Mac Basketball: Summers becomes fourth straight Grizzlies POY

McMinnville’s girls basketball season was full of growth, but one constant as the team clawed through league play to earn itself a playoff berth was Brooklynn Summers.

The 6-foot-1 senior forward controlled the paint wherever she went, posting double-doubles in more than a dozen games while routinely leading the Grizzlies in points and rebounds.

Her efforts were exemplified as the Pacific Conference announced its league awards, in which Summers became the fourth consecutive Grizzly to earn the conference Player of the Year designation.

Previous Mac winners were Madison Gerhart (2022-23) and Macie Arzner (2023-24 and 2024-25).

Summers grew just as much as her team, learning to become the physical leader needed to fill the gap left by the graduation of Arzner.

“I learned a lot about overcoming pressure and taking in the moment, and I feel like I really leaned into my leadership skills this year with so many freshmen on the team,” Summers said. “I really tried to just show my teammates what a reliable, hardworking player looked like so that they had someone to rely on.”

Summers was also named to the all-conference first team.

Joining in the recognition was junior guard Mabel Findley, earning all-conference second-team honors.

The rest of Mac’s starting five impressed, as fellow senior forward Ruby Riddle and junior guards Alex Bates and Taylor Terry were awarded with honorable mentions.

Of her teammates, especially freshmen like Cameron Baker and Maci Hendricks, who didn’t earn league honors, Summers gave all her love on her way out.

“They shined so bright this year,” she said. “They really stepped up, and it’s so inspiring to see how hard they were working. I’m so excited to see where they go and how they flourish the next couple of seasons because any coach watching them is going to go, ‘Wow. They’re going places,’ and that’s what I told them. They have so much character and can handle that pressure so well.”

Rounding out the Pacific conference awards were Co-Defensive Players of the Year Kuenzi Blubaugh from Newberg and Kiara Green from Century.

Sherwood’s Matt Sanders was named Pacific Conference Coach of the Year as the Bowmen went 12-0 in league play to win the Pacific for the first time since 2021-22.

On the boys side, McMinnville was led by a second-team nomination for senior Dylan Ferrua. The guard was a consistent part of Mac’s offense and notably exploded for 31 points early in the season as the team shifted their overtime luck from a season ago with a 71-67 win over McDaniel on Dec. 12.

Sophomore Xander Gurash, junior Cayd Howard and senior Thomas Merlier were all awarded with honorable mentions.

Winning conference Player of the Year was Sherwood junior Avery Johnson. Meanwhile, Century junior Adam Walkenhorst earned Defensive Player of the Year. Century’s Scott Kellar was also named Coach of the Year after leading the Jaguars to an 8-4 league record and sixth straight top-three conference finish, excluding 2020-21.