Analysis: Five Thoughts on Mariners Extending Colt Emerson
News broke early Tuesday morning that the Seattle Mariners agreed to an eight-year, $95 million contract extension with 20-year-old top prospect Colt Emerson (MLB Pipeline’s No. 7 overall prospect and the team’s No. 1). It includes an $8 million signing bonus, a ninth-year club option (valued around $25 million), escalators that could push the total value north of $130 million, and a full no-trade clause.
A deal this big for a player this young - and one who has yet to make his MLB debut at that - always brings eyeballs. Diving into the surprising extension, what stands out for Emerson and the Mariners? Five thoughts:
This is a risk for BOTH sides
This is the largest contract handed out to a player who has yet to play a single inning in the major leagues. That statement alone implies the risks on the Seattle Mariners’ side. Emerson could blow his knee out tomorrow (I didn’t even want to put that out in the universe), and the Mariners would still owe him that money. Even if he doesn’t play an inning for the Mariners ever, that’s still his money either way. Or, he could end up being simply a below average big leaguer as Jarred Kelenic did. We see it all the time with star prospects flaming out and failing to meet expectations.
Huskies’ Offensive Line, Freshmen Roles Take Shape at First Day of Spring Ball
SEATTLE, Wash. — It’s a long time before the Huskies begin the 2026 season with the Apple Cup, but Washington appears ready to roll with true freshmen at key spots on the offensive and defensive lines.
UW coaches wasted no time on Day 1 of spring ball giving five-star recruit Kodi Greene the first crack at left tackle while rolling out the highest-rated in-state recruit, Derek Colman-Brusa, in the middle of the defensive line with the first team.
The team’s not in pads yet, so there will undoubtedly be dog days that lie ahead for the youngsters. But these aren’t your typical freshmen. Greene, listed at 6-6, 321 pounds, appeared to move like very few humans that size. Similarly, Derek Colman-Brusa fit right in at defensive tackle at 6-5, 295 pounds.
"There's certain guys that, just based upon their physical skill set, we're giving some opportunities to," Washington head coach Jedd Fisch said. "Then we'll rotate through that and make sure as the spring goes, different guys will get different opportunities."
Mariners Give Big Goose Egg against Fried, Continue Defensive Woes
As might be expected for a team 3-3 out of the gate early in the season, the Mariners’ supposed new-look offense has looked a lot more like a lateral shift. Perhaps it’s the cold weather, perhaps it’s lack of adjustment to the batter’s eye, perhaps it’s lack of momentum for key stars who played in the World Baseball classic - but this is a ball yard that has seen a whole lot of “slow starts that will even out” turn out to be the tone set for the entire year.
And when teams like the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Astros clearly have all their ducks in a row on the first weekend, putting up a goose egg at home against one of the league’s best teams isn’t the best of signs.
Gilbert’s splitter looks limited in his outing against New York, but a better middle-inning pitch mix offers a way forward.
Despite being Seattle’s opening day starter, it doesn’t quite look like Logan Gilbert has yet reached the ace potential billing he has long come with. The first inning didn’t look good for his efficiency slump, with the hurler trying and failing to fool the Yankee hitters with buried curves and splitters on his way to 28 pitches and two runs in the frame.
Meet Peter Kingston, Sounders Midfielder and Son of the Seattle Soccer System
Some of the most impactful Seattle Sounders are from the Emerald City and its surrounding area.
The team's leading scorer this season, Paul Rothrock, hails from Seattle, while the club's all-time leading scorer, Jordan Morris, is from across the I-90 bridge on Mercer Island. With head coach Brian Schmetzer of Lake City and a former Sounder himself prioritizing local talent, the Sounders have become a beacon for all nearby talent to work toward.
"Any kid who probably grew up in the Seattle area that wanted to be a Sounder, like you don't want to just be a part of the team, you want to be a guy who's well-known amongst your peers," Peter Kingston, who splits time with the Defiance and Sounders, told The Spectrum after training on Friday morning.
Kingston, who comes from just across 520 and up the 405 in Kirkland, has worked through every local avenue possible to tab his first MLS minutes with Seattle in 2025. The 24-year-old has played for the two prominent collegiate programs in the state, Seattle University and the University of Washington.
In the midst of the rush of college athletics, Kingston had a unique experience. He had a daughter during his three seasons with Seattle U and son while at UW with his girlfriend, Shay.
Balancing pursuing his dream and being a local father led Kingston to USL League Two side Ballard FC, Tacoma Defiance and eventually back to the Sounders as the young player pushes for a roster spot.
