Sage Lone Bear signs with UI football, women's hoops inks 4

Apr. 11—VANDAL NOTES

The Idaho football team inked a Clarkston High School product, and the men's hoops squad signed a former 5A Inland Empire League player of the year in the transfer portal.

It's been a busy couple of weeks for the Vandals, and it was highlighted by a couple of local additions.

Lone Bear signs with Vandals

Clarkston High School standout Sage Lone Bear announced his commitment to Idaho on April 1 via X (formerly Twitter).

The 6-foot-3, 290-pounder will be an offensive lineman for the Vandals.

Lone Bear was a defensive specialist for the Bantams, garnering second-team all-state honors in Washington as a senior.

The defensive tackle totaled 29 tackles, one for loss and 2.5 sacks. He's also an ace on special teams and can long snap and punt.

Lone Bear played 8-man football for two years at Lapwai High School. He earned first-team all-Whitepine League Division I honors as a sophomore and recorded 55 tackles, including 32 solo stops, 19 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Come and go

The roster of the Vandal men's basketball team has shifted a bit since the season wrapped up a little more than a month ago.

Idaho added former Idaho State guard Kolton Mitchell from the transfer portal on April 2.

The Coeur d'Alene native is the all-time leading scorer at Lake City High School with 1,614 points. Mitchell averaged 18 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Timberwolves.

Mitchell and Idaho Gatorade player of the year Blake Buchanan helped lead Lake City to a 26-0 record, a top-25 national ranking and a Class 5A state championship as seniors.

In his freshman year with the Bengals, Mitchell averaged 7.3 points and shot 48% from the field in 10 games. His season was cut short due to a finger injury. He received a medical redshirt and has four years of eligibility remaining.

Idaho most recently added Oregon State transfer Jayden Stevens on Tuesday.

The 6-7 forward appeared in 31 games for the Beavers and totaled 57 points and 26 rebounds. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Stevens was a second-team all-state selection at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane after averaging 19.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game as a senior.

Idaho also suffered transfer portal departures from three starters: guard EJ Neal, guard Quinn Denker and forward Terren Frank.

Frank and Denker were two of the Vandals' top three scorers, and Neal was a defensive specialist with 24 steals and 10 blocks.

Strength in numbers

The Idaho women's basketball team signed four players to its roster over the last couple of weeks.

The Vandals most recently inked Stephen F. Austin transfer and Post Falls native Tyler McCliment-Call on Tuesday.

The 6-0 guard averaged 8.4 points per game for the Ladyjacks last season.

McCliment-Call helped Post Falls High School win the 5A basketball title in 2018. She played her final two years at University High in Spokane Valley.

The Vandals also inked guard Hope Hassmann, forward Jennifer Aadland and guard Olivia Nelson.

Hassmann, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton, averaged 9.7 points per game as a freshman in 2023. The 5-8 guard started all 31 games as a true freshman for the Titans. She was named to the Big West's all-freshman team.

The Maple Valley, Wash., native was the team's second-leading scorer (302 points) and shot 39% from the floor.

Aadland, a transfer from NCAA Division II's Augustana, averaged 8.9 points per game in three years with the Vikings. The 6-0 forward started all 31 games last season and led the team in field goal percentage (53%).

Nelson started in all 117 games she played for Central Missouri. The 5-7 guard averaged 13.4 points and four assists per outing in three seasons with the Mules.

The Vandals brought in some proven scorers to replace 75% of their minutes lost from graduation or the transfer portal.

Idaho's biggest casualty from the portal was junior guard Kennedy Johnson.

Johnson started in all 31 games for the Vandals last season and averaged a team-high 14 points per outing. She was a first-team All-Big Sky selection in 2024.

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks