FARMINGTON, Utah (Oct. 6, 2025) – The Big Sky Conference announced its Player of the Week honors, presented by
JAMBAR, with soccer, football, volleyball, cross country, women's golf and men's golf all in full swing.
Big Sky Football Players of the Week (Oct. 6, 2025)
Co-Offensive Player of the Week: Michael Wortham, Montana (WR, R-Sr., North Highlands, Calif)
Michael Wortham did a bit of everything for the Griz, and did it well when the team needed him most. The senior receiver totaled 247 all-purpose yards while throwing for a touchdown and rushing for two more, including the game winner against Idaho State. He had 41 yards on the ground, 124 receiving, and another 82 on kickoff returns. He also set up a big touchdown with his arm, throwing to quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat on a reverse that set Montana up in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. On the next play he ran it in from nine yards out to put the Griz up for good. Wortham leads the Big Sky and the FCS as a whole in all-purpose yards with 883 on the season, an average of 176 per game.
Co-Offensive Player of the Week: Caden Pinnick, UC Davis (QB, R-Fr., Loomis, Calif)
Caden Pinnick had the best night of his young career in the 34-27 win over Cal Poly for No. 7 UC Davis. The redshirt freshman led the offense all night, including scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter that allowed the Aggies to pull away from their rivals to retain the Golden Horseshoe. Pinnick went 21-for-26 for 313 yards and tossed three touchdowns, while adding 60 yards on the ground and another score to finish the night with 373 total yards of offense and four touchdowns. Pinnick recorded career-highs in completion percentage (80%), total yards (373), passing yards (313) and total touchdowns (4) in the win over Cal Poly. The weekly honors are the second of the year for Pinnick.
Defensive Player of the Week: Kenneth Eiden, Montana State (DL, Sr., Bozeman, Mont.)
Kenneth Eiden IV led No. 5 Montana State to another stifling defensive effort, registering seven tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, in his team's 34-10 win at No. 13 Northern Arizona. He also logged half a sack and hurried NAU quarterback Ty Pennington once. MSU's pass rush, keyed by Eiden, helped hold Pennington to nearly 60 yards below his season average while intercepting him for just the second time in 2025. The Bobcat defense held NAU to under 300 yards of offense, which included a sub-100 day rushing the ball.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Taco Dowler, Montana State (WR/RS, Jr., Billings, Mont.)
Trailing 7-0 on the road to No. 13 Northern Arizona, Taco Dowler energized No. 5 Montana State with a 90-yard punt return touchdown as the Bobcats outscored the Lumberjacks 34-3 from that point on in the 34-10 victory. Montana State had gained 76 yards of offense midway through the second quarter before Dowler’s return, which was the longest in school history and ranks as the longest in the FCS so far this season. The punt return touchdown was the fourth of Dowler’s career. Dowler also rushed for three yards and caught two passes for 45 yards in Montana State’s road win.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Football Player of the Week
Offense: Nate Bell (EWU), Jordan Cooke (ISU), Justin Lamson (MSU), John-Keawe Sagapolutele (PSU)
Defense: Read Sunn (EWU), Rylan Leathers (ISU), TJ Rausch (UM), Jayden Stanley (UC Davis), Spencer Elliot (PSU)
Special Teams: Landon Ogles (EWU), Trajan Sinatra (ISU), Ian Finch (UM), Tony Johnson (PSU)
Big Sky Volleyball Players of the Week (Oct. 6, 2025)
Offensive Player of the Week: Victoria Marthaler, Sacramento State (OH, So., Albuquerque, NM.)
Sophomore Victoria Marthaler was incredible in leading Sacramento State to a four-set road win (25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22) at Portland State in the Hornets’ lone match of the week. The outside hitter accounted for nearly half of Sacramento State’s kills, finishing with a career-best 28 kills (7.00 kps) to go with a .397 hitting percentage. The Albuquerque, N.M., native had just five errors in 58 swings, and her 28 kills were 10 more than any player from either team.
The 28 kills surpassed her previous career best of 26, set two weeks ago against Fresno State. Marthaler also came through in the clutch - connecting on a kill at set point to close a 25-23 second set, and later getting a kill on match point to finish off a 25-22 fourth set win.
Her 28 kills were just shy of half of Sacramento State’s 60 kills in the match. If that wasn’t enough, she also added a career-best 14 digs. Marthaler is now averaging a whopping 6.30 kills per set in Big Sky play, easily the top mark in the conference.
Co-Defensive Player of the Week: Alexis Batezel, Montana (L, Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.)
Alexis Batezel averaged an absurd 7.63 digs per set in Montana's two matches this week, inlcuding a career high 40 digs against Northern Colorado. She followed that up with 21 digs in a win over NAU and was a perfect 22/22 in serve receptions on the weekend.
