W.F. West senior Kayden Kelly led the 2A Evergreen Conference with 124 assists per game this season. (Katia Hudson Photography; graphic by Pattey Hoff)
W.F. West senior Kayden Kelly was a second-team all-2A Evergreen Conference selection this season.
W.F. West senior Kayden Kelly averaged 7.3 points and 7.1 assists per game this past winter.
Two and a half weeks ago, W.F. West senior Kayden Kelly challenged his brother-in-law to a game of P-I-G on Kelly’s home court. The catch: the loser had to shave their head.
That brother-in-law, Kaden Dunlap, was The Chronicle’s All-Area MVP who led Morton-White Pass to an undefeated state championship in 2014. But Kelly, a second-team all-2A Evergreen Conference pick who drained 44 percent of his league 3-point shots this past winter, wasn’t intimidated one bit.
It is that competitive spirit that’s led Kelly to earning a scholarship to play for Centralia College men’s basketball team, where he committed last week and announced it officially on Twitter Wednesday.
Kelly has been in contact with the Trailblazers the past two years, sending them his highlight reels after each season and having the coaches come watch his games. And he’s known their assistant coach, Jonathan McMillan, nearly his entire life, which made the decision for Kelly an easy one.
Staying close to home was also a key factor in the decision. Kelly has cousins who went on to play at out-of-state junior colleges and ended up disappointed that their family and parents couldn’t watch them play.
“I've always been a big fan of CC, I always go to their game and watch them play,” Kelly said. “(My parents) can watch every game and they won’t miss any, and that will be pretty awesome.”
A three-year letterman and two-year starter in basketball, Kelly also started at wide receiver and cornerback for a Bearcats team this year that went 8-2 overall. He also played baseball until freshman year. But it’s basketball where he’s always excelled.
The 5-foot-10, 155 pound 19-year-old is a true point guard and floor general, leading the EvCo with 7.1 assists per game, along with a 3.5/1 assist-to-turnover ratio. His 261 career assists, including the 124 he racked up this season alone, are both modern-era school records at W.F. West. He added 7.3 points and 1.4 steals per game as a team captain while helping the Bearcats to a 16-7 record and a district tournament appearance, falling one game short of a regional berth.
But his main strength is passing. With a rocket launcher for a right arm, Kelly’s highlight reel is filled with 3/4s-court bullet throws and crafty bounce passes in the paint. In one play, Kelly is caught in a double-team at midcourt and heaves a one-handed frozen rope to teammate Dirk Plakinger for an easy layup.
“People would say I pass a little too much, sometimes, when I should be a little more selfish,” Kelly said. “I’ve always been that way, get other guys involved and always looking to get a great shot, not a good shot.”
He hones those skills playing for his select team, which he’s been on since third grade. Playing with the same group of guys over the years has helped Kelly develop a level of trust with his passing, which has carried over with his Bearcat teammates.
“When you have confidence in the other guys, I just became the guy who was passing to everybody,” Kelly said. “I just facilitate and let others cut and I hit them.”
Kelly is super competitive and expects everyone on his team to work hard, and if there’s a lapse from one of his teammates, he’s not afraid to tell them. He hopes they would do the same for him.
“I get really serious and I don’t want to talk about anything else, I don’t want to focus on anything else,” Kelly said.
That fierce attitude transfers over to his everyday life, as well. He tries to win at everything he does, whether it’s playing cards with his older sister or challenging his brother-in-law to a game of P-I-G. Kelly shows no mercy.
“It gets me in trouble around the house all the time,” Kelly said.
Now, as he shoots hoops at his house and awaits for his college career to begin this fall, he does so with the perfect haircut for this warm stretch of Lewis County weather: bald.
“I didn’t expect to lose… but I lost this time,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t too worried about it because of the coronavirus (isolation); it’s growing back a little bit now.”
One can bet Kelly, with a full head of hair, will be ready to hit the court this winter at Centralia College.
