Bellarmine Prep basketball standout Malachi Flynn commits to Washington State University

Bellarmine Prep’s Malachi Flynn has announced that he has committed to play basketball at Washington State.

The point guard averaged 29.7 points, six rebounds and four assists per game in his senior season and was named The News Tribune’s All-Area Player of the Year.

Flynn announced his decision via Twitter on Thursday night.

“Listening to the Washington State coaches, they wanted him to come in and play right away,” Bellarmine coach Bernie Salazar said. “Whatever he gets, he’s going to earn.”

Salazar said he expects the 6-foot-2 Flynn to get stronger.

“I think from a skill perspective, he’s there,” Salazar said. “But he’s going to be playing with some men, and that’s always one of the biggest transitions freshmen have to make.”

Flynn will head to Pullman and the Pac-12 next season after he decommitted from the West Coast Conference’s University of the Pacific five games into this season.

Flynn, the 4A Narrows League’s most valuable player, scored 43 points in the Lions’ season-opening overtime loss to Lincoln and 36 points in the following game against Curtis.

He poured in 41 points the next time he played Curtis. That was in the 4A West Central District semifinals, and he later passed former Kentridge and Gonzaga standout Gary Bell Jr. for the most points in the tournament’s history (149).

Flynn broke Avery Bradley’s Bellarmine record with 743 points this season.

Flynn scored 1,625 career points at Bellarmine — trailing only Abdul Gaddy’s 1,985 points for the most in school history.

Gaddy was the last Bellarmine product to play in the Pac-12, entering as a McDonald’s high school All-American and ending with the second-most assists in the University of Washington’s history.

Salazar said Flynn belongs right up there with the best point guards to come out of Bellarmine.

“He does,” Salazar said. “He did a lot of great things here like those guys did. I think he’s got a great opportunity to do very well for himself.

“I think he’s really a product of our total school. I think Bellarmine does a great job of getting kids ready for college. I really do. Academically, athletically, spiritually — there’s been a lot of people who have been instrumental in Malachi’s development.”

Flynn follows Federal Way graduate Viont’e Daniels as back-to-back TNT All-Area players of the year to commit to WSU.

Flynn had committed to Pacific in September before reopening his recruitment amid the indefinite suspensions of Tigers coach Ron Verlin and assistant coach Dwight Young during an investigation of the athletic department for alleged academic misconduct. Both coaches left the Stockton, California, school earlier this month.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Bellarmine Prep basketball standout Malachi Flynn commits to Washington State University."