Locally: Spokane Velocity FC adds standout striker Neco Brett

From staff reports

Jamaican forward Neco Brett, who has demonstrated goal-scoring ability in USL Championship, is joining Spokane Velocity FC, the team announced Tuesday.

Brett is among the leading scorers in USL Championship history, netting 85 goals in 207 regular-season and playoff appearances.

The 32-year-old from Kingston came up through the Jamaican national program, playing for the Under-17 and Under-20 teams, playing in eight international games for his country.

He came to the United States to play for Robert Morris University from 2012-15. He totaled 42 goals and 16 assists in 67 matches for Robert Morris before being selected in the 2016 MLS Superdraft by the Portland Timbers.

He spent that season on loan to the Portland Timbers 2 of USL Championship, scoring eight goals on 28 appearances.

He then joined the Pittsburgh Riverhounds – 32 goals in 67 matches from 2018-19 – and with Birmingham Legion – 27 goals in 48 matches in 2020-21.

After playing with New Mexico United for the 2022 season, scoring seven goals in 23 appearances, he returned to Birmingham, scoring another 12 goals in 30 matches in 2023.

“Neco has been one of the most prolific strikers in his past nine-plus years in the USL. He’s coming off an upper-body injury that kept him out of most of the 2024 season, but he is incredibly hungry and excited to get back on the pitch and into his goalscoring ways and show why he sits top three in the all-time USL top scorers list,” Velocity coach Leigh Veidman said.

The Velocity also recently added midfielder Mark “Marky” Hernandez to the team, pending league and federation approval.

Hernández played the past three seasons with Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, scoring nine goals in the 2023 season – good for the second spot on the team leaderboard – and three in 2024.

• The Spokane Zephyr announced Tuesday the addition of Sly Yeates to the sporting staff. Effective immediately, Yeates will take on the role of first assistant coach with the team.

Yeates hails from Utah and has had a notable career in soccer, spanning more than two decades.

Yeates comes to Spokane following her time with USL Super League’s Lexington (Kentucky) Sporting Club women’s team .

Shooting

The Spokane Junior Rifle Club Gold Team took 11th at the Junior Air Rifle Nationals Championships from Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Port Clinton, Ohio.

SJRC scored 4,808.3 points in the two-day Precision Team Match event, with the winning score being 4,880.4.

Twenty-five teams competed in the event.

Team members were Ensley Breeden, Tanner Krebs, Kaylee Geller and Cole Frizzell.

Breeden finished 27th out of 133 in the Precision Individual Match, scoring 1,221.7 points. The national champion score was 1,252.4.

College tennis

Washington State’s doubles team of Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy has been named the West Coast Conference women’s doubles team of the week, the conference announced Tuesday.

Last week began with the Cougars duo entering the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national rankings at No. 88.

In Washington State’s two matches last weekend in Texas, against No. 15 Baylor and No. 53 TCU, the pair went 2-0 at No. 1 doubles, defeating two nationally ranked opponents.

This marks the second time this season the duo has received WCC doubles team of the week honors.

College swimming

Ten Washington State swimmers and four relay teams received All-Mountain West Conference honors, the conference announced Wednesday.

At last weekend’s Mountain West Conference Championships in Houston, the Cougars had five individual event titles and two relay titles en route to their best finish at a conference championships in program history, finishing fifth.

The 10 swimmers who earned All-Mountain West as individuals were Dori Hathazi, Ashlyn Hernandez, Hannah Huarte, Tatum Janning, Emily Lundgren, Anna Rauchholz, Darcy Revitt, Ariel Wang, Lauren Wille and Emma Wright.

The four relay teams named All-MWC were the 200 medley (Rauchholz, Lundgren, Addyson Lewis); 400 medley (Rauchholz, Lundgren, Hathazi, Wright); 200 free (Revitt, Lundgren, Lewis, Wright); and 400 free (Wright, Angela Di Palo, Hathazi, Revitt).