Maddox Haley Earns National Honors as Gonzaga Baseball Gets Back to .500
Playing five games in six days, Gonzaga baseball (13-13, 4-2 WCC) won four contests over that span to get back to the .500 mark. After run-ruling Eastern Washington 19-8 in its home opener, the Zags took two out of three from Pacific on the road, then beat Nevada 7-2 back at the Patterson Baseball Complex on Monday.
You would be underselling one of the Bulldogs’ bats to say he’s just feeling it at the plate. And on the pitching side, GU has now stacked three strong starting pitching outings in a row.
So who are the standout contributors for Gonzaga’s stretch of complementary baseball?
Haley Can’t Stop Hitting
Across all levels of baseball, you might not be able to find a hotter hitter than Zags outfielder Maddox Haley at the moment. Riding a 14-game hitting streak, Haley had an unreal week at the dish where, during a four-game span, he tallied a hit in 14 of 19 at-bats. The 6-2 righty was 5-for-5 against the Cougars with two doubles and two homers, with the final blast being a pseudo walk-off shot. Initially called foul as it sailed over the left field pole, the ruling was reversed after review, and Haley did his best Michael Morse impression of mimicking his swing before trotting the bases and being mobbed by his teammates.
Ready to Defend Title, Seahawks ‘Cognizant’ of Lessons Learned From Previous Super Bowl Runs
Every season in the NFL is unique by nature thanks to free agency and the draft ensuring substantial roster turnover across the league, and while the Seattle Seahawks only lost five players in free agency off of their Super Bowl LX winning squad, they won’t be an exception to the rule with several newcomers coming on board as they begin their title defense.
With that said, though the vibes will undoubtedly be a bit different in 2026 regardless of the continuity on the roster, that doesn’t mean that the effects of playing into February and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy won’t have an impact on the upcoming season either. Fortunately for general manager John Schneider, this isn’t his first rodeo coming off of a Super Bowl run, and he’s eager to take advantage of the multitude of lessons learned from the last time the Seahawks made the big game in back to back seasons in 2014 and 2015.
Speaking with reporters at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix, leaning on his first-hand experience from those prior Super Bowl runs, Schneider indicated that there’s a lot of factors Seattle must be “cognizant” of after playing deep into February that go well beyond building the roster and coaching staff.
Analysis: Cougars Set to Enjoy Continuity at Running Back as Spring Ball Kicks Off
With spring ball getting underway in Pullman, while first-year coach Kirby Moore will have a lot of new faces donning crimson and grey on the practice field for the first time, the Washington State Cougars will have a surprising amount of continuity in the backfield.
In a rarity in today’s college football landscape with the transfer portal leading to mass roster changes each spring, the Cougars return several familiar faces and solid production at running back from last season despite the coaching change, including their top two rushers from a year ago returning.
As spring football kicks off, who will be back in action for the Cougars in the backfield and who has the edge to land significant playing time in Moore’s offense rolling towards the 2026 season?
Cal Raleigh Walks Off Yankees, Mariners Take One-Run Win Despite Missed Chances
The Mariners exited the weekend four-game set against the Guardians having scored nine more runs than their opponents but with just as many losses as wins. One-run games on Thursday and Saturday both went against the hosts, with the team seemingly figuring out how to deploy its roster in close matchups.
Seattle faced another one-run game against a 3-0 Yankees team on Monday night, and although the pitching was filthy, both the defense and offense seemed to have a bad case of the Mondays, letting several opportunities slip past at the dish and serving up a key non-out to New York in the seventh. But all’s well that ends well, and none other than Cal Raleigh knocked the winning run home in the bottom of the ninth to put all the night’s adversity behind them.
Luis Castillo notches his 1500th strikeout against Aaron Judge to cap off six shutout innings.
Mariners starter Luis Castillo isn’t the ace he once was. His once-elite grounder rate from his time with the Reds fell to around league average in his last few years with the Mariners, and his above average ratio of homers to fly balls in 2025 suggested he got on the good side of the Seattle marine layer. Still, his decline into his 30s has thus far been a graceful one, with a 3.54 ERA and 3.88 FIP last year.
Huskies Coaches Optimistic Heading Into Tuesday’s Spring Football Start
SEATTLE, Wash. — Looking to take another step forward, Jedd Fisch and his Washington Huskies football team begin spring football on Tuesday full of optimism.
It may seem like an eternity until the season kicks off with the Apple Cup on Sept. 5, but the hopes are high on Montlake after a 9-4 season in 2025. Spring ball will once again be spread out over five weeks, with Spring Game scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 1. During the first four weeks, Washington will hold practices open to fans and media 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as Saturdays 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. through April 25.
While some components of the team are settled, spring will serve as an opportunity for coaches to begin determining how positions such as running back and offensive line will shake out this season. Here are some of the things we learned while meeting with all the coaches on Monday.
