Central Washington University Athletics

This past season, the Wildcats rode high on the previous season’s success and found strong play from a young squad with most of the returners being sophomores, aside from senior Mitch Brizee and junior Xavier Kamalu-Vargas. Central started the season off going 4-3 before kicking GNAC play with a pair of strong wins over Simon Fraser and Western Washington. The Crimson and Black continued their winning ways as conference play began to roll, going 14-4 to capture the GNAC’s regular season title. Getting the first-round bye in the 2025 GNAC Tournament, the Wildcats saw heavy competition in their first game against Montana State Billings as the game went into double overtime. The ‘Cats got a three-point lead with eight seconds remaining and the Yellowjackets couldn’t get off a tying shot as Central held on to win 101-100 and advanced to the title game for the second consecutive year. However, CWU couldn’t recover from the double-overtime victory to repeat as the champions after falling to Seattle Pacific in the championship 61-72. The Wildcats would still get a spot in the NCAA West Regional as the sixth seed and made it to the second round after defeating Chico State 82-79 in overtime, before falling to the eventual national runner-up Cal State Dominguez Hills 65-77.

In the 2023-24 season, Central entered the GNAC Tournament as the fourth seed after posting an 11-7 conference record. However, the Crimson and Black saw immediate success in the postseason, defeating the fifth-seeded Seattle Pacific University 90-76 in the first round. The Wildcats then faced off against the top-seeded Montana State Billings in a game that proved to be an instant classic as the ‘Cats scored 49 points in the second half capped off by a go-ahead three-pointer from Samaad Hector with three seconds left to pull off the upset over the Yellowjackets 81-80 and thrust CWU into the championship game. Central kept the momentum going into the final match against the University of Alaska Anchorage, scoring 39 points in the first half to lead by 13 points, and then holding the steady lead as the Wildcats claimed their second GNAC title on home court in front of an ecstatic Nicholson Arena crowd, defeating the Seawolves 78-69. The Crimson and Black followed by winning their first game in the NCAA Division II West Regional, defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills 110-90. The ‘Cats finished the season, dropping the next game against Azusa Pacific 74-82.

In 2022-2023, the Wildcats reached the GNAC Tournament Semi-Finals for the second consecutive season. The team finished fourth in the regular season standings and were the only GNAC team to defeat GNAC Regular Season Champion Saint Martins on their home floor. The Wildcats defeated two nationally ranked opponents during the regular season and produced four All-GNAC selections (Cam McNeil, Brock Gilbert, Matt Poquette, Samaad Hector). Additionally, the Wildcats swept rival Western Washington for the first time since 2008. Senior guard Brock Gilbert set the program record for assists per game (7.0) and finished number #2 in NCAA DII in assists per game. Brock also finished Top 5 in NCAA DII in total assists (190). Senior forward Matt Poquette finished his CWU career with 1,239 points & 604 rebounds as a Wildcat. In the classroom, the Wildcats won their fourth straight GNAC Academic Conference Championship for highest team GPA. Additionally, five CWU MBB student-athletes earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic honors. Matt Poquette was awarded Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic for the fourth time in a row and is the only GNAC athlete to accomplish this.