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VANDAL NOTES: Idaho soccer player Jayd Sprague transfers to Oregon

trevan pixley, lewiston tribune, idaho
·3 min read

Feb. 1—Transfer portal departures, shattering school records, late roster additions and postseason implications sound like a typical week for Idaho athletics.

Here's the latest on the Vandals:

Sprague transfers to Oregon

Former midfielder for the Idaho women's soccer team, Jayd Sprague, announced she will be transferring to Oregon for her graduate season on Wednesday via Instagram .

The Big Sky first-teamer started 36 games for the Vandals in two years and scored seven goals, including two game-winners, both against Northern Arizona.

The Laguna Beach, Calif., native helped lead the Vandals to their first Big Sky conference championship in program history last season, which resulted in their first trip to the NCAA tournament, where they fell 1-0 to Gonzaga on Nov. 11.

Sprague will go from a conference-title contender to a rebuilding program as the Ducks finished last season 0-16-3 overall and 0-7-1 in conference play.

Idaho football adds more

The Idaho football team added two more players to its '24 recruiting class: Burien (Wash.) product Marquawn McCraney and Kuna, Idaho, native Jaxon Peterson.

McCraney, a 3-star recruit according to 247Sports.com, will play receiver at Idaho.

McCraney attended Highline High School, which was spearheaded by UI's running backs coach, Deontae Cooper.

McCraney had offers from Arizona, Southern California, Oregon State, USC and Washington, to name a few.

As a senior, McCraney finished with 780 yards receiving on 29 receptions (26.9 yards per reception) and 11 touchdowns.

Peterson, a 2-star recruit according to 247Sports, will play on the offensive line for the Vandals.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder helped the Kaveman rush for more than 200 yards per game in 2023.

Two records shattered for Idaho track

Mia Sylvester and Prabhasha Wickramaraachchi both broke school records at the Inland Northwest Invitational at the Podium on Saturday in Spokane.

Sylvester, a sophomore, shattered a 21-year-old school record in the weight throw with a mark of 61 feet, 7 inches.

The previous record was held by Aloha Santiago in 2003 (61-3).

Sylvester's gold-medal finish was her second of the season.

Wickramaraachchi broke the Idaho record in the 300 meters with a time of 39.49 in her collegiate debut.

It was also Wickramaraachchi's second gold-medal finish of the season.

Idaho hoops looking for a rebound

The Idaho women's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with a 60-56 decision over Big Sky opponent Northern Colorado on Saturday.

The conference tournament is more than two months away, but the Big Sky posted a preview of what the bracket would look like if the season ended today on social media.

The Vandals (10-9, 3-4) would be the No. 7 seed and would face No. 8 Weber State at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.

Idaho fell 61-56 to the Wildcats in their most recent matchup on Jan. 20.

The Vandals next play No. 3 Montana (14-5, 6-2) at 6 p.m. today at the ICCU Arena.

The Idaho men are on a seven-game losing streak and are 7-13 overall and 1-6 in Big Sky play.

If the season ended today, the Vandals would be the No. 10 seed and would play No. 9 Sacramento State in the opening round.

If things hold, it would be the third time in five years that the Vandals received the bottom seed at the Big Sky tournament.

The Vandals next play No. 3 Montana (14-7, 5-3) at 7 p.m. today at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Mont.

Pixley may be contacted at tpixley@lmtribune.com, (208) 848-2268 or on Twitter @TreebTalks.