During Eastern Washington University’s spring break this week, Emmett Marquardt returned to Seattle, finalizing his decision to continue with the Eagles men’s basketball program next season.
Marquardt reached a similar decision nearly a year ago when head coach Dan Monson, who was newly appointed at the time, assured him that he would honor the prior coaching staff’s commitment to provide a full scholarship to the Eagles’ forward. This gesture was particularly significant for Marquardt.
Loyalty to his community has always been important to him, and this principle influenced his choice to remain with the program for at least a third season.
“I grew up in a close-knit community where all my schools were within a two-mile radius, so that has had a big impact on me,” Marquardt shared over the phone from his family’s home in Seattle. “My community felt like a village, and it helped shape who I am today.”
Marquardt expressed that he has found a similar sense of community at Eastern. While five of his teammates opted to transfer this week, he believes staying was the best decision for him.
He’s not alone in his choice. Senior Andrew Cook has also decided to return to Eastern Washington for the 2025-26 season, taking advantage of another year granted by the NCAA due to his time at an NAIA program.
“I feel like this is the best chance to showcase my skills, and I want to be a part of this rebuilding process,” Cook said from his family’s home in Southern California. “I believe we can bring in the right players and significantly improve compared to last season. This opportunity was too good to pass up.”
With Cook and Marquardt’s confirmed returns, the Eagles will retain their top scorer, Cook (15.8 points per game), and their leading rebounder, Marquardt (4.4 rebounds per game).
However, five Eagles players have entered the transfer portal, including three of their four highest scorers: Mason Williams (13.9 points), Nic McClain (10.6), and Sebastian Hartmann (9.3), along with rotation player Vice Zanki (37 of 113 from beyond the arc) and Jackson Seale, who logged 82 minutes last season.
Despite the changes, the Eagles still have Tyler Powell, who started 16 out of 29 games as a redshirt junior, as well as Elijah Thomas and Angelo Winkel, who took on larger roles towards the end of their junior campaigns.
Marquardt noted that while Cook’s decision to return didn’t directly influence him, he is glad to have the team’s leading scorer back.
“Having ‘Cookie’ on the court with me makes everything feel better,” Marquardt said. “His commitment shows his dedication here.”
Cook acknowledged the choices of those transferring and expressed that “no one is upset with them.”
“It all makes sense, and we fully support their decisions,” Cook said. “With the returning players, we now have a lot of experience to build on, and when the new recruits come in, we can help them understand how things operate under the coaches’ guidance.”
Monson and the coaching staff will have an entire offseason to reshape the roster around the returning players, something Marquardt sees as a positive.
“I trust them to bring in the right group of guys who will contribute to winning,” Marquardt said.
As 42 players across the Big Sky Conference have entered the transfer portal, according to recruiting tracker verbalcommits.com, every team has at least two players in this situation, with Northern Arizona leading with eight.
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