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Best of the rest ranked recruit Audrey Hill has verbally committed to Washington State University for the fall of 2026 to continue her swimming career. A butterfly specialist, Hill currently attends Clovis West High School and grew up training with the Clovis Swim Club.

In 2022, Hill helped break the 13–14 National Age Group Record in the mixed 200-meter medley relay. She swam the butterfly leg with a split of 29.14, contributing to the relay’s final time of 1:55.34. The previous record, held by the Metro Aquatic Club of Miami, was 1:57.56.

“It is an honor and privilege to announce my verbal commitment to further my academic and athletic journey at Washington State University! I would like to thank my family for always supporting me and cheering me on, and my club and high school coaches who have devoted so much time to growing me as an athlete. A big thank you to the Washington State coaching staff who helped make this possible! GO COUGS!!❤️🤍🐾”

Hill was recently the 2025 CIF Central Section D1 Champion (SCY) in the 100 fly (54.82) last month. She also contributed to victories in the 200 free relay, where she split 23.59, and the 400 free relay, where she split 50.53. She finished 5th in the 50 free (23.82). Clovis West came out on top at the championship.

Hill was a 2024 CIF State Champion (SCY) in the 200 medley relay, where she split 24.10 on the fly leg. She led off the 400 free relay in 50.88, helping her team place 2nd. In the 200 free relay, which finished 5th, she again led off, clocking 23.53. Individually, Hill posted a lifetime best in the 100 fly (54.07) during prelims and went on to place 7th in the final (54.71). Her times in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 fly from the meet remain her personal bests.

At the 2024 Speedo Winter Junior Championships – West (SCY), Hill posted her fastest 200 fly time of 2:03.86, qualifying for the Futures Championships in Sacramento. She also earned Futures cuts in the 50 free (23.64), 100 free (51.72), and 100 fly (55.92) at the meet.

Top Yard Times

• 50 Free – 23.53
• 100 Free – 50.88
• 100 Fly – 54.07
• 200 Fly – 2:03.86

Washington State placed 5th overall out of 10 teams at the 2025 Women’s Mountain West Conference Championships. Based on last season’s results, Hill would have been the 3rd fastest in both the 100 fly and 200 fly on the team. The top two swimmers in the 100 fly, Emily Lundgren (52.60) and Dori Hathazi (53.75), will be seniors next season. Both made the ‘A’ final in the event at the 2025 conference championships.

Hill will join Ivy Ladrow, Marlee Winser, and Lauren Sexton as part of Washington State’s 2026 recruiting class. Ladrow also holds a strong time in the 100 fly (55.82).

By swimming on a Division I team, Hill will be following in the footsteps of her sister, Abby Hill, a sophomore and Division I swimmer at Utah Tech University. Outside of the pool, Hill enjoys spending time with her family and dog. Together, they love spending time outdoors.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

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We recently talked about CBS Sports’ ‘best-case scenario’ for the Washington Commanders.

Well, anytime you talk best, you inevitably have to talk worst, and Cody Benjamin did just that in the same column he labeled a Super Bowl championship as the ceiling for this year’s Commanders squad.

So, what is the floor? Honestly, it is something we are just superstitious enough not to want to put in print, so we’ll just let Benjamin identify the worst-case scenario for Washington in his own words.

READ MORE: Commanders WR gets carted off during minicamp in scary scene

“Daniels’ do-it-all gifts come with a cost, as the dual threat can’t stay on the field to meet lofty Year 2 expectations, and Dan Quinn is subsequently left to lean on aging placeholders as the rival Eagles stay rolling,” is the floor for the Commanders this year, according to Benjamin.

The problem here is, Benjamin is correct. As with most NFL teams, the thought of Washington losing its starting quarterback is indeed the worst-case scenario.

Fortunately, the team does have Marcus Mariota, who many consider to be one of the best backups in the league today. We’d be hard pressed to not have him at the top of that list, but certainly open to the idea some others would have a case to make for claiming that spot themselves.

In three games last year Mariota completed nearly 80 percent of his passes and tossed four touchdowns while not turning the ball over once. He even orchestrated a thrilling fourth quarter comeback over the hated Dallas Cowboys.

While all three of his games came against teams that didn’t even sniff the playoffs last year, that’s still a high level of performance to witness for a quarterback coming off the bench cold without the benefit of a week’s worth of starting reps in practice and a gameplan modeled to his specific traits and abilities.

Would Washington still be considered a Super Bowl contender were this scenario to unfold? Not likely. However, nobody expected the Commanders to do what they did, even with Daniels, last year, and Mariota wouldn’t be the first no-chance quarterback to come in and prove to everyone yet again that if the entire team is pulling in the same direction, there’s no telling what they can accomplish.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2025 offseason.

