Mariners Turn Three Hits into Five Runs, Tie Opening Guardians Series
The Seattle Mariners still haven’t hit a single through the first two games of the season. That didn’t matter on Friday night.
Cleveland Guardians starter Gavin Williams may have spun good enough stuff to punch out seven Mariners, but he also walked six, and timely round-trippers from Cole Young and Luke Raley put the M’s far ahead of the visitors and brought the team to its first win of the year.
“Furious George” deals with early homer and puts together a quality start to begin his 2026.
Chase DeLauter’s prospect stock is about as high as can be right now. After mashing two home runs in his regular season debut on Opening Day, day two hurler George Kirby became the third Mariner to foolishly leave a pitch on the lower inside part of the plate, exactly where the 24-year-old rookie likes it.
Season in Review: Analyzing Gonzaga’s 2025-26 Campaign, Future of the Program
A lot of the country will remember the end of the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ season as somewhat expected, not being particularly impressed with their season resume, and not necessarily floored when the 3-seed Zags were upset in the Round of 32 to 11-seed Texas.
But despite a disappointing conclusion, GU accomplished a lot this season. Finishing 31-4, the Bulldogs notched their ninth season of 30+ wins in program history, and their first since 2022-23. Forward Graham Ike received honors as a Third-Team All-American, with Drew Timme’s First-Team selection back in 2023 being the last Bulldog to accomplish the feat.
And they did it in such a different fashion than previous GU squads, with a stalwart defense that consistently stifled opponents. Combined with new heights of adversity for the program, Gonzaga still found a way to earn a share of the WCC regular-season title, win the conference tournament, and grab a victory in the NCAA tournament for the 27th consecutive year.
What was the path to another noble year for the Zags?
Redhawks Begin Offseason by Retaining Will Heimbrodt
Less than a week after the Seattle U Redhawks season ended at the hands of the Auburn Tigers in the NIT, the most important domino already fell in the right direction to kick off the program’s offseason.
Announced via social media, the Redhawks have resigned standout forward Will Heimbrodt, who won’t enter the transfer portal. Heimbrodt has two more years of eligibility and will stay in the Emerald City for his redshirt junior season as the team’s top returning scorer.
Heimbrodt became a full-time starter for the Redhawks this season and made the most of it. He finished averaging 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists per game on 42% shooting from the field. While there were notably moments where he struggled to juggle an increased shot creating responsibility as a key part of coach Chris Victor’s offense, he played his best basketball late in the year as the team advanced to the second round of the NIT.
Analysis: What Does Cal Raleigh Non-Challenge Mean for Mariners ABS Strategy?
Use it or lose it. That’s a phrase that applies to many things in life: youth, a second language, differential calculus, Mark Knopfler’s finger-picking technique, and as of the beginning of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, your team’s two Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system challenges.
Here are the rules: each team gets two ABS challenges for balls and strikes that must be used immediately after any pitch is thrown. If a challenge is unsuccessful, one challenge is taken away from that team. If a team is out of challenges by the beginning of any extra inning, they get one more.
On Thursday night in Seattle, the Cleveland Guardians offered two challenges: one by catcher Bo Naylor to overturn a 2-2 ball call and strike out Cole Young in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the other a failed challenge by left fielder Steven Kwan after a 1-2 Logan Gilbert slider veered back onto the strike zone at the last gasp.
The Mariners didn’t use any.
Kraken Maintaining a Pulse With Three Points in Florida
The Stanley Cup playoffs begin in three weeks. There’s an argument to be made that it’s the most exciting postseason in professional sports.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs aren’t just hockey, it’s a controlled detonation of chaos, pain tolerance, and pure will. Every shift feels like it weighs a pound more, every hit echoes through the arena a little more, and every goal is either ecstasy or heartbreak. The margins shrink until the game becomes survival. Legends are carved out in April through June. It’s hockey at its rawest, loudest, most unforgiving, and most beautiful state.
The big question is, will the Seattle Kraken get into that dance?
WATCH: Recapping a Strong Sounders Start to 2026 Season
Emerald City Spectrum beat writer Qasim Ali recaps a 3-1-1 start to the 2026 season for the Seattle Sounders, who have already advanced to the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal through late March.
Old Mariners Bugbears Continue Biting in Opening Day Loss to Guardians
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s hard to say there wasn’t an air of that feeling in T-Mobile Park after the Mariners dropped their Opening Day contest 6-4 thanks to some shoddy relief work, unimpressive defense, and one-trick offense.
Four solo home runs were all the production the M’s could muster, and in a lot of games against the Cleveland Guardians, that might be enough (they scored slightly less than four runs per game last year). But Logan Gilbert once again struggled to go deep, outfielders lacked urgency on fly balls with men on base, and Gabe Speier caught the bad end of some J-Ram magic with men on base.
But for all the lingering of long-lamented woes, the newest guy on the roster burst his way onto the scene in a big way.
Brendan Donovan made the best first impression possible as the M’s new leadoff man.
