Polis, Hazeltine Earn NWAC Basketball Coach of the Year Honors

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Lower Columbia's Mickey Polis and Walla Walla's Bobbi Hazeltine were each named the NWAC's Basketball Coach of the Year for men's and women's basketball, respectively, the conference office announced on Friday. The awards were voted on by the conference head coaches. Polis and Hazeltine each led their teams to the NWAC title this year.



Mickey Polis • Lower Columbia • Men's Basketball 
Polis won his first-ever title as head coach for the Red Devils, leading LCC to 2025 championship with a 67-63 win over Southwestern Oregon in the final. The title is the first for the Red Devils 2005 when they won two in a row for their only previous titles in program history. Winning their third-ever title, the Red Devils were impressive in the tournament, opening with dominating wins of 91-60 over Shoreline and 77-49 against Treasure Valley. The Final Four proved a tougher test with a narrow 61-58 win against Highline before taking down the Lakers by four in the final.

LCC finished the season on a 14-game winning streak as they ended the year playing their best basketball. The Red Devils were co-West Region champions with South Puget Sound with matching 12-2 records in region play. They were one of the toughest defensive teams all year as they allowed the lowest field goal percentage of 36.9 and the second fewest points per game at 59.5. Led by Polis, the Red Devils had the Most Valuable Player of the West Region in Kap Laila, along with the Defensive Player of the Year and NWAC Tournament MVP David Young.



Bobbi Hazeltine • Walla Walla • Women's Basketball
Hazeltine won her fourth-ever NWAC title as head coach of the Warriors with an upset win 65-58 over two-time defending champions Lane. Hazeltine previously won titles in 2018, 2010 and 2001 as she coached the Warriors to all four of their program championships. The 2025 Walla Walla squad went on a run down the stretch of the season, winning its final 11 games en route to the title. The Warriors leaned on their No. 1 scoring defense as allowed just 46.0 points per game in the tournament. WWCC set the record for fewest points allowed in a tournament game with a 63-29 win over Centralia to open the tourney. They followed up with wins of 57-44 over Clackamas, 72-53 against Umpqua and 65-58 over Lane. Umpqua and Lane finished the year as the top-two scoring teams in the NWAC.

On the season, Walla Walla allowed just 50.7 points per game and were ranked third in rebounding margin at +13.5. The Warriors won the East Region with a 13-1 record, finishing 27-5 overall. They were led by East Region and NWAC tournament MVP Brielle Magnuson, along with Second Team East Region winners Jaisha Gibb and Hadley Fraas.

Both Polis and Hazeltine will be invited to the NWAC Hall of Fame Banquet on June 5 at the Angel of the Winds Casino Resort in Arlington, Washington, where they will be honored and receive their Coach of the Year plaques.

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