Auburn longer, more athletic, dangerous. Can Trojans win another state title?
Daniel Johnson’s breakout tournament came at an opportune time for the Auburn Trojans last winter. Under the bright lights at the Class 4A state tournament in the Tacoma Dome, Johnson caught fire. He couldn’t miss, couldn’t be stopped.
Auburn lost to eventual state champion Gonzaga Prep, but it felt like the start of something special for Johnson. He has carried that momentum into the 2025-26 season, leading Auburn to the 4A NPSL title and the No. 1 seed in the 4A District 3/4 tournament, which began Thursday.
“I’m just trying to get better every year and every day,” Johnson said after Auburn hammered No. 16 Spanaway Lake on Thursday, 82-40.
Johnson, a Montana State signee, is the toughest assignment for opposing defenses. He handles the ball well, gets to the rim and is a knockdown shooter, shooting 47 percent from 3-point range.
Auburn is 20-2 and is ranked No. 2 in Class 4A in The News Tribune’s most recent rankings, behind undefeated Richland. It all starts with Johnson.
“Last year he had a great season, and then when we got to the state tournament, he kind of just really took it to another level and he’s just carried that into this year,” Auburn coach Ryan Hansen said. “He’s been the leading scorer for us this year. He’s shooting the ball at a really high clip.”
Time will tell if this year’s group is as good as the 2022 team, which won the Class 3A state championship, running through Seattle’s Metro League (Garfield in quarterfinals, Seattle Prep in semifinals and Rainier Beach in championship) en route to its title.
But this year’s group looks like Hansen’s most athletic team. The Trojans have some legitimate length, too, notably 6-foot-8 forward Isaiah Englund, who threw down highlight-reel dunks alongside 6-foot-4 guard Miles Henry in Auburn’s win over Spanaway Lake on Thursday. Leroy Kinnay, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Auburn Riverside, plays long, too.
“I like our length,” Hansen said. “We’ve got great length. We’re relatively balanced. I mean, obviously Daniel is our leading scorer, but we’ve got good balance amongst the other guys and that’s what makes great teams. You can’t key on one or two guys. You’ve got to guard all five on the floor.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can put the ball in the hole and we’re excited about the run that we could potentially have.”
Auburn’s identity is high-energy, full-court, suffocating defense and transition offense, though the Trojans are comfortable in the half-court offense, too.
“It starts on defense and shows on offense,” Englund said. “We get out and run, play with a lot of energy.”
Auburn’s players said the energy starts at practice.
“We work on it at practice all the time,” Johnson said. “It just shows in the game a lot.”
And when it shows up on game nights, it’s usually all smiles from the Trojans.
“It’s always fun,” Miles Henry said. “Big plays, man. It’s always fun.”
Auburn will have to contend with Richland, but there are a handful of teams that will have a shot to cut down the nets. In 4A, it’s wide open. Richland, Auburn, Glacier Peak, Mount Si, West Valley of Yakima, Lake Washington, Gonzaga Prep and others all have the pieces to make a run.
“It really is open,” Hansen said. “There’s a lot of really good teams. I think matchups along the way will come into play. I think it’s just who’s playing their best basketball, obviously. Staying healthy is going to be really important.”
Auburn faces the winner of No. 8 Skyview and No. 9 Sumner in the 4A District 3/4 quarterfinals at home next Tuesday.
