Recently in University of Washington Category

Upland wide receiver Kenny Lawler, Miller linebacker Reshawn Hooker and Colony athlete Bryan Harper were all named to Rivals.com's California top 100 when the website released its rankings Tuesday. Lawler was the highest ranked of the three at No. 32, as he is rated a four-star on Rivals. Lawler verbally committed to Arizona State in February but is considered a soft commitment to the Sun Devils as this point, as he is listening to offers from the likes of UCLA, Colorado, Nebraska, Washington, Oregon State, SMU and Arizona.

Hooker, a three-star linebacker, checks in at No. 49. He comes to Miller from Arroyo Valley High School, where he earned third-team All-Sun honors a year ago. Hooker currently has 11 offers from the likes of Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, Purdue, San Jose State, UCLA and Washington State.

Harper, who transferred to Colony from Carter in the offseason, was ranked No. 94 by Rivals. The three-star athlete, who was a quarterback last year for the Lions, committed to Washington June 28 over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Montana and New Mexico State.

Colony athlete Bryan Harper committed to the University of Washington Tuesday according to a Rivals.com article. Harper, a 6-foot, 180-pound athlete who transferred to Colony after playing quarterback at Carter the last two seasons, chose the Huskies after a recent trip to the school with teammate Robert Wagner. The three-star prospect also had offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Montana and New Mexico State.

Harper is the second county player to pledge to the Huskies this month, joining Cajon defensive back Damontae Kazee. Kazee, a first-team all-Sun selection last year, formally introduced his commitment to Washington June 13 after being a silent commitment for a while according to Scout.com.

Had this article submitted to me by Milton Huertas. REV grad Chris Polk ran for a career-high 284 yards to help Washington become bowl eligible with a 35-28 victory over Washington State yesterday in the Apple Cup.

The Huskies, who qualified for their first bowl since 2002 with the win, will play Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl Dec. 30 in San Diego. That's not a bad matchup for county fans to check out and allows them to check up on Polk, who has run for 1,238 yards and eight touchdowns on 226 carries this season.

Redlands East Valley wrestler Chris Mecate and volleyball player Krista Vansant will sign National Letters of Intent tomorrow morning as part of the beginning of the Fall Signing Period. Mecate will sign with Old Dominion in the principal's office at 7 a.m. while Vansant will sign with the University of Washington at 7:30 a.m. in Kurt Bruich's office.

Now to the East, where the youngest team in the tournament is the region's No. 1 seed.

Overall theme: Well-renowned coaches looking to get over "the hump"
The coaches of the top two seeds, Kentucky's John Calipari and West Virginia's Bob Huggins, are two of the more respected coaches in the game. They've combined to win 1,090 games and have combined for three Final Four appearances. However, neither coach has won a national title and only one (Calipari) has even been in the championship game. This year could either boost their legacies or cement them as guys who couldn't quite win the big one. Wisconsin's Bo Ryan, who has never been to a Final Four, is in a similar boat as well.

Watch out for: No. 2 West Virginia
While Huggins' teams have underachieved in the tournament in the past - last year's first-round flameout being the latest - the stars seem aligned for a long Mountaineer run this year. They are the No. 2 seed in a region where the No. 1 seed (Kentucky) has star players barely able to vote and a No. 3 seed (New Mexico) that plays in a mid-major conference. The Mountaineers have length, size, and athleticism in the forward and wing guard spots and can play a variety of styles. There's no reason for WVU not to at least make the Elite 8.

Stay away from: No. 12 Cornell
This seems kind of a copout, but the chic "12-over-5" upset pick has involved the Big Red beating No. 5 Temple. I get a bit wary when everyone jumps on an upset pick - makes me think twice about its validity. Cornell is getting its props for almost beating Kansas in December but it couldn't make it through the Ivy League unscathed, losing to conference doormat Penn at one point. Temple has 29 wins in an underrated Atlantic 10 and has plenty of athleticism on the perimeter. Don't see the Ivy League kids winning this one.

High risk, high reward: The Washington-Marquette winner
Another kind of goofy pick, but the winner of the 11-6 matchup between the Huskies and the Golden Eagles are set up for a run into the second weekend. Marquette is guard heavy with an elite scorer in forward Lazar Hayward - two things that tend to work in the favor of teams in the tourney. Washington also has an elite scoring forward in Quincy Pondexter and a point guard that pushes tempo well in Isaiah Thomas. Whoever wins this game can beat New Mexico in round two and give West Virginia a run, but picking the winner is a crapshoot to say the least.

Upset special: No. 10 Missouri over No. 7 Clemson
Another weak 10-7 call, but there aren't any other upsets that I think are compelling. Not into Wofford over Wisconsin in the 13-4, already have discussed the 12-5 and 11-6 games, etc. Mizzou coach Mike Anderson's up-tempo, "40 Minutes of Hell" approach has yielded dividends in the past, getting UAB to the Sweet 16 as a nine-seed in 2004 and getting the Tigers to the Elite 8 a year ago. Oliver Purnell, on the other hand, as seen Clemson lose in the first round as a higher seed two years in a row, as a 5 to Villanova in '08 and as a 7 to Michigan last year. I'm feeling a hat trick.

Lead-pipe lock: There will be some fun basketball played in games not involving Wisconsin.
Between the up-tempo teams that I've mentioned early in this thread to the spectacle that Kentucky freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins create with their soon-to-be-NBA-lottery-picks skill, this will be fun. Kentucky has the most talent in the region, but their youth could hold them back from getting to the Final 4. As for the Badgers, watch at your own risk.

Just arrived at the Los Angeles studios of Fox Sports Prime Ticket, where I, along with several of Josh Shirley's family members and the Press-Enterprise's Mirijam Swanson, are awaiting the Kaiser linebacker's college announcement.

As for Shirley, he's dressed to impress, with snazzy white dress shoes with gold laces with white dress pants and a white button-down shirt with a black t-shirt under it. He is also loaded with envelopes and National Letters of Intent.

"Anxious," said Shirley simply about his mood at this moment. Shirley also indicated that this decision was more nerve-wracking than any football game he has played to to date.

Also in attendance is Rancho Cucamonga running back Michael Boyd, a friend of Shirley who's also looking to sign a letter of intent over the next

So who will Shirley pick of USC, Miami (Fla), Washington and Arizona? He's done a great job of holding his cards tight and he seems to be still debating the decision as we hang out in the hall of Fox Sports Prime Ticket, but my hunch is either USC or Miami, more than likely USC. But I guess we'll see in less than an hour.

Sitting in the Redlands East Valley gym right now after attending the Wildcats' National Signing Day ceremony, which saw DE Andrew Hudson sign with Washington, QB Tyler Shreve ink with Utah, OL David Peterson sign with San Jose State and RB A.J. Fernandez and LB Dillon Curley sign with Northwestern College out of the NAIA.

Colton kicker Alejandro Maldonado, verbally committed to Washington since the summer, decommitted Sunday to Oregon after officially visiting the campus according to Colton athletic director Harold Strauss. The Seattle Times also wrote a story about it, which can be read here.

"He cancelled a trip three weeks ago and was just going to stay with Washington, but we told him that you need to see (Oregon) and make a decision from that," Strauss said. "He went up for a visit this weekend, loved it, and now he's going to Oregon."

Maldonado will be joining teammate Derrick Malone, a safety who committed to the Ducks in November, in Eugene. They'll be signing their letters of intent in Colton's auditorium during second period Wednesday at roughly 8:30 a.m., hopefully joined by cornerback Jonathan Mack.

Mack, who has been offered by Nebraska, Iowa State, UNLV and Utah State, is in limbo right now, as schools who have previously offered may have filled their available slots in Strauss' opinion.

"He went up for an official visit with Derrick to Nebraska in October and everything seemed good, but we haven't heard from (Nebraska coach Bo) Pelini in a while," Strauss said. "We told Jonathan that sometimes its better to reserve a spot because things fill up, but he wanted to concentrate on the season. Things are happening for him all at once right now and hopefully it will work out."

Been working the phones a bit this morning and got information on a few signing-day press conferences. Redlands East Valley will be holding its press conference at the crack of dawn Wednesday, with a 7 a.m. signing with DE Andrew Hudson (Washington), QB Tyler Shreve (Utah) and OL David Peterson (San Jose State) set to be in REV's football office.

Serrano will be holding its signing at 10:30 a.m. in the performing arts room on campus. Set to sign are DE Everett Beed (San Diego State) and RB Dionza Bradford (UNLV), along with a few soccer players according to athletic director Ray Maholchic.

