Meet the Griz: From The Lakes To The Mountains, Lady Griz Latest Signee Zoey Washington
Meet the Griz is a series where we tell the stories of Montana Grizzlies athletes, coaches and contributors.
Meet Zoey Washington - the Lady Griz's Next Minnesota Splash
Over the last few seasons, the Montana Lady Griz have constructed a pipeline to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Head Coach Nate Harris's Lady Griz signed 4 Minnesotans in the 2025 recruiting class, on top of Aby Shubert from last year (also from Minnesota).
The latest is Zoey Washington.
After two seasons at the University of St. Thomas, Washington transferred from the Midwest to the mountains.
"I literally tell all my new teammates that I have this weird appreciation for mountains now," said Washington. "Coming from Minnesota, we have lakes and all of that, so I'm used to that, but mountains, I just look out my window, and I'm like 'wow, this is crazy.
It's been beautiful, I literally cannot imagine being in a better state than Montana, so it's amazing that I got to end up here."
READ MORE: Meet the Griz - How Tom Stage & Dick Slater Became Lady Griz Broadcasting Legends
As a fellow midwesterner, I get it. Waking up every day to mountains when you're used to flat woods is jaw-dropping,
I get it, Zoey.
Here's the wild part: Zoey moved here without visiting Missoula.
Ever!
"I never actually visited," said Washington. "When I got here on Sunday, it was my first time. I was like 'whoa!' The plane was landing I was almost in tears. I was like 'This place is beautiful."
I actually also moved to Missoula without ever visiting... three years later, here we are!
It was a needed change regardless for Washington.
"I had a pretty bad concussion in December, and so that knocked me out for about three months," explained Washington on why she wanted to travel.
"So it was really hard dealing with that... Talking with the people closest to me, this is probably the best decision for me to leave."
The full conversation with Washington can be heard on The Daily Drive with Ace Sauerwein.
Montana will open Zoey with open arms.
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Gallery Credit: Ace Sauerwein