The Mariners franchise is entering its 50th season this year, having notched its first game in the books all the way back on April 6, 1977. In all that time, no leadoff Mariner had hit a home run in his first at-bat of Opening Day. Not Dave Collins all the way back in that first season nor Harold Reynolds in the late ‘80s nor Ichiro in his Hall-of-Fame Mariners career. Of the 49 season-inaugural batters, not one had left the yard in that first at-bat.
Huskies Receive Commitment from 4-Star Defensive Tackle Jon Ioane
Washington Huskies coach Jedd Fisch speaks often about getting bigger to compete in the Big Ten, and the Huskies tipped the scales toward that end with a commitment from Class of 2027 defensive lineman Jon Ioane on Thursday.
Iona, listed at 6-3, 295 pounds, plays on both sides at the line at Tustin (Calif.) High School. He chose UW over Penn State, UCLA, Stanford and Cal. Rated a 4-star “Athlete” recruit in 247Sports composite rankings because of his two-way abilities, Ioane is the 267th-ranked overall national recruit and No. 24 in California.
Sounders Trade Georgi Minoungou to Colorado for $2 million
The Seattle Sounders continue to stockpile money and assets, trading Burkina Faso national winger Georgi Minoungou to the Colorado Rapids for $2 million in general allocation money (GAM) on Thursday, per Niko Moreno of Sounder at Heart and confirmed by Tom Bogert of The Athletic.
Georgi, 23, is one of the most dynamic dribblers in the MLS. He came into the league by way of the team's MLS Next Pro side, Tacoma Defiance, before earning a contract through 2029 with the first team. In 34 MLS matches with the team, Georgi scored two goals and picked up 11 starts, usually manning a "super sub" role to add a punch to head coach Brian Schmetzer's offense.
Georgi has been dealing with a lingering foot injury, missing a few games for Seattle before returning to start in the team's 0-0 draw with Minnesota this past Sunday.
Three Questions About Future of the Seahawks After Jaxon Smith-Njigba Megadeal
Earlier this week, the Seahawks made NFL history. They made Jaxon Smith-Njigba the highest paid receiver in history, inking him to a four-year, $168.6 million extension (averaging $42.15 million per year with $120 million guaranteed).
While fans are excited to see the reigning Offensive Player of the Year staying in Seattle for the next half-decade at least, this megadeal raises some questions. Let’s dive into three.
Najee Harris Presents Intriguing Buy-Low Candidate for Seahawks’ Rebuilt Backfield
In the wake of Ken Walker III’s departure to join the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency and Zach Charbonnet’s recent surgery to repair a torn ACL, the Seattle Seahawks continue to take a look at veteran options to reinforce their backfield depth, and the latest visitor to the VMAC may be the most interesting one yet.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Seahawks brought former Pro Bowl running back Najee Harris to town on Wednesday, providing an opportunity to assess his recovery six months after suffering a torn Achilles tendon and undergoing surgery in an injury-marred lone season with the Chargers. Per the report, the ex-Alabama star also has a visit scheduled with the Raiders as he seeks a new home.
Prior to the significant injury, the 6-1, 245-pound Harris enjoyed a stellar four year run with the Steelers after coming on board as a decorated first round pick, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark in each of those seasons and scoring 26 touchdowns on the ground. He also caught 180 passes out of the backfield during that span, adding north of 1,000 yards and six touchdowns as a receiver, showcasing a well-rounded game for a bigger back.
Reign Bounce Back in Spokane, Revive Offense Against Current
The rearview mirror.
That's where the Seattle Reign put last Friday’s 2-0 loss to the nine-player their rival Portland Thorns with a 3-0 win over the defending NWSL Shield champion Kansas City Current on Wednesday night at ONE Spokane Stadium.
Angrahad James-Turner opened the scoring in the 18th minute with her first goal since 2024, while Brittany Ratcliffe found her second goal with the team, and Maddie Mercado netted her first goal of 2026. Sofia Huerta, the NWSL's all-time assist leader, had a hand in the last two goals to push her career assist tally to 33 as the Reign improved to 2-1-0.
Keeper Claudia Dickey also picked up the clean sheet, as her 14th career zero-spot moved her into first place in club history.
With Lumen Field nearing the end of its World Cup renovations, the team is spending its next two games east of the Cascades. It's safe to say this midweek shellacking of a rotating Current side (1-2-0) was a good way to get things rolling.
Mariners Release Opening Day Roster; Crawford, Miller Notably Absent with Injury
With opening day right around the corner for the Seattle Mariners - at 7:10 p.m. Pacific on Thursday against the Guardians - the team has released its first 26-man roster for the 2026 season. The top of the depth chart, of course, is very much all over the M’s roster, from returning superstars in Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez to new additions like Brendan Donovan and Jose A. Ferrer.
But of course it is not all sunshine and roses for the defending AL West champions. Longtime shortstop J.P. Crawford is out for the beginning of the year with a shoulder injury while Bryce Miller is working through an injury of his own, leaving holes in the middle infield and the back of the rotation. Leo Rivas is going to get some playing time at short in the meantime (and perhaps Cole Young might swivel
Record Deal in Tow, Jaxon Smith-Njigba ‘Ready to Attack’ as Seahawks’ Foundational Star
Nearly three years ago to the day, with the team holding two first-round picks thanks to the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade from March 2022, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider, former coach Pete Carroll, and several team scouts flew into Columbus to check out an Ohio State pro day loaded with a ridiculous abundance of future NFL talent.