Batezel has been the backbone of the team's success so far this season, winning 11 of their last 12 matches. The Grizzlies are tied for the top spot in the standings after two weeks of conference action.
Co-Defensive Player of the Week: Lauren Lindseth, Montana State (L, Sr., Great Falls, Mont.)
Lindseth played a pivotal role in Montana State's victories over Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado last weekend. The senior from Great Falls, Mont., registered a career-high 35 digs against Northern Arizona on Thursday night, averaging 7.00 digs per set. She set the tone in the opening frame with 12 saves. Lindseth also recorded four assists and an ace against the Lumberjacks. In MSU's 3-1 win over Northern Colorado, she moved into second on the Bobcats All-Time Digs Chart with 1,747 career digs. Her 19 digs against the Bears helped the Bobcats snap a 17-match home court losing streak to Northern Colorado dating back to the 2005 season, when UNC was not a member of the Big Sky Conference. In all, Lindseth averaged 6.00 digs over nine sets to put MSU atop the Big Sky standings. She also dished out nine assists. Her defensive efforts helped the Bobcats outhit its two opponents .233 to .188 on the weekend.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Volleyball Player of the Week
Offense: Delaney Russell (UM), Brynn Reines (UNC), Alivia Eikenberg (PSU), Kaylie Ray (WSU), Teagan Jaynes (MSU)
Defense: Bella LePore (UNC), Paige Stepaniuk (PSU), Reese Ampi (SAC)
Big Sky Soccer Players of the Week (Oct. 7, 2025)
Offensive Player of the Week: Isabella Winton, Idaho State (M, Jr., Inglewood, Colo.)
Isa Winton led Idaho State to an undefeated week of play, defeating Portland State 1-0 on an 87th minute game winner to secure the win for the Bengals. This marks Winton's 1st goal of the season, and the 2nd of her career. Winton would also record 2 shots in 74 minutes of action.
The honor is Winton's first of the season and the second for the Bengals after Saydree Cook earned the nod on Sept. 23.
Defensive Player of the Week: Paula Flores, Idaho (D, R-So., Tijuana, Mex.)
Paula tallied two shutouts to run her season total to eight, matching her career season high and moving into a tie for second place in Division I. She leads the Big Sky by three shutouts this season. Flores made seven saves in the two games, including three against Sacramento State and four against Montana. She faced 25 shots in the two games.
Idaho went 1-0-1 on the weekend, scoring a 2-0 win over Sacramento State, a team who scored five goals against EWU Sunday and Montana who has only been shut out one time this season, against Baylor.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Soccer Player of the Week
Offense: Aliayha Saldana (PSU), Lexi Schroeder (SAC)
Defense: Hannah Wieler (ISU), Madisyn Marchesi (NAU), Mia Norman (UNC), Natalie Cunningham (PSU), Aryana Martinez (SAC)
Big Sky Cross Country Athletes of the Week (Oct 7, 2025)
Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week: Kristian Børve, Idaho (Fr., Norway)
Following a third-place finish in his first race as a Vandal at the 50
th Charles Bowles Willamette XC Invitational, Idaho’s Kristian Børve has been named Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week. He ran the 8K course in 23:43.6, which is currently the fastest by a freshman in the Big Sky and ninth-best overall.
Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week: Regina Mpigachai, Northern Colorado (Sr., Geita, Tanzania)
With a fifth-place finish at the Louisville Classic, Northern Colorado’s Regina Mpigachai has been named Big Sky Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week. Mpigachai ran a school record 5K, crossing the finish line in a time of 16:39.6. She navigated the Bears to a 16
th place finish, which was the best in program history as well.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Cross Country Athlete of Week
Men’s: Seth Babbel (ISU), Zachary Giesch (UM), Abdinajib Abade (PSU)
Women’s: Jessee Redding (UI), Kayla Ingraham (UM), Irina López (PSU), Danielle Brow (WSU)
Big Sky Women's Golfer of the Week (Oct. 8, 2025)
Women’s Golfer of the Week: Braylyn Bayer, Weber State (So., Bonners Ferry, Idaho)
After finishing on top of the individual leaderboard at the Sun Mountain Intercollegiate, Weber State’s Braylyn Bayer has been named Big Sky Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week. Playing as an individual, she finished at 2-under (214) and recorded 15 birdies over the 54-hole event, including six in her final round 69 as she moved from a tie for fourth place into the lead over the last 18 holes. This was Weber State’s final event of their fall season.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Women’s Golfer of the Week
Timbre Shehee (UNC), Payten Shimizu (PSU)
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