season. Ferraro was First Team All-Shore and Third Team All-Conference during that senior year.  

Bailey Hope comes to APSU from Louisiana-Monroe, where she under Hobson during in 2023. Before her time at ULM, Hope was named the 2023 UTV 44 Scholar Athlete of the Year while playing for Spanish Fort High School. Hope won the 2019 Alabama 6A Indoor Volleyball State Championship. 

Coming from the Buckeye State, Cami Missig comes to the Govs after four years at Olentangy High School. During her indoor volleyball career, she captured Ohio Capital Conference District title during her high school career, along with being an All-OCC Selection. Missig finished top five in beach tournaments 10 times against some of the top competition in the nation.? 

Isabella Russell hails from the Sunshine State, where she was a two-time Sarasota Herald Tribune Beach Volleyball Athlete of the Year. Russell’s squad also won the SSAC Beach Volleyball State Championship in 2021.?? 

Ashley Boswell comes to Austin Peay State University after two years at Westmont College and one year at Stephen F. Austin. Boswell finished last beach season with a 12-6 record as a Lumberjack and was named to the Southland Conference’s Spring honor roll. In high school, Boswell was a First Team All-State selection her senior year, as well as a two-time district MVP in tennis.? 

Erin Murrath is a freshman from Budford, Georgia. A right-handed blocker, Murrath dominated indoors at Cherokee Bluff High School, including helping her squad to a 34-win season during her junior year.  ? 

Sage Raby hails from Nolansville, Tennessee. She competed for Hyden Beach Academy under head coach John Hyden, winning several tournaments across the south. Raby was a fantastic student as well, earning a 3.8 GPA.??