Washington high school news and notes: Battle Ground added as second team in national Les Schwab Invitational basketball showcase

Top stories and various items from around high school athletics in Washington — and the nation

Two Washington high school basketball teams will be competing in perhaps the region’s top winter basketball showcase. 

The Les Schwab Invitational announced its in-state field last week for the upcoming annual tournament, which includes Eastside Catholic and Battle Ground. The tournament takes place in the Portland, Ore. suburb of Hillsboro between Christmas and New Years. 

Battle Ground, which was announced as an “in-state” team presumably due to its proximity to Portland despite being in Washington, is led by four-star 6-9 forward Kaden Perry, a 2021 recruit who committed to Gonzaga in June. 

Eastside Catholic, which was announced as one of the “national” teams in April has four-star junior point guard Nolan Hickman, four-star University of Washington commit Shane Nowell and five-star football prospect J.T. Tuimolaou, who has among the team’s leaders as a sophomore last year. 

Top-tier Washington teams have been a fixture at the showcase, which draws nationally relevant programs such as Mater Dei and Oak Hill Academy. Gonzaga Prep, Skyview and Eastside Catholic competed last year. Brackets have yet to be announced. See the rest of the field here.

Here are some other news and notes from the week in Washington high school athletics:

• North Mason High School baseball coach Bill Geyer died Wednesday after a nearly four-year battle with cancer, according to a report by Jeff Graham of The Kitsap Sun. Geyer helmed the Bulldogs for nine seasons, including last season when he won a career-best 12 games and led the team to the 2A state tournament for the first time in nine seasons. Read more about Geyer, and the reaction from the surrounding community here.

• Reigning Washington high school 4A player of the year Lincoln Victor will be seeing much more of the field at Hawaii. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Victor, a true freshman receiver, will not be redshirting and could see an expanded role in the Rainbow Warriors’ offense. Victor led Union to an undefeated 14-0 season and a program-first 4A state championship in 2018. He played quarterback and a little bit of corner, despite projecting as a receiver in college. 

• Mariner High School quarterback Jackson Cole is a Type 1 diabetic, and “won’t be held back.” That’s according to Zach Hereth of The Everett Herald, who profiled Cole this past week. Mariner (2-5, 2-3 4A Wesco) hosts Cascade on Friday.

• Who is the brains of the Dallas Cowboys’ complex and dominant offense? That’s Kellen Moore, a former standout college quarterback who played briefly in the NFL. The Prosser alum has flourished in his first season as the offensive coordinator for one of the most recognizable teams in sports. Bob Sturm of The Athletic took a dive into Moore’s offense and philosophy this week.

• Does Kennedy Catholic have the top receiving corps in the country? Matt Massey of The Seattle Times posed the question and took a look at why the Lancers are making that case.

• A Cascade High School graduate is in charge of the basketball analytics department of perhaps the NBA’s most forward-thinking organization. Nick Patterson of The Everett Herald writes about Pabail Sidhu, the Warriors’ “Data Wizard.”
• A fake jersey, anonymous freshman and a cheating scandal that ended a small-school Missouri football power's season. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch examines what exactly happened at Cardinal Ritter College Prep. (The Scorebook Live Today podcast also went in-depth about this on this week's episode)