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Wednesday Weekly…May 21, 2025.
Time flies, does it not? The Boise Hawks opened their 38th season Tuesday night with a 9-3 loss to the Idaho Falls Chukars. It’s the Hawks’ fifth year in the independent Pioneer League, but they were independent for their first three seasons of existence before becoming affiliated with the California Angels in 1990. That began an 11-year run under manager Tom Kotchman that saw them win four Northwest League championships. The won a fifth title in 2004—their last one. The new face in the dugout is Kash Beauchamp. He replaces Gary Van Tol, who had managed the Hawks when they were a Cubs affiliate in 2013-14, plus all five of their seasons in the Pioneer League. Van Tol was in on the ground floor of the careers of future MLB stars Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber, among others.
Let’s look at their future (or at least speculate on it). The Pioneer League was the only answer after the Hawks were victims of Major League Baseball contraction in 2020. Aging Memorial Stadium was at the heart of the Hawks’ relegation from the Northwest League. Heaven knows the team has tried to get a new ballpark built at various Ada County locations, but it has been unable to secure public funds to help. The solution may be to build a new stadium on its current site—hopefully with a 5,000-seat capacity and the ability to expand it to 10,000 for Triple-A baseball. Boise is a Triple-A market; if it can work in Reno, it can certainly work here. The Hawks just need a Triple-A place to play. Until then it’s “play ball” in the Pioneer.
NNU’S BREAKTHOUGH SEASON
What a ride for Northwest Nazarene baseball—rain and all last weekend. After being pounded 20-6 by Point Loma to open the NCAA Division II West Regional pod in Nampa last Thursday, the Nighthawks came back to beat Montana State-Billings 10-6 the next day. Then in the game that decided the pod last Saturday, NNU edged Point Loma 3-2 to advance to the Super Regionals. And as the No. 1 seed in the West Region, the Nighthawks will be hosting the best-of-three Super Regionals series against Cal State Monterey Bay starting Thursday at 6 p.m., with a berth in the D-II College World Series in North Carolina on the line.
NO MORE ’MICHAEL MYERS’ MASKS?
That’s a great story—Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly convincing Ashton Jeanty to change his stand-up-straight Michael Myers pre-snap stance that became such a thing at Boise State. “Sometimes you gotta, you know, go with the flow,” Jeanty told Kay Adams in her podcast. “Chip Kelly—he comes in to me the first day of rookie minicamp. He’s like, ‘You ever play basketball?’ Yes, I played basketball—I can dunk, all that. He’s like, ‘Okay, show me how you would guard me.’” Ashton crouched over as if he was guarding in hoops. “’That’s exactly why you gotta be down in your running back stance.’ He won for now! I’m gonna try to persuade him one day—I gotta earn my stripes, make some plays first, but I don’t think it’s going to be the end.” Maybe we’ll still see Michael Myers masks in silver-and-black.
DON’T SHORTCHANGE CASEY (LIKE I DID)
I said a couple weeks ago that Boise State left tackle Kage Casey was projecting as a mid-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. I should have drilled down further into the reputable mock drafts. How did I miss Dane Brugler of The Athletic? I always quote that guy. Brugler has Casey as a first-rounder next year, going No. 23 overall to the San Francisco 49ers. Despite all the NFL talent the Broncos have produced this century, they’ve never had first-round pick in back-to-back years. This little factoid may have passed us over, but Casey did not allow a sack during Boise State’s historic 2024 season. “Casey received a Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade of 87.0 last season, the seventh-best nationally among players with at least 500 snaps,” adds Brugler. Casey stuck with the Broncos despite NIL temptations elsewhere.
HOW WOULD THE BRONCOS GO 9-3?
Over/under win totals for Mountain West football this year are out, via DraftKings. Boise State leads the way at 9.5. So if you’re going with the under, that means a 9-3 season for the Broncos. To handicap it: a loss at Notre Dame, and which two others? A surprise in the opener at South Florida and a random upset in a conference game? Regarding the latter, UNLV, Fresno State and Colorado State would seem to be the most capable, but all three of those matchups are on the blue turf. The Rebels’ over/under is 8.5 wins, while the Bulldogs and the Rams are both at 6.5. And roster retention is key in making Boise State the default choice as Mountain West favorite. When the smoke cleared, coach Spencer Danielson lost only three frontline players to the portal. For the rest of the league, things were a lot worse.
