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Stat Hound
East Valley football team's seven signings highlight event
Red Devils cap historic year with college commits, 17 athletes honored in all
By JERREL SWENNING/Stat Hound
Jun 4, 2026
YAKIMA – The senior players on East Valley's state semifinalist football team had one more get-together this school year.
Seven members of the squad that won its first 12 games of the season for only the second time in program history were part of Wednesday evening’s college signing in the school’s gymnasium.
Three of the players – wide receiver Greyson Stevens, defensive lineman Zeliah Wade and do-it-all – will soon become opponents in the Big Sky.
Stevens, who rewrote the school’s receiving record book and earned all-state honors, is headed for Bozeman, Mont., to play for FCS champion Montana State. He caught 75 passes this past season, for 1,297 yards and 21 touchdowns.
“We’re definitely rivals, but we’re still best friends,” Srtevens said. “It’s been an honor to play with them.”
He’ll need his sprinter speed to get away from Zeliah Wade, the CWAC Defensive Player of the Year bound for Portland State to play for Chris Fisk, the former Central Washington coach who took the reins of the Vikings late last year.
Wade had nine sacks, 22 tackles for loss and 37 quarterback hurries in the fall.
“It feels really good to see the success we had with each other,” Wade said. “I feel this is just the start.”
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound end could line up opposite Gasseling, who signed with the Eagles as a tight end, but proved to be a Swiss Army Knife last fall. He totaled more than 1,300 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns on offense, and was a wrecking ball at linebacker.
“I’m gonna take him down,” Gasseling said of a possible matchup against Wade.
Throughout the season, Gasseling, who started his prep career at Selah before transferring for his junior and senior years, praised the atmosphere and camaraderie of the team.
“It was amazing,” he said.
Record-setting quarterback Jaxon Berg, 2,774 yards passing, 44 touchdowns, three interceptions – is headed to Pacific Northwest Christian College, which launched its junior college program in 2022.
The Gladiators are set to play Whitworth’s junior varsity twice this fall. The Pirates lineup could include Logan Jones, who manned the defensive end position opposite Wade, leaving opponents with little chance of escape.
Running back Braden Albrecht, who rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 19 TDs will play at Easter Oregon in La Grande, while Jayden Buckalew – a defensive back with a team-high five interceptions – is headed to Chabot College, a junior college in Hayward, Calif.
Albrecht was playing in a feeder game for the All-State Baseball College, while Buckalew had a scheduling conflict, and neither was able to attend Wednesday’s event.
“We’re putting a stamp on the end of their high school careers,” East Valley coach Eric Berg said. “It’s awesome they’re being recognized.”
CWAC conference players of the year Ariana Lopez (girls soccer), Presley Weatherley (fastpitch), Tia Ramynke (2025 fastpitch) and Brandon Stone (2025 baseball) also were honored in the event.
Here’s a complete list of East Valley athletes signing with college programs: