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Kassie O’Neil

The Wolves have added a sharpshooter.

Kassie O’Neil, who lived to drain three-balls which made private school rivals cry sweet, sweet tears during her own school days, is back in the gym to help train a new generation of Cow Town hoops stars.

Having previously held high school JV and middle school coaching gigs in Cow Town, the hardwood legend has been tabbed to join the Coupeville Middle School boys’ basketball staff for the 2026-2027 school year.

She replaces RayLynn Ratcliff, who stepped down after three seasons, and O’Neil’s hire will be official once approved by the school board at its Thursday meeting.

As a high school player, O’Neil, then working under the name Kassie Lawson, saw varsity action all four of her seasons between 2005-2006 and 2008-2009, scoring 184 career points.

But it was when she tallied those buckets which still looms largest.

O’Neil delivered a prime-time dagger to ruin the evening for the richniks from King’s in 2008, nailing a buzzer-beating three-ball to give Coupeville a 33-32 home win and the #1 playoff seed out of the Cascade Conference.

A year later, as a CHS senior, she poured in 13 of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to fuel a wild comeback against Granite Falls in a game which came down to the final second.

That included splashing home a trey with 18 seconds to play to force a tie.

The young sharpshooter, plotting the destruction of King’s and Archbishop Thomas Murphy.

Alita Blouin during her high school days. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The circle is complete.

Alita Blouin, one of the best Coupeville High School athletes in recent years, has been tabbed for two jobs for the 2026-2027 school year, pending school board approval at Thursday’s meeting.

Ryan’s big sister, who graduated in 2023, is being hired as JV volleyball coach and JV girls’ basketball coach.

On the volleyball court, Blouin replaces Tianna Carlson, who stepped down after a season on the job, and will work with Wolf varsity guru Scout Smith.

In the world of hoops, “The Assassin” worked alongside Lark Gustafson last season to guide the JV program while Smith covered for varsity coach Megan Richter, who was out on maternity leave.

Richter stepped down permanently earlier this year, and Smith has applied for the varsity gig on a full-time basis, though no official announcement has been made yet by Athletic Director Willie Smith.

A member of the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame for her exploits on the volleyball court and basketball hardwood, Blouin overcame numerous injuries during her prep days, showcasing a fiery spirit.

While she racked up stellar stats, my enduring image of her comes from her 8th grade volleyball campaign.

With CMS players going through warm-ups before a match, the spikers started to run laps around the floor.

Blouin, a team captain, was out in front, serious and locked-in. No coasting.

At which point, one of her teammates, Lucy Tenore, who is considerably taller, and has a much-longer stride, tried to pass her friend.

Blouin was not playing that. At all.

Tenore, smile growing bigger and bigger, tried a second time, then a third, but couldn’t get by.

That’s because Blouin, legs pumping, elbows ever at the alert, fended off her teammate at every turn, her face locked in a death mask of concentration.

Tenore, fully laughing at this point, finally relented, only to see Blouin kick it up a notch to a sprinter’s run to finish the final curve, one eye looking over her shoulder just in case anyone else wanted to get foolish.

That attitude carried “The Assassin” to great success, capped by an invitation to the 1B/2B/1A All-State volleyball matches after her senior season.

Laminate that sucker!!

When you don’t pay attention to schedule changes until the morning of the first day of school…

Be prepared.

With the start of the 2026-2027 school year two weeks out, we’re doing our civic duty here at Coupeville Sports by reminding readers that daily start and end times for Cow Town schools have changed.

You can find that nugget o’ info in the graphic below, as well as a school year calendar just begging to be printed out and laminated.

So, there’s that.

Kennedy O’Neill

Monday is the start of something new.

While football has already been at it for several days, every other Coupeville High School fall sports team begins practice for the 2026 campaign when a new day dawns.

In anticipation, Wolf volleyball posted a 3-2-1 countdown on Instagram over the past three days, using uniform numbers assigned to several key players.

Tenley Stuurmans

Haylee Armstrong

Mia Farris, back for a second season of college volleyball.

The alumni are launching kills and aces once again.

Coupeville grads Lyla Stuurmans and Mia Farris kicked off their second season of college volleyball with a busy weekend on the courts.

Skagit Valley College and Whatcom College both played four matches to open the 2026 campaign, with two each on Friday and Saturday.

Stuurmans and SVC went 2-2 at the North Region Invite, knocking off Pierce and South Puget Sound, while being edged by Highline and Rogue.

Meanwhile, Whatcom College, sparked by Farris, also split its four tilts while playing the same opponents.

The Orcas bounced Rogue and Pierce but came up just short against SPS and Highline.

Farris, who has moved to the libero position as a sophomore, piled up a team-high 64 digs to go with 11 assists and four service aces across her opening weekend.

Stuurmans racked up eight kills, two assists, seven aces, 26 digs, three solo blocks, and one block assist during her games.

Both former Wolves return to action next week, with SVC playing next on August 26 while Whatcom hits the floor again on August 28.

Lyla Stuurmans got a birthday shoutout from SVC volleyball back in April.