FILE THESE NAMES AWAY
Boise State has been seeking a wide receiver to bolster that room with Cam Camper lost to graduation and Prince Strachan lost to the portal. The Broncos have signed a junior college wideout, Demetric Whitlock Jr. of Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, and this will be interesting. Whitlock didn’t play for the Blue Dragons last season, and in 2023 he had just three catches for 31 yards. So who knows what to make of Whitlock? We do know the Broncos are good evaluators of talent.
One more addition from the transfer portal, as Boise State has a commitment from Camden DeGraw-Tryall, an EDGE from Washington State. DeGraw-Tryall redshirted for the Cougars last season, so he has four years of eligibility to use. The 6-5, 232-pounder out of Coeur d’Alene High was the No. 4 prospect in the state of Idaho as a three-star in the 2024 recruiting class according to 247 Sports. Meanwhile, Boise State picked up a second quarterback commit for 2026, Tradon Bessinger from Kaysville, UT, a three-star recruit according to 247 Sports. Bessinger joins Bryson Beaver of Murrieta, CA, in the Broncos fold, but it sounds like the Power 4 sharks are swirling around Beaver now.
SIMPSON AND BELICHICK AND…
Former Boise State linebacker Andrew Simpson certainly isn’t going to disappear in his new home. Not because it’s a threat to win a national championship, but because it’s college football’s equivalent to tabloid heaven. Simpson has committed to North Carolina and will play for Bill Belichick, assuming he makes it to opening day amid the mess with 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson. Simpson will surely experience a different culture back there. But from a football standpoint, Simpson can certainly make it in Chapel Hill. His surprise departure from the Broncos made him one of the hottest transfer targets on the spring market. He’s apparently the fifth ‘backer UNC has taken out of the portal, but he’s a savvy senior. Simpson’s career numbers at Boise State included 141 tackles and 12.5 sacks.
NIL STRIKES SOFTBALL DIFFERENTLY
You may be aware that Boise State softball standouts Sophia Knight, Abby McDowell, Sydney Groves and Leah McAnally are headed for the transfer portal—and there may be more by the time you read this. Rather than say the sky is falling, let’s look at one reality of the NIL era: Broncos softball might be more vulnerable to the portal than any other sport. Boise State has a modest war chest for the revenue sports, football and men’s basketball. But you can bet the dollars are pretty thin when it comes to softball, whereas that is not the case among Power 4 teams. Softball has become an increasingly visible spring sport, and power schools want championships. Even Stanford got stung last summer when star pitcher NiJaree Canady left for a reported $1 million NIL deal at Texas Tech. Man it is tough out there.
STING RAY STILL ON THE RISE
Life keeps gettin’ better for Sting Ray Robb. The Indy car driver from Payette rolls into the No. 17 starting position Sunday in the Indianapolis 500. Last year’s race at the Brickyard was one of the highlights of Robb’s career, as he finished 16th and led the event for 23 laps. “I still feel like a young gun,” the 23-year-old Robb told KTVB this week. “The expectations are different because I’ve already seen it. I’ve already done it. I’m still learning. I’m still trying to be a sponge as much as I can, and I hope that never quits.” Well, we hope Robb never quits. He’s spent his young career giving back. Robb has partnered with Freedom Service Dogs of America, a charity that provides service dogs, free of charge, to veterans and first responders. His goal is to raise $77,000 for the organization—a nod to his No. 77 car.
WHEN TO FILL THE SEATS FOR THE STEELIES
The Idaho Steelheads surprisingly missed the Kelly Cup Playoffs this past season, but they keep selling out in Idaho Central Arena—and that’s literally the bottom line, isn’t it? The Steelheads announced their 2025-26 schedule late last week, including 36 home dates in downtown Boise. Twenty-five of those will be on either Friday or Saturday. The home opener is October 24 against the Utah Grizzlies following a three-game series at Tahoe to start the season. The Steelies have sold out 67 consecutive home games, and they show no signs of stopping that streak.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by POOL SCOUTS…perfect pools, scout’s honor!
May 21, 2010, 15 years ago today: The Cincinnati Cyclones end the Idaho Steelheads’ dream of a third ECHL championship with a 2-1 win in Game 5 of the Kelly Cup Finals. That gave the Cyclones a four games-to-one decision before a crowd of 13,438, the largest ever to watch an ECHL playoff game. The Steelheads never recovered from the shock of last-minute Cincinnati game-winning tallies in Games 1 and 2 in Boise. Every game of the series was decided by one goal. The disappointing finish couldn’t take away from an impressive Steelheads season that saw the team capture the Brabham Cup for best record in the ECHL and Derek Laxdal earn league Coach of the Year honors.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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