Seahawks Banking on Noah Igbinoghene, Free Agent Signings to Help ‘Refill’ Post-Super Bowl Holes
Winning the Super Bowl comes with a heavy price, as other NFL teams covet signing players from the defending champions once free agency opens a few short weeks after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, and the Seattle Seahawks were no exception to the rule this offseason.
In the early stages of free agency, also known as the legal tampering period, Super Bowl LX MVP Ken Walker III bolted for Kansas City to pair up with Patrick Mahomes in the Chiefs’ backfield on a record-setting contract for a running back. Hours later, safety Coby Bryant netted a mega deal from the Bears and outside linebacker Boye Mafe landed a $60 million deal from the Bengals. The following day, former Pro Bowl cornerback Riq Woolen took his talents to Philadelphia on a one-year deal with the Eagles.
Unfortunately, as coach Mike Macdonald acknowledged, losing talented players comes with the territory after winning the NFL’s ultimate prize. But with Schneider at the controls, he believes the Seahawks have done a fine job of keeping most of the band together and even with former starters such as Walker and Bryant departing, the team has “refilled” most of those losses in free agency.
Hancock Stuns in First 2026 Outing, Mariners Thump Guardians 8-0
It all seemed to come together on Sunday afternoon. Unlike the first or third game of the series, where the Mariners kept it close but fell in the end thanks to some bullpen mismanagement, defensive miscues, and lethargic hitting - and unlike the second game, where two timely homers brought them to victory - there wasn’t a single moment of the fourth game between Seattle and the Cleveland Guardians where it seemed the pressure was on for the home crew.
Hitters up and down the lineup did their duty, the defense looked good, and that whole tone was set when a once-touted prospect whose bad luck had eaten his star finally seemed to turn a corner.
Hancock impresses in first 2026 start, tossing six no-hit innings and setting a career high in strikeouts.
Mariners starter Emerson Hancock came into 2026 with one more chance to become a major league starter. The former first-round draft pick has pitched to a 4.81 ERA, 5.23 fielding independent pitching (FIP), 1.359 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP), and a 2.06 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He had particularly struggled with control even more than walks as such, with errant pitches forcing him to groove a strike or two and get punished in bad situations.
Local Talent on Montlake Could Fit Multiple Needs for Seahawks in 2026 NFL Draft
When it comes to finding young talent to help bolster his football team, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider will look just about anywhere and location and/or level of competition aren’t deal breakers in the least bit, evidenced most recently by investing a first round pick in North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Dating back to 2017, Schneider has drafted Zabel as well as three players from the Division II ranks, including receivers David Moore and Dareke Young and tackle Michael Jerrell. Though none of those players remain with the Seahawks after Young signed with the Raiders earlier this month in free agency, all three of them remain on rosters in the league and two of them contributed for playoff teams in Seattle, indicating that those selections panned out quite nicely for the organization.
With that said, Schneider has wisely always kept strong tabs on local standouts, attending pro days at Washington and Washington State annually along with not-so-distant road trips to Oregon and Oregon State. In 16 years at the helm, he has drafted two former Huskies (Will Dissly in 2018, Ben Burr-Kirven in 2020) and a former Cougar (current starting right tackle Abraham Lucas in 2022) while also bringing plenty of undrafted talent into the mix from both programs, including Super Bowl champion Jermaine Kearse.
Now less than a month away from the 2026 NFL Draft, even with Seattle only holding four picks at the moment, the stars look to be aligning for Schneider to potentially add to that Evergreen State pipeline, specifically in regard to the Huskies on Montlake.
Tomas Thrastarson, Parker Gerrits Enter Portal as Cougars’ Roster Shakeup Continues
The Washington State Cougars men's basketball lost two more names to the transfer portal, as Tomas Thrastarson and Parker Gerrits have announced their decision to enter and pursue a new school for 2026-27.
Thrastarson, a Thorlákshöfn, Iceland native, appeared in 19 games this past season after missing roughly a month and a half due to an ankle injury. He averaged 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 43.9% from the field, 28.8% from three-point range, and 73.8% from the free-throw line.
Gerrits originally joined Washington State as a walk-on before eventually earning a scholarship. Known as a strong defender on a team that struggled at times on that end of the floor, he played a limited role during his time in Pullman.
Season In Review: Analyzing Gonzaga WBB's 2025-26 Campaign
A clear signal of the youth infusion Gonzaga women’s basketball had this season is the fact that there was only one senior in its rotation.
