High school boys basketball: 4A state tournament bracket breakdown
The Class 4A boys state basketball tournament begins Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome, where 15 games will be played in four days to decide this season’s champion.
Here’s what to watch for in the 2023 bracket, which features 12 programs from around the state.
STATE REGIONALS RESULTS
Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-first-round games
No. 1 Curtis 64, No. 8 Richland 55
No. 2 Mount Si 80, No. 7 Tahoma 45
No. 3 Olympia 67, No. 6 Skyline 54
No. 4 Federal Way 69, No. 5 Gonzaga Prep 56
Winner-to-first-round, loser-out games
No. 9 Union 60, No. 16 Sumner 47
No. 10 Camas 64, No. 15 West Valley of Yakima 53
No. 11 Davis 66, No. 14 Issaquah 32
No. 12 Mariner 85, No. 13 Chiawana 74
TACOMA DOME SCHEDULE
Wednesday’s first round and Thursday’s quarterfinals
No. 11 Davis vs. No. 6 Skyline, 9 a.m. Wednesday
Winner vs. No. 4 Federal Way, 9 a.m. Thursday
No. 10 Camas vs. No. 7 Tahoma, 10:30 a.m. Wednesday
Winner vs. No. 1 Curtis, 10:30 a.m. Thursday
No. 12 Mariner vs. No. 5 Gonzaga Prep, 12:15 p.m. Wednesday
Winner vs. No. 3 Olympia, 12:15 p.m. Thursday
No. 9 Union vs. No. 8 Richland, 2 p.m. Wednesday
Winner vs. No. 2 Mount Si, 2 p.m. Thursday
Friday’s semifinals
3:45 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Saturday’s championship and placing games
4th/6th — 8 a.m.
3rd/5th — 11:15 a.m.
Championship — 9 p.m.
10 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Zoom Diallo, Curtis, jr.
Andreas Engholm, Olympia, sr.
Yanni Fassilis, Union, sr.
Parker Gerrits, Olympia, sr.
Miles Heide, Mount Si, sr.
Trevor Hennig, Mount Si, jr.
Jamil Miller, Gonzaga Prep, sr.
Tyce Paulsen, Curtis, sr.
Vaughn Weems, Federal Way, sr.
Josh Woodard, Richland, jr.
TEAM PREVIEWS
No. 1 Curtis (25-3) — Vikings return much of the group that lifted the 4A state championship trophy last season, including reigning tournament MVP Zoom Diallo (19.9 points per game). The five-star guard is also the back-to-back 4A SPSL North MVP, and paces Curtis with 5.7 assists per game. Point Loma-bound guard Tyce Paulsen, the top scorer in program history with 1,464 career points, is averaging 15.3 points and a team-leading 2.3 steals. Guard Cinque Maxwell also averages double figures scoring with 12.2. Vikings have one loss to an in-state opponent this season against Olympia in league play, but have since bested the Bears twice for the 4A SPSL tournament and 4A West Central/Southwest district titles. Curtis also won a second consecutive 4A SPSL North title this season and carry a 13-game winning streak into the Tacoma Dome.
No. 2 Mount Si (24-2) — Last season’s tournament ended just short of a repeat title for the Wildcats, who won a 4A championship in 2020, but finished runner-up to Curtis in an overtime thriller last March. Mount Si has advanced to three consecutive title games, and will try to make it four in a row with much of last season’s cast back. 6-foot-9 forward Miles Heide (17.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2 bpg) was the unanimous 4A KingCo MVP. Guard Trevor Hennig (19 ppg, 3.7 apg) leads the Wildcats in scoring, while guard Blake Forrest (13.6 ppg, 6.2 apg) — an all-tournament first-teamer last season — and forward Bennet Olujic (12.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.1 apg) also average double figures for the Wildcats, who shared the 4A KingCo regular season title with Skyline, and won 4A KingCo tournament and 4A Northwest/SeaKing district championships.
No. 3 Olympia (23-5) — Earned a third-place trophy last winter, and brings several top contributors from that team back to the Tacoma Dome this season. WSU-bound guard Parker Gerrits (19.3 ppg, 2.9 spg) is the two-time 4A SPSL South MVP and paces the Bears on offense, while forward Andreas Engholm (12.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg) controls the paint. Guards Mason Juergens (team-leading 2.9 assists) and Drew Carlson — both 4A SPSL first-team wide receivers last fall — as well as guard Matt Lindblom also play key roles for an Olympia team that has the depth to make a run. Bears also won a second consecutive 4A SPSL South title this winter.
No. 4 Federal Way (23-2) — Forward Vaughn Weems, the 4A NPSL MVP, averages a double-double with 17.6 points and 10 rebounds per game, and adds a team-leading 3.1 steals, to pace a Federal Way program that won an undefeated 4A NPSL championship and has only one in-state loss to Olympia in the 4A West Central/Southwest district semifinals, which snapped a 15-game winning streak. Forward Dace Pleasant (14 ppg) and wing Isaiah Afework, the 4A NPSL defensive player of the year, also key contributors for the Eagles, who are stacked with talent and experience.
No. 5 Gonzaga Prep (21-4) — Bullpups capped a late season 10-game winning streak with a 4A District 8 championship before being upended by Federal Way for the second time this season in the regional round. Gonzaga Prep’s only other in-state loss this season is to 4A/3A Greater Spokane League rival Mount Spokane, the top seed in the 3A bracket. Guard Jamil Miller (18.1 ppg, 6 rpg, 2.2 apg) paces the Bullpups in scoring and rebounding, while guard Henry Sandberg (12.2 ppg, 3.9 apg, 1.5 spg) leads the way in assists and steals.
No. 6 Skyline (19-6) — Spartans are headed to the Tacoma Dome for the first time since 2010, and are one of only two teams in the state to pick up a win against Mount Si this season, which earned them a share of the 4A KingCo regular season title. Wing Dylan Reilly (17 ppg, 6 rpg) paces Skyline in scoring and rebounding. Guard Nahmier Robinson (13 ppg), who led Rainier Beach to a runner-up finish in the 3A state bracket last March and scored a team-high 17 points in the title game, and wing Ryan Shields (10 ppg) also average double figures scoring. Colorado State football signee TJ Crandall was the 4A KingCo defensive player of the year.
No. 7 Tahoma (20-6) — Bears are back in the Tacoma Dome following a program-best sixth-place finish last winter. Forwards Dalton Brown (16.5 ppg, 7 rpg) and Adam Davis (15 ppg, 8 rpg) — who was the top scorer for the Bears in last season’s state placing game — lead Tahoma’s offense. Forward Logan Mcgough (10 ppg, 10 rpg, 3 bpg) averages a double-double, and forward Jayden Stephens (10 ppg, 6 rpg) also adds double figures scoring. Bears have already faced five of the teams in this bracket this season.
No. 8 Richland (21-4) — Bombers won an undefeated 4A/3A Mid-Columbia Conference title before they had an 18-game winning streak upended by league rival Chiawana in the 4A District 8 semifinals. 4A/3A MCC player of the year Josh Woodard (18.2 ppg, 5.79 rpg, 5 apg, 2.8 spg) paces Richland in scoring, assists and steals. 6-foot-10 forward Lucas Westerfield (13.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and guard Landon Northrop (10.1 ppg) also average double figures scoring.
No. 9 Union (19-6) — Forward Yanni Fassilis was a force for the Titans in the Tacoma Dome last winter, pacing them to a fifth-place finish and earning all-tournament first-team honors. The 4A Greater St. Helens League player of the year is back again this season, and leads Union in scoring (23.9 ppg), rebounding (8.8), assists (3.9), steals (3.5) and blocks (1.9). Forward Evan Manville (12.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) also averages double figures scoring.
No. 10 Camas (18-7) — Papermakers beat out Clark County power Union for a 4A GSHL title earlier this season, and are now headed to a state tournament site for the first time since 1964 as a 1A program after posting a double-digit win over West Valley in the regional round. Guard Beckett Currie (21 ppg, 3.2 apg) leads the way on offense for Camas, while guard Theo McMillan (12.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 6.8 apg, 2.4 spg) paces the Papermakers in rebounds, assists and steals.
No. 11 Davis (17-5) — Pirates enter the Tacoma Dome on an eight-game winning streak after securing 4A Columia Basin Big-Nine and District 6 championships. Guards Cesar Hernandez, Brandon Lee Jr. and Finnegan Anderson pace Davis’ offense, while forward Blake Garza was the 4A CBBN defensive player of the year. Lee (game-high 25 points) and Hernandez (15) combined for 40 points in the Pirates’ 32-point rout of Issaquah in the regional round.
No. 12 Mariner (16-8) — Marauders return to the state bracket after winning a pair of loser-out games against 4A Wesco rival Jackson in the 4A Northwest/SeaKing District tournament and Chiawana in last week’s regional round. Guard Jalin Johnson (game-high 29 points), forward Makai Bloomfield (23) and guard Macky James (15) combined for 67 of Mariner’s 85 points in the win to send the program back to the Tacoma Dome.
TNT CHAMPIONSHIP PICK
No. 1 Curtis 55, No. 2 Mount Si 53
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
