Southwest Washington is once again in the spotlight. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the area has found a way to leave Spokane and Yakima with plenty of hardware. Over the last four state tournaments, at least three teams garnered a trophy from the two sites.
Will 2026 make it five years in a row?
Of the eight teams, six will automatically play at least in the Round of 12. Only the Adna boys and Pe Ell girls face elimination games this weekend.
As the field in all classifications gets whittled down from 16 to 12 over Friday and Saturday, here is one thing to ponder for all eight state qualifiers.
2A Girls: Who outside of the Big-3 answers the call for W.F. West?
The Bearcats are attempting to leave with a trophy for the second straight state tournament and their depth has been as big of a factor under head coach Kyle Karnofski. He’s gone nine and 10-deep this postseason, allowing him to mix and match rotations while not losing a step in their 15-game winning streak.
As the No. 6 seed in the tournament, it will take on No. 3 Prosser on Friday night at Grandview High School in Yakima, a rematch from the state quarterfinals two years ago. W.F. West has not won an opening round game since 2020. And if it aims to snap the skid, that depth will need to come through.
The star trio of Dilyn Boeck, Joy Cushman and Kaitlyn Chloupek all have shined this winter in various moments. They are the known commodities – 1A, 1B and 1C – on every team’s scouting report.
It’s the role players – Izzy Teeter, Madi McManus, Caroline Buzzard, Drees Cushman and Mallory Gaskill amongst others – whose minutes will be put to the test. Teeter had 11 in the district title game, Gaskill has shown flashes, McManus is a defensive menace and Drees Cushman provides size off the bench.
If the Bearcats (20-4) aim for a deep run in Yakima, someone outside of the Big-3 may need to have a moment, or several moments, to accomplish the program’s yearly goal.
2A Boys: Are the junior-laden T-Birds ready for their first taste of state basketball?
A handful of players on the Tumwater roster have experienced multiple runs through the Class 2A state football bracket, reaching the title game. Yet none of them have gone through the ups and downs of state basketball.
In the same breath, the Thunderbirds posted the best record of any area qualifier at 21-2, reeling off 20 straight wins before losing to R.A. Long in the district title game. They earned the No. 5 seed and will take on No. 4 seed Pullman at West Valley (Spokane) High School on Saturday. Every player, except Max Bunn and Braeden Konrad, are juniors and will get their first crack at the two-court environment inside the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Julian Balsley has been electric in the postseason, lighting up the field early in the district quarterfinals and semis. It was Landon Anchors that spurred Tumwater in the second half to erase a 26-point deficit.
Pullman provides size the likes the T-Birds have never seen, with six guys listed between 6-foot-3 and 6-7. How Luke Overbay, Anchors and Konrad control the boards will tell the tale of at least the opening round.
If Tumwater seeks a trophy, the last one coming in 2023, how the players handle/embrace the environment will go a long way in success or an early exit.
2B Girls: Can the 2026 posts of Napavine have a 2024-like impact?
For as much as Hayden Kaut’s game-winner in the state title game two years ago ran through the tabloids like wildfire, two players were the backbone of the Tigers first-ever championship. Keira O’Neill and Dakota Hamilton, the forwards that dominated the glass when they needed to and kept possessions alive, were just as vital to the season as a whole.
Now fast forward to 2026, Napavine is back as 2B’s No. 1 overall seed and will look to avoid the Round of 12 with a win over No. 8 Mount Vernon Christian on Friday night at Tumwater High School. And it's got a pair of forwards that may unlock another first place finish.
Kaut and Taylen Evander are the only two players that played significant minutes from the title run, but Ava Ondong and Nicholle Valentine got plenty of experience last year in Spokane, helping the Tigers (19-4) place third.
There have been several games where Ondong and Valentine recorded double-doubles or led the Tigers in scoring. Just like O'Neill and Hamilton did on occasions two winters ago. While neither are as strong or tall as the previous duo, they possess quickness and the ability to get around screens at an efficient rate.
If Ondong and Valentine can match or eclipse the production of the 2024 post duo, Napavine’s title chances may increase.
2B Girls: Is a freshman reserve guard the x-factor for Adna?
For the Pirates to return to Spokane, it came with the simple fact of players not seeing court time a season ago needing to meet the moment. Outside of McKenna Torrey, Rhylee Beebe and Emma Kissner, no one had a lick of varsity experience.
And yet, like all good programs, Adna figured it out and earned the No. 7 seed in the bracket and will take on No. 2 seed Northwest Christian Colbert in a state title rematch from a year ago on Saturday inside Cheney High School.
All the new impact players – such as Ava Humphrey, Alyssa Carroll and Kamryn Freeman – have carved out necessary roles for the Pirates current record of 20-4. Yet the younger Freeman has come along quicker than even head coach Chris Bannish thought when the season started.
The freshman guard is the first player off the bench and if she’s open in the corner, she’s not hesitating to shoot from deep. The most recent spurt was 13 points in the first half to allow the Pirates to pull away from Raymond-South Bend in the district third place game.
At this point, the starters are known for what they are: Torrey’s ball-handling and shot-making, Beebe’s defending and creating her own shot, Humphrey’s 3-point shooting, Kissner’s defense and Carroll’s post presence.