Still, the Zags were victorious in 24 games, won the WCC tournament, and got back to the NCAA tournament after missing out on it the year prior. After Allie Turner broke out in her freshman season, Lauren Whittaker topped her with an unbelievable freshman campaign. And with so much of the team’s core expected to return, the Bulldogs are in great shape moving forward with several players who have already produced beyond their years.
Each time head coach Lisa Fortier was asked about her squad’s turnover issue throughout the year (Gonzaga had the third-most turnovers in the conference and the second-worst turnover margin), she shrugged it off. Fortier simply attributed the lack of ball security to the youth of the team, despite it costing them in most of their 10 losses. But if you were to look at the other areas of the game, it would show why she didn’t visibly obsess over the nagging issue.
So how did GU have such a successful season despite its lack of experience?
Seawolves Break Century Mark Hosting Hartford Harpooners in Preseason
TUKWILA, Wash. - Before Major League Rugby, post-collegiate American rugby was a patchwork game. It still is, at least beyond the six teams that now make up the top echelon of the sport.
The Seattle Seawolves played host to a part of that patchwork on Saturday afternoon. The Hartford Harpooners, an amateur team from the other side of the country, flew over to Seattle for a preseason match as the Seawolves gear up for the 10-game regular season. This wasn't the Seawolves' first rodeo either of the preseason - they played the Stormers' second team in Cape Town on Sunday - or with the Harpooners, who they previously hosted in 2022.
Back then, with a more diffuse talent pool in the MLR, the Seawolves came out ahead 50-0 over their amateur opponents. Perhaps in a display of MLR’s talent jump since, Seattle won 111-3. Or maybe, as I’ll explain, it might have been 113-3.
Analysis: Identifying Best Cornerback Fits for Seahawks’ 2026 Draft Picks
Undergoing significant changes in the secondary in the aftermath of a Super Bowl LX victory, the Seattle Seahawks lost two key members from their starting defensive backfield in free agency, including the departure of cornerback Riq Woolen for Philadelphia.
While Seattle didn’t exit free agency empty handed by re-signing fellow starter Josh Jobe on a three-year, $24 million deal and adding former Dolphins first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene as an intriguing reclamation project, Woolen’s exit still leaves the team with limited depth at the position. With the exception of Devon Witherspoon, Jobe, and Igbinoghene, the Seahawks don’t have another cornerback on the roster with previous starting experience, including third-year defender Nehemiah Pritchett, who has only seen action sparingly as an injury replacement to this point.
Fortunately for general manager John Schneider, even with only four draft picks scheduled for next month’s 2026 NFL Draft, the Seahawks should have ample options to restock the cupboard thanks to a deep, talented cornerback group in this year’s class. There could be as many as five corners selected in the first round, while the position features starter-caliber players who will be available on Day 2 and potentially even well into the final four rounds on Day 3.
Looking at this year’s latest crop of cornerbacks, which players stand out as the best potential fits to succeed Woolen and help reinforce the Seahawks’ secondary for 2026 and beyond with each of their four selections?
Woo Strong Early, Mariners Falter Late in Extra-Innings Heartbreaker to Guardians
The Seattle Mariners entered Saturday night’s contest like one of your old roommates - still searching for singles. They checked that box, but it still wasn’t enough.
After a strong five-plus from Bryan Woo, Cleveland’s lineup scratched across three runs late at T-Mobile Park. Despite a late comeback in the ninth, the Mariners folded in extra innings as the Guardians won 6-5.
Woo strong but two-out rally in sixth spoils stellar start
Mariners starter Bryan Woo allowed just one baserunner through his first four innings of work, pumping his elite fastball time and time again: 59 of his 83 pitches on Saturday were the four-seamer, which stayed in the top half of the zone for five frames.
Reign Continue Spokane Success with 2-1 Win Over Louisville
The Seattle Reign have found themselves quite a home east of the Cascades.
The team, set for three straight games in Spokane while Lumen Field finishes World Cup renovations, finished the second fixture of that stand with a 2-1 win over Racing Louisville on Saturday afternoon. Maddie Mercado struck first on a keeper error in the 10th minute before Nerilia "Coco" Mondesir turned a smooth team play into the team's second goal right before the half.
Although a late stoppage-time Louisville goal spoiled a would-be clean sheet, Claudia Dickey and the Seattle defense were superb in shutting down a Racing side missing one of the league's brightest stars in Emma Sears. With the result, the Reign improved to 3-1-0, with all their contests coming away from the Emerald City as the team is just under a month away from returning to its home pitch in SoDo.
By the end of Saturday’s match, however, those two first-half chances for Seattle outweighed anything Louisville could produce despite 19 shots by the final whistle.
"I think it might be a conversation about moving (to Spokane)," Reign head coach Laura Harvey joked postgame.
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?
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