Here's the story behind organized statistical-whiz Matt Evans and his widely popular computer-rankings system

Tri-Cities native is founder of 'Evans Rankings,' which is a tool now in WIAA state-playoff selection committee discussions

Tri-Cities-based Matt Evans (Evans Rankings) has been building predictive spreadsheets in sports since 1999 - and publishing WIAA sports rankings for more than a decade. / Photo courtesy of Matt Evans

Matt Evans has always had a deep-seated, quirky sense of curiosity.

Add in the fact he is a whiz for linear statistics and holds a passion for all kinds of sports, what was born from this has become one of the most useful predictive tools in Washington high school (WIAA) athletics.

It's his computer-generated "Evans Rankings."

Ask anybody associated with WIAA sports - athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and, yes, other media - and he or she will know instantly what Evans Rankings is, where to find them and how accurate they are.

In terms of reliability and consistency, most coaches prefer Evans Rankings over any other set of algorithmic-based rankings, including the WIAA's own rating percentage index (RPI) rankings utilized heavily in state-playoff selection criteria.

"Far superior," said former Lakewood football coach Dan Teeter, who is a member of the Washington State Football Coaches Association (WSFCA) board. "Very helpful."

Added Glacier Peak football coach Shane Keck: "I love them. I think his computer rankings are on par with (CalPreps.com) and are better than the RPI. And he is willing to tweak them to make them better."

At an early age, Evans - now 39 - showed tendencies that led to his longstanding creation.

In learning simple arithmetic, he added jersey numbers in the fan programs at Tri-City Americans' minor-league hockey games with his family to come up with a desired total.

At home, in creating imaginary custom leagues, he tabulated results from his NHL video game and recorded them on spreadsheets.

Heck, he was the kid who attempted to guess the price total as items were being scanned at the grocery store.

"I remember when Pasco and Kentwood played in the state (semifinal) game in (2000), and wondered if I could predict who would win by analyzing what Pasco's last five scores were, and how many points Kentwood had given up," Evans said. "I was using a really, simple, simple formula."

Evans said a rudimentary version of his rankings started in 1999 when he was in junior high school, then progressed in his years at Hanford High School (2004 graduate) - and on to his adult life where he began to master Excel and Google spreadsheet tools.

"I kind of taught myself," Evans said.

It wasn't until 2013 when Evans began making his rankings (and other work) public on his as an alternative medium to a then-more established, Vancouver-based entity called ":Score Czar," created by Scott Odiorne.

Over the years, Score Czar flamed out - and Evans' rankings have boomed in popularity.

"They have evolved, and while the formula for football (rankings) is similar to what it was in the beginning, it has changed a lot for basketball and baseball," Evans said.

Evans is a one-stop shop for fans of all sports - high school, college and professional - including his Washington high school football scheduling spreadsheet that gives him special matchmaking powers when a team suddenly loses a game.

Evans said, on average, 10 to 15 coaches will contact him to see what suitable replacements are available.

"That is really cool," Evans said. "I love to share my knowledge ... and I always want to know how things work, and how I can make things better."

These days, Evans' presence is everywhere - on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, and even as a regular on statewide podcasts. He is even dabbling on hosting his own online video blog.

It's not a bad side gig for the career para educator in the Kennewick School District, who reserves most of his 6-to-8 hours a week during the school season (and more in the offseason) devoted to his rankings and state-playoff predictions on down time from his wife, Laurie, and when his 2-year-old son, Carter, is asleep.

"In all honesty, I don't have an end-game with this (venture)," Evans said. "If this is something I do for fun the rest of my life, and never made a cent off of it, I would be a happy person."

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