If Freeman is able to sink the shots she’s done plenty of times this season, the Pirates’ path to a trophy is clearer than it was back in November.
2B Boys: Power of friendship enough for top-four seeded Toledo?
They’ve grown up together. They’ve played basketball in driveways since they were kids. Now, the senior starters of Cooper Fallon, Trevin Gale, Adam Kruger and Eli Weeks have a chance to garner one final basketball memory.
Fresh off a second straight district title, the Riverhawks are the fourth seed in the tournament and will take on fifth seed Tri-Cities Prep on Saturday afternoon at Tumwater High School. They have not won an opening round game since they were a 1A program back in 2014.
So many times this winter, head coach Grady Fallon praised the unselfishness of his group. Even with the C2BL Co-MVP on the roster in Cooper Fallon, Toledo (20-5) doesn’t have one guy it defers to when it needs a big time bucket. Gale has led the Riverhawks in scoring, so too have Kruger and Weeks. Even underclassmen Joaquin Acosta and Conner Hill took on some scoring when necessary.
The assist to turnover ratio remains a point of emphasis for Coach Fallon. Rarely is the ball sticky on possessions, buoyed by Kruger’s development as a pass-first point guard and Fallon’s ability to find the open man on the perimeter when a double team comes.
Toledo got waxed in its two state tournament games a season ago. If the ball movement remains crisp, even with the possibility of facing zone defenses, the Riverhawks have a shot to live up to their seed and place as a 2B team for the third time in school history.
2B Boys: Did a postseason game provide Napavine with a blueprint for state success?
It’s no secret the Tigers can put points on the board. In 13 of their 19 victories, they have eclipsed 70 points. They’ve hit the 90-point threshold a couple of times and exceeded 80 points as well.
For seventh-seeded Napavine to not only have a shot to upset No. 2 Northwest Christian Colbert in Saturday’s opening round game to take place at Cheney High School, but go on a lengthy stay in Spokane, the offense will have to do its part.
Yet the defense may play a larger role. And the district quarterfinal game versus Forks may have been the formula to follow.
While the Spartans don’t compare to teams like NWC, Colfax and Okanogan amongst others, how the Tigers won that game tells the bigger story. The offense struggled in the first half and led by eight entering the locker room. They forced 15 turnovers and only allowed three field goals in the first half, ending the game by forcing over 25 turnovers. Whether that happens on Saturday or in Spokane remains to be seen, but the potential is there.
Cal Bullock likely draws the assignment of the best player. Layton Griffith has proved to be a shot-blocking prowess for just a sophomore. Hudson Chambers and Tyce Vigre are lengthy, as are Tyler Watson and Beckett Landram off the bench. The Tigers have operated in primarily a man-to-man defense and 2-3 zone, but have wrinkled in a couple other zones.
If Napavine can emulate the defensive gameplan, and keep the variance up, it could lead to a trophy for the first time in two years.
2B Boys: Can the Pirates shoot their way into the double elimination part of the bracket?
When Adna lost to Tumwater and R.A. Long in its Christmas tournament, head coach Luke Salme felt he had the right group to not only get back to Spokane, but snare a trophy. While the C2BL regular season champs are in the field of 16, they aren’t guaranteed to head east.
The ninth-seeded Pirates will need to upend 16th-seeded Warden on Friday night at Tumwater High School to claim a spot in the Round of 12. It’s the second time in three seasons they will need to win in the opening round to continue their season.
Adna (21-4) is not very tall, outside of Jackson Knittle – who missed the last two district tournament games – so it's been heavily reliant on guards Trevin Salme, Grayson Humphrey and Landen Cline.
Shooting inside Spokane Arena is never a guarantee – some teams fare better than others – but it might be Adna’s best shot at advancing.
All Salme needs is a little bit of space to execute. Humphrey has arguably been the Pirates most consistent player shooting wise in the playoffs. Cline can pull up from 15-feet to 25-feet. Sophomore Kaden Richardson has shown numerous times to nail a handful of 3s in a pinch.
If the Pirates want to stay on the path Coach Salme set for them post-Christmas, shooting from deep may be the recipe for an extended stay.
1B Girls: Is the first half as important as the second half for Pe Ell?
The Trojans may not be guaranteed to play in Spokane like they were a year ago, but they could find their way back thanks to a difficult non-league schedule that has paved the path this winter for a potential better finish.
Pe Ell got the No. 10 seed in the bracket and will face No. 15 Valley Christian on Saturday at Tumwater High School in an elimination opening round game. The Trojans have lost to just two 1B schools all season in Neah Bay and Crosspoint Christian. Yet there has been a theme in their 16-7 season.
Pe Ell doesn’t get off to the quickest of starts at times. In the district semis versus Taholah, it struggled out of the gates with turnovers and trailed by one at the half. Two couple days later against Naselle in the district title game, the Trojans trailed by four before turning it on in the third and fourth frames.
Games versus Toledo and Rainier were close first halves, but Adna and Onalaska ended up as routs. If Pe Ell can start fast and not let turnovers accumulate, it could be back in Spokane with the potential of getting past the Round of 12.