Kaiser linebacker Josh Shirley will be at the FOX studios in Los Angeles for his announcement Wednesday. While the exact time of the announcement hasn't been set yet, Shirley was told to be at the studios at 11 a.m. according to a text he sent me. Shirley is deciding between USC, Miami (Fla), Washington and Arizona.

Redlands East Valley graduate Ronnie Fouch and Redlands graduate Coy Glass will cross paths once again, as both are transferring to Division I-AA Indiana State to vie for the starting quarterback position.

Fouch's transfer from the University of Washington is outlined in this story by the Seattle Times. The 2007 Ken Hubbs Athlete of the Year spent three seasons with the Huskies - a redshirt season in 2007 and two seasons as a backup in 2008 and 2009. Fouch saw considerable time as a redshirt freshman in 2008 once starting quarterback Jake Locker went down, completing 113 of 250 passes for 1,339 yards, four touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He played sparingly behind Locker this past season and was likely going to fill the same role had he stayed at Washington.

He also would have been pressed by two recruits - redshirt freshman Keith Price and true freshman Nick Montana, the son of Hall of Fame Joe Montana - brought in by new coach Steve Sarkisian, who took over for Tyrone Willingham after the 2008 season.

In transferring to Indiana State, Fouch can play right away according to NCAA rules, a reason he cited in the Seattle Times story.

"I had a positive experience at UW," Fouch said. "Nothing negative happened, and there's no negative reason why I left. I left just to go somewhere where I could get a lot of playing time and compete and get a chance to be on the field. I didn't have any conflicts with the coaches. It's just a matter of me being happy and on the field and I felt like this is what would make me happy, being on the field and playing."

As for Glass, the move to Indiana State is part of a busy three years since graduating from RHS. After playing two years at Riverside Community College, Glass enrolled at Hofstra, which has since dropped football. Glass, also a 2007 graduate, led Redlands to its last Citrus Belt League championship in 2006, guiding the Terriers to a 12-1 record and the CIF-SS Inland Division semifinals.

Lost in the hubbub last night was the fact that Redlands East Valley defensive end Andrew Hudson committed to the University of Washington Friday afternoon. Hudson, a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com, chose the Huskies over a final three that included Arizona and Oregon State.

"I'm just happy to have this over," Hudson said after REV's 28-20 win over Miller last night. "I know where I'm going to college and it's a great feeling."

Hudson joins a virtual army of REV players that have made the trip up to Seattle, as he joins sophomore quarterback Ronnie Fouch, sophomore defensive back Marquis Persley and redshirt freshman running back Chris Polk on the Huskies. I'm at the Rose Bowl right now to work on a story on Polk and Fouch (Persley didn't make the trip) so this adds another possible angle.

Right before going to bed I looked over the San Diego State boxscore and noticed that Aztec freshman RB Walter Kazee, a Cajon graduate and the 2008 All-Sun Most Valuable Player, had a breakout game to lead SDSU to a 34-17 victory over New Mexico State. Kazee ran for 101 yards on 22 carries against the Aggies, scoring his first career touchdown on a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter.

2007 Most Valuable Player Chris Polk also had a heck of day in a losing cause for Washington against Notre Dame. The redshirt freshman RB, a Redlands East Valley graduate, ran for 136 yards on 22 carries and caught two passes for 9 yards in the Huskies' 37-30 overtime loss to the Fighting Irish. Polk appeared to have scored on a 6-yard TD midway through the fourth quarter, which would have put Washington up 31-22 with a made extra point, but a video review ruled him down inside the Notre Dame 1. Washington couldn't push the ball in and settled for a field goal that would loom large later. He now has 452 yards rushing in five games for Washington.

There is a lot going on in the world of football recruiting, as the May evaluation period is underway. According to Rivals.com, Colton kicker Alejandro Maldonado has verbally committed to Washington while teammates Derrick Malone and Jonathan Mack are receiving intersst from schools such as Nebraska.

Maldonado verbally committed to the Huskies after they saw him practice Wednesday, which he accepted. This is what Maldonado told Rivals:

"I accepted it right away," he said. "It feels really good. It was my first one. I told my mom and dad about it, and everybody is really excited. I would say I'm a soft commitment, but I was told that I could come in there right and be their starting kicker right away."

Malone, a safety, is up to five scholarship offers (Arizona State, Nebraska, Nevada, UTEP and Washington) while Mack, a cornerback, has an offer from the Cornhuskers.