Early-season honors stacking up for Idaho State athletes

POCATELLO — Just two weeks into the fall sports season, Idaho State Bengals have already begun to rake in honors — both individually and as teams.

Senior Saydree Cooke and freshman Trehsyn Fesili were recently named Big Sky Conference Players of the Week for their contributions on the pitch and gridiron, respectively. And the football team has appeared on the FCS national rankings for the first time in nearly a decade.

The soccer team is off to a 1-2-2 start, with losses to Boise State and California State University, Northridge.

Cooke, a fifth-year senior, helped the Bengals earn a 3-3 draw with UNLV on Thursday, scoring a goal and assisting on another. Then, in a 3-1 loss to the Broncos on Sunday, she added another goal.

For her play, she has earned the Big Sky Soccer Offensive Player of the Week — this coming one week after Aliya Garrett, ISU’s fifth-year senior goalkeeper, earned the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week award.

The volleyball team is 2-1, with victories over Stephen F. Austin and Wichita State, following an appearance in the Shocker Volleyball Classic at Wichita State University.

For their play in the tournament, both senior Jaydin Watts and freshman Mia Walsh — a former Madison High School Bobcat — were named to the All-Tournament team.

Walsh recorded 30 kills over three matches at the tournament, including 14 in her first collegiate game, a victory over Ladyjacks.

While it did not net her any national or conference recognition, Walsh’s former Bobcat teammate Aspen Boice, also a freshman, set Idaho State’s program record for digs in a Bengal debut. The libero finished the 3-1 victory over Stephen F. Austin with 24 digs.

Finally, on the football field, the Bengals started their 2026 campaign with a 38-10 victory over the Keydets of the Virginia Military Institute.

The victory, coupled with their preseason expectations, pushed the Bengals into the FCS national rankings for the first time since 2018. Idaho State, with 184 voting points, is currently ranked 23rd on the STATS Perform FCS Top 25 poll.

ISU was led to victory on Saturday by quarterback Jordan Cooke, who threw for 325 yards and four touchdowns, and wide receiver Eli Aragon-Cruz, who caught seven of those passes for 97 yards and one score.

Defensively, the Bengals received huge contributions from several players, including true freshman Trehsyn Fesili, who recorded a sack, a fumble forced and a fumble recovered in his first NCAA game.

Fesili has been named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

A busy September of Bengal athletics starts this weekend, with the volleyball and soccer teams both on the road Thursday. The ranked Bengal football team will be in Logan, Utah, on Saturday to face PAC12 foe Utah State. And both the men’s and women’s cross-country teams will also be in Logan, Utah, on Saturday, for the Utah State Alumni Challenge — both teams’ first meet of the season.