CHENEY, Wash. — The fall schedule gets into full swing this week with two Eastern Washington teams starting their seasons and another continuing their schedule. Football begins its season on the road with a ranked matchup in Texas. Soccer continues its fall slate with two home matches on Thursday and Sunday. Volleyball's regular season also begins on Friday with its first road tournament of the '25 season where they will play three matches.
Football - at No. 5 Incarnate Word (Saturday, Aug. 30, 4 PM Pacific Time)
The 2025 season kicks off this week for Eastern Washington football as they open their schedule in San Antonio, Texas to face No. 5 Incarnate Word on Saturday. The game kicks off at 4 p.m. Pacific Time and 6 p.m. Central island will be streamed on ESPN+. Tune in live to game on 700 ESPN and the Varsity App with the voices of the Eagles, Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen.
EWU plays the Cardinals for the first time in program history. The Eagles hold a 4-2 record against the Southland Conference, with the last matchup coming against Southeastern Louisiana last season (24-28).
Eastern closed the 2024 season with a 3-5 record in the Big Sky and 4-8 overall. They won two of their last three games to move into a tie for sixth place in conference standings. EWU was voted to finish eighth in the Big Sky preseason media poll and ninth in the coaches' poll earlier this summer. Head coach
Aaron Best is entering his ninth season leading the Eagles and it is 29th working with the program.
Redshirt-senior DaJean Wells earned preseason All-American recognition from FCS Football Central, along with garnering preseason
All-Big Sky honors. Joining Wells in the preseason conference awards are redshirt-sophomore defensive end
Tylin Jackson and graduate student defensive end
Trevor Thurman.
Wells ranked second in the Big Sky and 16th in the FCS with 12 pass breakups last season, adding 32 tackles. Jackson posted 24 tackles with one sack and 2.5 for a loss, making 10 starts and 12 games played. Thurman accounted for 16 tackles in nine games played a season ago.
Jared Taylor now has the reins at quarterback for the Eagles and looks to carry over the offensive success from last season. Taylor has two starts in his career, with one last year against No. 2 Montana State. The Lakewood, Wash. native completed 20-of-27(74.1%) of his passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, throwing one interception. He finished the season with 320 passing yards, with six touchdowns and the lone INT. On the ground, Taylor was second on the team with 708 yards on 137 carries - 5.2 per attempt - scoring 10 touchdowns. His rushing touchdown figure ranked seventh in the conference.
In the 2024 season, EWU ranked second in the Big Sky and sixth in the FCS in scoring, averaging 35.8 points per game. The team averaged 444.3 yards of total offense per game ranking, third and sixth in the conference and nation respectively.
Women's Volleyball – at UC San Diego Tournament; vs. New Mexico State (Friday, Aug. 29 at 11 AM), at UC San Diego (Friday, Aug. 29 at 6 PM), vs. Northwestern (Saturday, Aug. 30 at 11 AM)
The Eastern Washington volleyball team opens its 2025 season on the road at the UC San Diego Tournament. The Eagles will face New Mexico State on Friday, Aug. 29 at 11 a.m., before squaring off against host UC San Diego later that evening at 6 p.m. (streamed on ESPN+). Eastern wraps up the tournament on Saturday, Aug. 30 with an 11 a.m. matchup against Northwestern.
The Eagles are coming off a 12-15 (8-8 Big Sky) campaign in 2024 and bring a refreshed look to the court this fall. EWU graduated nine players from last year's roster while welcoming eight new additions.
Leading the group of returners is reigning Big Sky Freshman of the Year and 2025 Preseason All-Conference honoree Quincy Moran, alongside 2024 Second Team All-Conference outside hitter Kalista Lukovich. On the right side, Alyssa Radke provides more firepower, while defensive anchor Elle Brugeman returns in the back row. Also back for Eastern are Sophia Lindemann, Bria Carlisle, Anna Bolich, and Erin McInnes.
The newcomers feature seven freshmen—Camryn Hagel, Olivia Burns, Quincey McCoy, Jailyn Davenport, Sidney Gray, Judith Bolomboy, and Mia Polloi—along with transfer Cassandra Moeller from Spokane Community College.
Women's Soccer – vs South Dakota (Thursday, Aug. 28 at 4:30 PM PST), vs. UIC (Sunday, Aug. 31 at 11:30 AM PST) - Free Admission
Eastern, now 1-2 on the season after a 4-0 setback at North Dakota, returns home this week to kick off a four-game homestand. The Eagles will host South Dakota on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 4:30 p.m., before taking on UIC on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 11:30 a.m. for Senior Day. Both matches will be played at the EWU Soccer Field.
The Eagles have historically fared well against South Dakota, holding a 5-1-1 all-time record over the Coyotes. In their last five meetings, Eastern is unbeaten at 4-0-1, including a 2-0 victory in 2024. Against UIC, the Eagles are 1-0-0, with their lone matchup coming in 2015—a 1-0 EWU win.
Sunday's match will also celebrate Eastern's senior class: Kamryn Willoughby, Chloe Pattison, Renee Sainz, Riley Arribas, Ryanne Ampi, Delani Walker, and Becca Gaido.
Cross Country – Clash of the Inland Northwest (Friday, Aug, 29 at 8:30 AM) - Free Admission
The Eastern Washington Cross Country teams open their 2025 season at home with the Clash of the Inland Northwest at 8:30 a.m. The Eagles will host seven teams including Sporkane CC, Gonzaga, Walla Walla, Whitman, Idaho, Lewis-Clark, and Whitworth.
Last year the men are coming off an impressive performance at the Big Sky Championship, where they recorded their best finish since 2015, placing fourth overall. This marks only the third time in program history that the men have finished in fourth place, with previous finishes in 2015 and 2005.
On the women's side, the Eagles secured a fifth-place finish for the second consecutive year. Nattie Ruzauskas followed closely in 27th place with a time of 18:07.9.
2025 EWU football tickets are now on sale! Join Spokane County's team for all five home games at Roos Field in Cheney starting as low as $99. Group tickets, fundraising options and single game tickets are also available. For more info, visit goeags.com/fbtickets or contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or tickets@ewu.edu.
2025 EWU volleyball tickets are now on sale! Join Spokane County's team for all ten home games at Reese Court in Cheney. For more info, visit https://goeags.evenue.net/list/VB or contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or tickets@ewu.edu.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access, and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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