Alaska college sports notebook: UAF basketball snags former Southeast star, UAA athletes honored for academics

One of the most prolific scorers to ever come out of Southeast Alaska is coming back to his home state. Former Ketchikan basketball star Chris Lee was announced Friday as the latest addition to the University of Alaska Fairbanks basketball team.

“If you love Alaska Nanooks men’s basketball, this is a huge day.” UAF head coach Frank Ostanik said in a statement. “The first recruiting call I made was to Chris. He is a dynamic player who can score from all three levels. Nobody knows that better than me since I watched him put 44 up on my Monroe team in back-to-back games. More importantly, as is the case with all great players, Chris makes others around him better. Finally, he is an Alaskan. We want all great Alaskan players to wear the blue and gold.”

Lee is returning to Alaska to continue his collegiate career after starring at the junior college level for Edmonds Community College in Washington for the past two years. During his time with the Tritons, the 6-1 guard averaged 15.3 points per game and earned Second Team NWAC All-Region honors in year one.

In year two with the program, he averaged 19.8 points per game, led the team to a 22-9, 11-3 North NWAC record, a North Region Championship, and a trip to the NWAC Elite Eight. Lee also earned 2024 First Team NWAC All-Region honors, was unanimously voted 2024 North Region Player of the Year and became just the second ever Triton to receive the All-American status after being named a 2023-24 NABC NWAC All-America Team member.

As a prep star in the Last Frontier, he led the Ketchikan Kings to 4A Alaska state championship in 2019 and earned All-Tournament Team honors.

“With Chris, we know we are getting a highly talented young man who has been coached at a high level, both by Coach Stockhausen in Ketchikan and Coach Gray at Edmonds CC.” Ostanik stated. “His IQ and feel for the game are exceptional. I envision young players walking around town with ‘LEE’ on the back of their jerseys. I’m thrilled for our program and our fans. Finally, I want to commend coach (Tobin) Karlberg on the job he’s done on the recruiting trail. His connection to players and the level of trust players have in him cannot be understated or overvalued.”

[Alaska college sports notebook: UAA track star named GNAC Male Athlete of the Year; UAF men’s basketball hires former Seawolves standout as assistant]

Nanooks hire new assistant swimming coach

On Monday, the UAF swim team announced the hiring of Logan Indest to work as an assistant coach under head coach Ksenia Gromova.

“I am happy to welcome Logan into our Nanook family,” Gromova said in a statement. “I think he will be an amazing addition to our team. Logan has demonstrated success in his coaching career and I am excited to see him help the team excel as well as grow and develop as a coach.”

Indest is joining the staff after spending the past two years serving as the assistant men’s and women’s swim coach at his alma mater Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he was also a standout performer and team captain prior to becoming a coach.

Seawolves and Nanooks rack up academic honors

The University of Alaska Anchorage had members of both its track and field and Nordic ski teams receive recognition for the their scholastic achievements over the past couple days.

Among the most notable was spring graduate and distance running star Cole Nash. Less than a month after being the first ever athlete to be named GNAC Scholar Athlete of the Year for the third year in a row, Nash earned Cross Country/Track and Field Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Communicators.

“Cole embodies the definition of a student-athlete,” UAA head track and field coach Ryan McWilliams said in a statement. “This award honors the hard work that he puts in every day in both his academic and athletic endeavors. These traits will lead him to success in his future endeavors.”

A pair of skiers, Carmen Nielssen and Ainsley Proffit, earned Academic All-American honors from the College Sports Communicators.

Nielssen earned All-American honors with an eighth-place finish in the slalom and placed 18th in the giant slalom at the NCAA National Championships and maintained a 4.0 GPA while studying finance.

Proffit also earned All-American honors with an eighth-place finish in the giant slalom and finished 13th in the slalom at the NCAA National Championships and earned a 3.97 GPA while studying dietetics.