In Brief

Named to the Big Sky Conference preseason All-Conference football team is Portland State kicker Zach Brown.

Brown, a sophomore and native of Keizer, Ore., comes off an impressive freshman season in 2009 that saw him earn a second team All-Big Sky selection. Last season, he made a school-record 18 of 25 field goals, went 21 for 21 on extra point kicks and ranked sixth in the nation with an average of 1.64 field goals made per game. Two of Brown’s field goals were made from 50+ yards, and three of his seven missed attempts were from 52 yards out or more.

Brown is the only PSU player to be named to the preseason team, which is selected by votes from the league media. Montana running back Chase Reynolds was named preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Eastern Washington linebacker J. C. Sherritt was named preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Hired last week as the new head of Portland State’s men’s and women’s tennis programs is Jay Sterling.

Sterling has been with the PSU tennis program since 2009, when he was hired as an assistant coach under then-head coach Brian Parrott. Most recently, Sterling served as the interim head coach after Parrott abruptly resigned in February.

“I am excited about the opportunity that the administration has given me to serve as head coach for our tennis programs,” Sterling said in a statement released by the school. “During my time here as an assistant coach, I’ve developed a real connection with the university, and I feel like I’m a real part of what’s happening here.”

Under Sterling’s guidance, the PSU tennis program saw five players named to the Big Sky Conference’s All-Academic Team and two players selected for All-Conference honors.

Predicted to finish eighth in the nine-team Big Sky Conference for the 2010 season is the Portland State football team, according to poll results released Monday by the league.

In both the preseason coaches’ and media polls Portland State is forecasted to finish eighth, behind Northern Colorado and ahead of only Idaho State. Montana is predicted in both polls to finish in first place, for what would be the program’s 13th straight Big Sky Conference football championship.

Last season, the Vikings earned a 2-9 overall record and went 1-7 in conference play with head coach Jerry Glanville at the helm before he resigned in November. This season, new head coach Nigel Burton will make his debut at the top of the program.