Cascade’s Souza accepts WSU baseball scholarship
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, June 29, 2006
They made Steven Souza an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Last Friday, Souza, a senior-to-be from Cascade High School, got a text message from a Washington State University assistant baseball coach.
“Call me,” the message said. Souza did, and within minutes the WSU assistant coach piqued Souza’s interest with a simple but exciting question: “How would you feel about being a Coug?”
Souza felt great about it, so he verbally accepted a 60-percent athletic scholarship to play baseball for WSU. He can sign a binding NCAA letter of intent as early as Nov. 9.
Souza had a .462 batting average, drove in 29 runs and hit two home runs for Cascade as a junior this spring. In his second year on the Bruins varsity squad, the 6-foot-3 Souza played a variety of positions, including third base, second base, first base and pitcher, and he also has experience at shortstop. He received All Wesco-North second team recognition as a utility player. WSU coaches told Souza they covet his versatility.
Souza also received interest from Washington, UNLV and Oregon State. He’s not sure what position(s) he’ll play in college. WSU coaches joked they might even try him at catcher – a position Souza hasn’t played since he was 11. At this point, he’s up for anything: “I just want to hit. I just want to play Division-I baseball.”
Souza got even more good news last weekend when he was one of 24 players picked to represent Washington, Oregon and Idaho in the Area Code Games Aug. 5-10 in Long Beach, Calif. He’ll get to compete against the country’s elite players and show his skills to professional scouts.
Kamiak hires boys hoops, girls soccer coaches: Greg Turcott is the new boys basketball coach at Kamiak High. Turcott, a graduate of Carroll College in Helena, Mont., was a varsity assistant the past six years at Bishop Blanchet in Seattle. He replaces Jeff Leary, who resigned after eight seasons. “For me, it’s really exciting just to coach at this level,” said Turcott, who for the first time saw his Kamiak players compete on Thursday. “It’s a really nice group of kids (with) a couple real solid seniors – a very smart, talented group.”
Kamiak also hired a new girls soccer coach. Beth Stewart, a Pacific Lutheran University graduate, will lead the Knights, who were 5-3-1 in the Wesco South last fall (third place), 6-7-2 overall. Stewart has coached at the high school, middle school and club levels, and she played forward for Pacific Lutheran University. She was Mariner’s head coach from 1999-2001 and guided Kamiak’s C team from ‘01-‘02.
New volleyball coach at Meadowdale: Machen Shrum, a 1986 Edmonds-Woodway graduate, was hired to coach the Meadowdale volleyball team. Shrum was an E-W assistant for 12 years and played three years at Pacific Lutheran. She last coached at E-W in 2003. “It is certainly our gain to have someone with her knowledge, people skills and high level of ethics and integrity,” Edmonds School District athletic director Terri McMahan said of Shrum in a press release. Shrum replaces Jennifer Kniseley, who resigned to pursue a credential in school administration at Washington.
Kamiak’s Marere headed to Evergreen: Rahiti Marere, a 6-foot-6 post who recently graduated from Kamiak, will play basketball for The Evergreen State College in Olympia. Marere averaged 11.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game during the 2005-2006 season. “We are very fortunate to be able to add Rahiti to our recruiting class,” Evergreen basketball coach Tom Kenna said in a press release. “He comes from a great family, is a good person, and is a very competitive player.” Marere was an All-Wesco South first team selection and a captain for a Kamiak team that went 12-8.
