Earning a pair of Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year awards for both the men's and women's outdoor track and field seasons, head coach Mike Smith will complete his tenure at Northern Arizona University with 41 total honors across his six teams.
The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches, with both unanimous for Smith after the Lumberjacks swept the team titles at the 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Conference Championships in Sacramento, Calif. The honors were Smith's seventh for women's outdoor track and field and fifth for men's outdoor track and field since he took over the roles in 2017.
In August, Smith announced he would step down from his position at the end of the outdoor season to pursue professional coaching opportunities after eight seasons at Northern Arizona. Current associate head coach of distance and mid-distance Jarred Cornfield will step into the role after nine years with the program. In addition to his combined 12 outdoor awards, Smith has earned 15 indoors and 14 cross country coach of the year awards.
Along with five national men's cross country titles, Smith has coached 41 Big Sky Championship squads. This season, he guided the program to a calendar sweep, winning the men's and women's Big Sky title in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
The women won their fifth consecutive outdoors title by scoring 222 points, ahead of second place Montana State, who scored 158.5. It marked NAU's 16th outdoor title all-time. The men scored 227.5 points to win their fourth title in the last five years, and the 25th title in program history.
Men's Basketball
The Northern Arizona men's basketball team recently announced the additions of Erez Poran and Kavon Bradford.
Poran, a 6-foot-6 wing, comes to Flagstaff out of Israel, where he played two seasons with Maccabi Haifa. In 2022, Poran averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, while improving to 15.0 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game in his second season. Poran began his professional career in 2024, playing for Hapoel Emek Hefer, averaging 9.0 points in his first season and 12.5 in his second.
Bradford, a 6-foot-2 point guard, attended Benson Tech high school in Portland, Oregon where he led the state with 7.5 assists per game. Bradford simultaneously averaged 21.3 points per game.
During the 2023-24 season, he spent time with the Western Canada Preparatory Academy (WCPA) in Edmonton. Bradford averaged 20.1 points, 8.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting over 39.0% from three-point range.
Most recently, Bradford played for the University of Buffalo, averaging 4.1 points per game, 1.7 rebounds per game and 1.2 assists per game as a true freshman, while shooting 45% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc. Brafford recorded his career high in February, scoring 18 points against Ball State.
Volleyball
NAU volleyball head coach Ken Murphy announced the addition of Ella Hosfeld, who will join the squad this coming fall.
Hosfeld, a 5-foot-8 setter from Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, will join the program after playing two seasons at Westmont College.
As a freshman, Hosfeld appeared in seven matches with 128 assists and averaged 4.74 assists per set while recording five service aces. Hosfeld capped off her freshman year with 30 assists in a five-set win against Concordia during Westmont's season finale.
During her sophomore season, she appeared in 27 matches, where she recorded double-digit assists in all but one match and had at least 20 assists in 11 matches. She had a season-high 30 assists against Academy of Art on Nov. 2.
Hosfeld is a graduate of Lake City High, where she was a four-year starter and letter winner. She was part of the Inland Empire League all-conference team and runner-up at the CPA Volleyball Club U18 Las Vegas Classic, where she made the all-tournament team.