• Commanders’ Deebo Samuel called 49ers’ biggest offseason loss

• Young Commanders launch ‘FRO X CHILL’, a secondary duo built for chaos

• Commanders floated as surprise trade destination for star AFC running back

• Commanders star missing minicamp sparks wild trade scenarios across NFL

Students are hosting a press conference with Connecticut senators and lobbying against a Republican budget proposal that could significantly increase taxes on universities’ endowments.

Baala Shakya & Henry Liu

5:39 pm, Jun 11, 2025

Staff Reporters

Baala Shakya, Photography Editor

Yale students will gather at the United States Capitol on Thursday to advocate against changes to federal higher education policy that they believe could devastate Yale’s financial aid and research funding.

The coalition of students from multiple colleges — which calls itself “Fight for Higher Education” — will hold an “advocacy day in defense of higher education” in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Programming includes a rally and press conference with Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, which 25 student-advocates registered to attend. 

Multiple student organizers told the News that the coalition has received financial support from Yale College for travel costs, and coaching from the University’s federal relations office. The News could not independently confirm University involvement with the student coalition.

“There is a general consensus among young people that there is something about this moment that is urgent and profoundly unsettling, and yet, despite the urgency that we feel, we have failed to follow through and act on that urgency,” Conor Webb ’28, an organizer of the advocacy effort, told the News.

Fight for Higher Education, which does not associate itself with any singular college, organized the advocacy day in Washington in response to a recent budget proposal passed by the House of Representatives in May that would raise the tax on Yale’s endowment from 1.4 to 21 percent, narrow eligibility for Pell Grants, eliminate subsidized student loans and impose a lifetime cap on student borrowing.  

The coalition bills itself as nonpartisan, though no Republican officials are slated to be involved in the Thursday rally. At least one registered Republican student will be in attendance, Zach Pan ’27, one of the organizers, told the News. 

Four student organizers told the News that Yale College is providing reimbursements for travel expenses to and from Washington for Yale students participating in Thursday’s rally. Pan told the News that Fight for Higher Education was formed specifically to obtain funding for students separate from funds already allocated to participating student organizations.

An outside donor, who organizers refused to name, is covering the travel costs for students from other schools. Many students traveling to D.C. will be housed by volunteers who live in the area, the organizers said.

Several student groups, including the Yale College Democrats, the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, the Yale Student Environmental Coalition and the Yale First-Generation Low-Income Advocacy Movement, have joined the coalition and plan to send members to Thursday’s event. Students from Southern Connecticut State University, Hudson Valley Community College, Macalester College and West Virginia University will also join the coalition in Washington, Pan said.

In addition to the press conference and rally, the coalition is coordinating meetings with senators from swing states, including Republican Senator David McCormick of Pennsylvania, per Pan.

Pan said that Yale’s Office of Federal and State Relations has provided coaching and logistical support to students preparing to meet with their senators about the budget proposal bill which includes the tax hike on universities’ endowment gains. The News could not verify the Yale office’s involvement.

Yale has publicly signaled its opposition to the budget proposal, posting on social media to encourage community members to “tell Congress to protect discovery and opportunity” and “speak up for the future.” In one Instagram post, Yale warned that the proposal could jeopardize the University’s ability to remain debt-free for 85 percent of undergraduates and tuition-free for many middle-class families — arguments that Fight for Higher Education has echoed in their digital campaign.

University President Maurie McInnis sounded the alarm to members of the Yale community when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in May, urging members of the Yale community to contact their senators and share a set of talking points that emphasize the potentially harmful impacts of the bill on universities.

Emi Glass ’26, co-president of the Yale First-Generation Low-Income Advocacy Movement, or YFAM, told the News that after McInnis stated how the endowment tax would severely affect financial aid funding, she “stepped in to support” lobbying efforts against the bill.

“Given the fact that myself and many of the people involved in YFAM would definitely not be able to attend Yale if they didn’t receive very generous financial aid from Yale, it was really concerning to all of us,” Glass said.

Glass plans to travel to Washington on Thursday to join the coalition of students in advocating against the budget bill. She plans to meet with policymakers and an education staffer for Jon Husted, her Ohio senator, she told the News.

Jake Siesel ’27, co-president of the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, told the News that he too will attend the rally in Washington because the Republican budget proposal is “antithetical” to YUPP’s commitment to equal justice.

“If enacted, the bill would amount to the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in American history,” Siesel said. “Our organization stands in solidarity with this advocacy effort and will dedicate all available resources to support it.”

The current 1.4 percent tax on the endowments of most private colleges was signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017.