One Nevada Wolf Pack player to watch for in every sport in 2025-26

Nevada Sports Net columnist Chris Murray is known to be a bit wordy, so we’re giving him 1,000 words (but no more than that) every Friday to share his thoughts from the week that was in the world of sports.

* THE NEVADA ATHLETICS season starts Thursday with the Wolf Pack’s first regular-season match as women’s soccer plays at Arizona State. Here is one player from each Nevada program to watch out for during the 2025-26 season.

* Baseball, Sean Yamaguchi: The MW freshman of the year turned down a potentially lucrative entry into the transfer portal to return for his sophomore season. He’ll be draft eligible next summer, so a big campaign could mean a high draft spot.

* Basketball (men’s), Elijah Price: The Fresno State transfer is essentially a one-for-one replacement for Nick Davidson. Price is an elite rebounder and one of the MW’s most aggressive players. Wolf Pack fans should enjoy his motor and intensity.

* Basketball (women’s), Ahrray Young: The Tulsa transfer joined Nevada last season but didn’t play while rehabbing a torn ACL. She’s now torn the ACL in both her knees, but, when healthy, Young has been a dynamic do-it-all type of player.

* Cross country (men’s), Mateo Delgadillo: He joined Nevada this offseason via transfer from Colorado State after finishing 50th at the MW Championship, a solid showing for an underclassmen. He should pair nicely with returner Tryon Jardin.

* Cross country (women’s), Natalia Martino: Arguably Nevada’s best runner last season, Martino finished 35th at the conference championships, one spot behind teammate Claire Nelson, who was a senior and is out of eligibility.

* Football, Chubba Purdy: Perhaps no Wolf Pack player in any sport has as much pressure on him or her than Purdy, who enters his sixth college season but first as the no-doubt starter at quarterback. It’s the definition of a make-or-break season.

* Golf (men’s), Supakit (Oak) Seelanagae: A Bangkok, Thailand native, Seelanagae was Nevada’s top men’s golfer last season and will look to take another step forward after getting an additional year of eligibility due to the JuCo rule change.

* Golf (women’s), Nicole (Coco) Kolbas: We could easily name teammates Gabby Kano and Anna Shultse here, but Kolbas has No. 1 player potential if she is successfully healed from a wrist injury that limited her to one tournament last year.

* Skiing, Engebret Halbjoerhus: Two-time NCAA qualifier Iver Walday Naess was a senior last season with his heir apparent being Halbjoerhus, a fellow Norwegian who also competed at nationals in 2025 with a pair of top-30 NCAA finishes.

* Soccer, Olivia Loomis: Nevada loses all but eight of its goals scored from last season with Loomis accounting for five of those. The junior will be counted on to assume the top offensive playmaker role after the loss of star Emily Rich to graduation.

* Softball, Talia Tretton: The Douglas High alum returns to Nevada after her freshman season at Iowa. She’ll be a two-way player but should pair well in the circle with Hailey McLean and give the Wolf Pack one of the MW’s top 1-2 pitching combos.

* Swim and dive, Scarlett Ferris: The rising junior has been an NCAA Championship qualifier in each of her first two seasons on campus and has the skills to be an All-American. She’s in the discussion for top returning athlete for Nevada in 2025-26.

* Tennis (men’s), Max Contet: One of the MW’s top freshmen last year, Contet aims to take the next step in becoming one of the league’s top overall players. The native of France went 16-11 in singles last year (mostly in the No. 5 and 6 spots).

* Tennis (women’s), Amahée Charrier: The only reigning MW player of the year to return to Nevada from last season, Charrier is now a senior and looking to push the Wolf Pack into the NCAA Tournament after a MW runner-up finish last season.

* Track and field, Magdalene George: The pint-sized but powerful sprinter set a few school records last year when she reached the NCAA West Preliminary but could be in line for her first national championship qualification in 2026.

* Volleyball, Bella Snyder: Nevada lost its top returning player, Gabby McLaughlin (Syracuse), to transfer, which makes Snyder the Wolf Pack’s top returning point-getter after she slammed 256 kills with a team-best .312 hitting percentage.

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.