Washington State closed fall camp the way a lot of teams wish they could: with a little football, a lot of laughter and a scene that felt more like a summer sendoff than the end of a grind.
On Sunday night in Pullman, the Cougars held an open practice under the lights and then turned the whole thing into a celebration. Students showed up in good numbers, field goal and punt-catching contests broke up the water breaks, and the evening ended with a water balloon fight that had players chasing coaches and assistants like it was the last day of school.
Defensive coordinator Trent Bray was one of the first targets, sprinting for the locker room with linebacker Keith Brown and defensive tackle Paul Hutson in pursuit. Later, director of football athletic performance Malcolm Hardmon tried to dodge the incoming barrage. Defensive tackle Kaden Beatty even tagged Kirby Moore in the back, while water balloons flew in every direction hoping to find a target.
Offensive coordinator Matt Miller and assistant wide receivers coach Jonah Chong figured out the safest spot on the field: near the media setup, out of the line of fire and away from the camera doing post-practice interviews.
Then there was the sight of 6-7, 332-pound right tackle Jaylin Caldwell lounging in a Gatorade wagon while fellow offensive tackle Chris Lino dragged him along. It was the kind of goofy finish that made the whole 15-day camp feel worthwhile.
The school also made a point of getting students involved. Moore said he and Jon Haarlow worked to encourage Greek life students to come out and take in a practice, and general manager Brad Larrondo again handled much of the narration, just as he had during spring open practices.
The night included a 25-yard field goal competition, and one of the three students knocked it through. There was also a punt-catch contest, and one student managed to secure a catch off the foot of Max Dean.
As for the football itself, Sunday was light. There wasn’t much in the way of heavy team work, and the biggest notable play was a Jeremiah Bernard interception on an off-target Caden Pinnick throw.
Pinnick settled in after that. Moore didn’t name a quarterback after practice, but Pinnick once again took every rep with the ones. Make of that what you will.
Wide receiver Jordan Dees also kept trending the right way. After a rough scrimmage last week that included two drops and a penalty, he finished camp strongly over the final few days.
The good feelings carried into Monday morning, when Washington State announced that long snapper Sean Bures, linebackers Jack Ellison and Gavin Fugate, and defensive end Jack Procter had been put on scholarship. Their teammates reacted with a huge roar.
For each of them, it was a deserved moment.
Bures has won the starting long snapper job in his fourth season with the program. The 6-0, 215-pound Lacey product made one appearance last year and will handle all long-snapping duties in 2026.
Ellison, a 6-3, 230-pound third-year from Olympia, told Cougfan.com last September he wasn’t sure if he would even make the team in 2025. He went on to appear in 13 games last season, starting one and recording 11 tackles.
Fugate, in his fourth year, is a 6-3, 233-pound Chehalis product who has not yet appeared in a game, but appears to have carved out a special teams role for 2026. Procter, whom Jake Dickert called the “Procodile,” is the elder statesman of the group. The fifth-year veteran from Point Roberts, the small town in northern Washington that can only be reached through Canada, has played in two games in his career.
In Other News...
Coug Athletics Is Building Early Momentum On And Off The Field
With the academic year now underway, Washington State University Athletics is trying to turn a busy opening stretch into something bigger than a fast start on the field. Football camp is in motion, soccer and volleyball have already produced early results, and across the department there is a clear effort to frame the moment as one where athletic performance, classroom work and campus visibility all feed into each other.
The update from the department also pointed to steady progress away from competition, from academic achievements to fundraising milestones and community engagement efforts that have kept the program connected beyond game days. For fans and donors, the message was simple enough: there are still ways to help fuel the momentum, and the Cougars are leaning into the idea that this early-season energy can carry well beyond September. [Read more 🡒]
Cougs Get One More Chance To Build Momentum Before September Grind
Washington States women get one more home chance to keep things moving in the right direction before September starts to crowd the calendar. The Cougars host UC Irvine at Lower Soccer Field in Pullman, a useful early-season test as Chris Citowicki settles into his first stretch as head coach and a roster with several new faces begins to take shape. Between the additions, the fresh captaincy structure and a few encouraging individual performances, there is still a lot of sorting out to do, but the broader picture has started to come into focus.
UC Irvine brings a familiar sort of measuring-stick matchup for a program trying to build momentum rather than chase a finished product in August. Washington State has already shown it can handle some of the early-season pressure, and another solid showing would matter heading into a September slate that quickly gets more demanding. The real question is whether the Cougars can keep stacking those small signs of progress before the schedule starts asking for more. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Volleyball Enters A New Era With Plenty To Prove
Washington State volleyball will open its 2026 season on Aug. 28 against Omaha at Bohler Gym in Pullman, kicking off a schedule that already has a little extra intrigue built in. The Cougars will also host the 2026 Cougar Invitational, with Central Michigan, Montana and Omaha coming through town, and fans who cannot make it to the gym will be able to follow along on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.
It is a lineup that fits a program in transition, but also one with enough continuity to make the next step feel realistic. Korey Schroeder heads into his third season with new assistant coaches beside him, and the roster will look markedly different after a wave of arrivals around a returning core, leaving Washington State with both experience and uncertainty as it tries to establish itself in a new era. [Read more 🡒]