Summer 2024
As we wrap up the 2023-24 academic year, I wanted to look back at some of the highlights of the last year. There was a lot to be proud of in how your Bearcats performed in their sports, the classroom, and the community.
Congratulations are in order:
- Women’s Basketball won the Northwest Conference Championship for the first time in almost 30 years, earning the opportunity to host the conference tournament and an at-large bid to the NCAA National Tournament.
- Baseball finished a close second in the NWC but won the conference tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA National Tournament.
- Several other teams had their best seasons in years and participated in our conference tournaments:
- Volleyball won its most matches since 2015;
- Softball their most since 2014;
- Women’s Lacrosse recorded the highest win total in team history; and
- Men’s Basketball had their most successful season since 2007 and just missed out on post-season play by losing a three-way tiebreaker for third place.
In addition to Women’s Basketball and Baseball taking part in national championships, this past year saw other Willamette teams and individuals succeed at the national level.
Women’s Triathlon finished 5th in the country at the Collegiate Championships in November, with Coach Brett Franz being named National Coach of the Year, and Whitley Stepp became the first ever Willamette student-athlete to compete at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships, finishing 18th in the women’s high jump. Stepp continued that success in the spring by earning a spot at the outdoor championships, this time alongside teammate Elijah Jones, who qualified in the men’s pole vault.
The past year saw us welcome several new head coaches into our Bearcat Family:
- Mike Lenehan took over Men’s Basketball in the summer of 2023;
- Mike Coduto joined us in the fall to lead our baseball program;
- Aric Williams is the new leader of Bearcat Football; and
- Matt Corti-Young arrived on campus this April as the new head coach for Men’s Soccer.
As mentioned above, Coach Lenahan and Coach Coduto each had successful first seasons leading your Bearcats, and we look forward to Coach Williams and Coach Corti-Young’s first seasons this fall.
Looking ahead to the fall seasons and the upcoming year, you can find all of our fall schedules on our website if you want to catch your favorite Willamette teams in action, either here at home or on the road if they are playing near you. Tickets will be available soon. Look for a message about how to get free tickets for alums in the September edition of this newsletter.
If you are coming to a game and want to dress the part, you can find gear and apparel for your favorite teams by visiting our online store. And if you want to follow Willamette Athletics but can’t make it to a game in person, check out the Bearcat Network online, where we stream most of our home contests.
I look forward to the upcoming year and keeping folks informed about what is happening with Willamette University Athletics through quarterly updates. Look for more information to come soon about some Athletics Alum Events scheduled to take place the weekend of September 27-29.
As always, it’s a great day to be a Bearcat!