On June 15, Avery Lathen, a junior at Lewiston High School, received a call from the head coach at Washington State University. Coach Todd Shulenberger said he had an open spot on the soccer team in Pullman. After considering, Lathen agreed to join the team in September 2025. Before receiving the call, Lathen had been emailing the head coach at WSU, discussing the program and her options for attending college there, she said.
“It was really cool, you know, to grow up kinda knowing about the program and the camps, emailing him, and then getting that call on June 15th,” she said, “and he said there’s a spot for me, for that 2027 class, and he wants me to go play for them, so that was a really cool experience.”
She said her family was very excited about the opportunity.
“It was really cool to see how they reacted. My family, they’ve supported me through all my soccer stuff; they’ve taken me all over the country to play soccer,” she said, “So they are just as much a part of this journey as I’ve gone through this journey. And so, as excited as I was, they were equally excited. If not, more excited.”
Lathen will be on a full scholarship to go to WSU. That means 90% of it is athletic and 10% is academic, she said. This will include schooling and housing. Lathen also said that WSU provides academic advisors and sports psychologists to help balance schooling and sports.
Lathen has been around soccer for her entire life. She played on Lewiston Boys and Girls Club soccer teams when she was four years old. But before that, her mom, Alison Lathen, was coaching soccer at LHS.
Her favorite thing about soccer is her teammates. Lathen said that she has always had wonderful teammates and that she loves building relationships through sports.
“Besides my teammates, I love soccer because for me, it’s almost therapeutic to play. You have your stresses in life, and then you step on the soccer field, and they all go away, and you can just focus on soccer,” said Lathen.
There are just a few things that she doesn’t like about it.
“My least favorite thing is the running. I don’t think anyone likes to run,” She said. “Sometimes you make mistakes, and your coach will chew you out, but that’s how you get better.”
So far, Lathen’s most notable accomplishment throughout her soccer years has been setting the single-season scoring record. She scored 31 goals for her high school team as a freshman, according to Lathen. And outside of high school soccer, she made the regional team for the Olympic Development Program. According to Lathen, ODP is a respected program throughout the U.S.
“Making the regional team for the whole western United States was one of the coolest things I think I’ve ever done,” she said. “Getting to play with girls from all over the West who were amazing players and so gifted was really eye-opening and a really cool experience.”
After finishing the LHS soccer season on Oct. 25 this year, Lathen will still have her senior season at LHS in 2026.
Doug Henderson, the athletic director for LHS, said he was glad to hear about Lathen’s recruitment. “(I’m) super happy for Avery and to all the hard work that she’s put in on the soccer field. And we’re excited to see what she does in her senior year.”
