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The drumming sound of basketballs being dribbled and players running courts have returned to area high schools this month, signaling the start of another season and the quest of local teams pursuing goals, dreams and trophies.
After bringing home the runner-up trophy from last year’s 3A state boys basketball tournament — the best finish ever for an E-W boys hoops team — what do the Warriors have planned for an encore this upcoming season?
“We got the taste of where we want to be; so now … we’re expecting to be back there,” said Warrior senior Julian Gray.
The Edmonds-Woodway Warriors head into the 2025-2026 season with high expectations after a history-making run last year that included 26 wins in 29 games, a 3A Wesco League South Conference championship and an appearance in the 3A state title game at the Tacoma Dome.
The team returns most of their starting lineup from last year’s state runnerup squad, with one big exception: Cam Hiatt. The 6-foot-4 guard, now playing Division 1 basketball for Dartmouth College, averaged 21.9 points per game for the Warriors last year, was named the 3A Wesco League South Conference MVP, was an All-Tournament First Team selection at the WIAA 3A State Basketball Championships and played in the postseason WIBCA All-State Game.
Despite the loss of Hiatt to graduation, this year’s Warrior squad hasn’t lessened their goals for the new season.
“Hope and expectations are high,” said senior William Alseth. “I think we’re going to do great this year. We are going to miss Cam but I think we have the guys that can fill in and we should be just as good, if not better, this year.”
Gray said he has already heard murmurs that this season’s E-W team, without Hiatt, won’t be able to match the level of success that last year’s team achieved. “A lot of people are writing us off already,” he said. “But everyday is a day for us to come in and prove that we’re still the team we are from last year.”
One thing that hasn’t changed at Edmonds-Woodway this year is at the top; Coach Tyler Geving is back for his second season at the helm of Warrior basketball. Geving gave up his director of athletics position at the school over the summer in order to be eligible to continue coaching E-W boys hoops per Edmonds School District guidelines.
Geving, a former Division 1 collegiate coach, instituted what he said were some college-level schemes for the Warriors to run last year. Senior DJ Karl admitted that it took some time for the team to understand it all, but this preseason has been easier.
“Now that we know the system, I think we can implement new stuff and we’ll be able to get it,” Karl said. “It’s a lot easier for everybody to get in the game now because they all know the system.”
Alseth agreed that this year, with a full season under the tutelage of Geving already behind them, Warrior preseason practices have been less stressful and more productive. “We’re already ahead of where we were last year. Last year we were starting at the bottom; this year we’re starting higher. So we’ve just to keep building on that.”
While strategy and planning is important, Karl said that team success this season will come down to desire and execution. “I think every team is going to be hungry to try to beat us,” he said. “So we’ve just got to execute what we want to do and be more hungry than the team in front of us.”
Gray added that the team chemistry he already feels with this year’s squad will be pivotal.
“We’ve all been playing together for a while,” Gray said. “I feel that we trust each other. Not only are we good teammates on the court, but we’re good friends off the court. We have the bond and the relationship — that will go a long way.”
While home games this year will be played on a new floor installed in the Edmonds-Woodway gymnasium over the summer, a smaller but perhaps more significant addition to the school gym is now on display: a commemorative plate mounted on the wall proclaiming the team’s second place finish at state last season. The permanent addition to the E-W Wall of Champions brought smiles to the faces of Gray, Alseth and Karl when they first eyed it.
“I was in PE class when I saw it,” Karl said. “It’s crazy to think that whenever I come back here with my kids or something, that I will be able to show them that that’s my team up there.”
Alseth, while thrilled to see the 2024-2025 state plate up on the wall, expressed his desire to add to the collection. “I’m ready to go get another one,” he said.
This year’s EWHS squad, with hopes of ending their season back at the Tacoma Dome in March, tip off their 2025-2026 campaign at home with a contest against the West Seattle Wildcats on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m.
Solid reporting, Doug – thanks