Drawing the most spectators, including Schneider and Carroll watching closely with significant questions at the quarterback position, Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud threw in front of scouts after bypassing the opportunity to do so at the NFL combine. Projected top-10 pick Paris Johnson also had no shortage of suitors watching him like hawks, though the Seahawks themselves were set at the tackle position after drafting Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas one year prior.
But as Schneider took a close gander at Ohio State’s rich stable of pro prospects at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, nobody shined on the field during athletic testing, on-field drills, and post-workout interviews more than receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Wowed by his skill set and character, the renowned executive left the building with the belief Seattle didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of him lasting on the board for the team to select with the 20th overall pick.
“I remember being at the Pro Day that day,” Schneider recalled. “And we were like, there's no way we're going to [draft him] - why are we meeting with this guy?”
NBA Expansion: Exploration Has Begun, So What’s Next For Potential Sonics Return?
It’s looking like it may only be a matter of time before the NBA is back in Seattle.
The NBA’s board of governors approved a vote — which got a yes from all 30 league owners — for the league to begin exploring bids for potential franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, formally beginning a process that would bring back the SuperSonics if completed.
The first step is complete, and while the chances of the NBA’s return to the Emerald City are becoming more and more likely, it’s still not a certainty. However, for the first time since the Sonics left in 2008, there is hope.
The Montlake Report: Biggest Storylines for the Huskies Heading Into Spring Football
Looking to improve on last year's 9-4 season, the Washington Huskies will open spring football on Tuesday, March 31. What are some of the biggest storylines heading into spring ball?
We also wrap up the end of the UW women's and men's basketball seasons.
Top-30/Local Visits Tracker: Who Have Seahawks Met With Leading Up to 2026 NFL Draft?
With the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in the rearview mirror and free agency well underway, the Seattle Seahawks and all 32 NFL teams are in the midst of scheduling and conducting their pre-draft top-30 visits.
In this process, each NFL team can bring in up to 30 players to their respective facilities for interviews and meetings with coaches as well as medical examinations and physicals. In addition, teams can also bring in local players for official visits, which do not count as one of the top-30 visits. While these on-site meetings are only part of the evaluation process leading up to the three-day event, they can play a critical role in determining where each player ends up on draft weekend.
Which players have already met with the Seahawks or are scheduled to come to town for top-30 visits and local visits before the 2026 NFL Draft?
Analysis: Why Cole Young’s Spring Training Improvements Will Continue in 2026 Mariners Season
Cole Young had the second-lowest hard hit rate on the Mariners last year at 31.1%, about 10th percentile among major leaguers. He also hit the longest home run of any Mariner.
Well, not counting Cal Raleigh’s absolute tanks in the Home Run Derby. But even as the Mariner catcher hit 60 bombs in 2025, he never cracked 450 feet on any of them; his longest shot went 448 feet. Young, meanwhile, took poor Rangers starter Kumar Rocker 456 feet with a line drive to the second deck on the last day of July. It was one of just four home runs during Young’s rookie campaign, but it gave some indication that Seattle’s biggest prospect graduation of the year might have some serious pop in the tank.
But with 12 extra-base hits in 257 plate appearances, Young didn’t give much of an indication that he could do such things consistently. Indeed, while that exact nuke left the bat at 114.1 miles an hour - a maximum exit velocity in the 83rd percentile - Young hit so many weak grounders and lazy fly balls that the rest of his batted ball profile was markedly unimpressive.
Hitting six home runs in 63 plate appearances, however, is very impressive. That’s what Young did in Spring Training this year - but does that mean anything come Opening Day?
Top 5 Home and Road Series on Mariners’ 2026 Schedule
The 2026 baseball season is upon us. The Mariners kick off the slate by welcoming the Cleveland Guardians to Seattle, starting Thursday. Opening Day is always a special time as the saying goes, “hope springs eternal.” For the Mariners, that’s especially true. It’s not very often that the Mariners open a season with the thought process of “World Series or bust.”
With that in mind, the Mariners will certainly clash with the best of the best MLB has to offer as they hope to be considered in that group themselves. Let’s take a look at the marquee series of the 2026 schedule, including the top five series at T-Mobile Park as well as the top five series on the road.
The top series could mean a combination of playing the best teams in the league but also key promotions or events surrounding that series.
Longer Seasons Incoming For WNBA, Seattle Storm Fans
Longer WNBA seasons are on the near horizon for Seattle Storm basketball fans.
The WNBA board of governors unanimously ratified the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players union on Tuesday, per the Associated Press, leaving just the long-form document to be written up before the agreement is finalized.
Included in the new CBA, in addition to the landmark increases in salaries for players, is the framework for substantially longer seasons, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou and Kendra Andrews.
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