4A Tournament Storylines and Hottest Teams

The 4A state championships officially get going tomorrow at 6 PM, when 16 teams start their final push toward the 2025-26 title. There are plenty of storylines to pay attention to, and as always, drama will find its way into the tournament. We've got five storylines heading into the tournament to pay attention to, as well as how each team has fared over their last ten games, and who is the hottest team heading into the state tournament.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Storylines</h3>   Richland Duo Looking to End on Top   [player_tooltip player_id='2375347' first='Lance' last='Horntvedt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1685503' first='Landen' last='Northrop'] have become one of the top duos in the state, and even though they've been to the state tournament three years in a row, they have yet to claim that elusive state title. They were part of the 2nd-place team in 2024 that lost to Mount Si, and last season led the team to a 4th-place finish. This season has the potential to be a storybook ending for the pair. They will finish one (Northrop - 768) and two (Horntvedt - 663) on the single-season MCC scoring list, and could lead the bombers to their first title since the 1978-79 season when the trio of Brian Kellerman (20.4 PPG), Bob Kennedy (17.3 PPG), and Mark Hoke (15.8 PPG) brought home Richland's third title by defeating Pasco 72-59. This year's team has been one of the most dominant in Richland's history, and they are certainly one of the favorites as things get underway.   Return of [player_tooltip player_id='1685491' first='Lattimore' last='Ford']   Ford came to Mount Si in his sophomore year, joining star seniors Trevor Hennig and Blake Forrest on what would be a championship team. Mount Si claimed the top seed in the 2024 tournament and went 4-0, winning each game by double-digits, and would defeat Richland to claim the title. Last season, things looked to be going a similar direction until an injury in the district playoffs knocked Ford out for the rest of the year. The Wildcats were not the same team without him, and entered the 2025 tournament as the 7th seed. They would upset the 2-seed Auburn in the opening round, then lose the next two games and fail to place. After a long recovery, Ford made his 2025-26 season debut in a win at Renton on January 23rd. Now, Mount Si is back in the tournament as the top seed and could be headed on a title game collision course with Richland, just like in 2024.   Auburn an Underdog?   The Trojans have a streak of six straight state tournament appearances since 2020, but oddly enough, they've lost every opening round game in that stretch. This is the first time they'll be outside of the top eight seeds in that streak, and facing elimination to start the tournament. While they've been the victim of upsets in each of the last five tournaments, this could be the year they are the underdogs serving an upset. If they get by Sunnyside on Saturday, they have the talent to compete with any team remaining.   Glacier Peak Near Perfect   Glacier Peak was on a run of perfection, 21 wins in a row, until their one-point loss to Lake Washington last Thursday. They've already taken down a few of the other teams in the field (Puyallup, West Valley-Yakima, Woodinville), but they also had to deal with late-season bumps and bruises to point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1927274' first='Reed' last='Nagel']. He's a key guy for them who's been a part of two deep tournament runs (3rd-place in 2024 and 2025) and will need to be going right for them to continue their success this season.   Youth Movement at West Valley   The Rams feature some of the top young talent in the state, and enter the 4A tournament as the youngest team competing. Not only do they have five sophomores/freshmen in the rotation, but they start three of those five. [player_tooltip player_id='2473468' first='Austin' last='Birley'] has already displayed the ability to compete regardless of who they're facing. [player_tooltip player_id='2627288' first='Jett' last='Bremerman'] has excelled in his sophomore year and is an ascending 2028 guard. And freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2627880' first='Jrayden' last='Whitfield'] is one of the top 2029s in the state who can absolutely stroke from 3-point range. They have a couple of key seniors ([player_tooltip player_id='2569415' first='Parker' last='Hill'], [player_tooltip player_id='1587955' first='Parker' last='Mills']) who have been key to this run, and it will be fun to see how this young core fares during the tournament.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Hottest Teams (Record, PPG, OPPG) *Based on last 10 games</h3>   Richland Bombers: 10-0, 94.4 PPG, 52.6 OPPG (+41.8)   West Valley-Yakima Rams: 10-0, 82.8 PPG, 53.7 OPPG (+29.1)   Mount Si Wildcats: 10-0, 71.2 PPG, 57.8 OPPG (+13.4)   Glacier Peak Grizzlies: 9-1, 63.3 PPG, 40.3 OPPG (+23.0)   Gonzaga Prep Bullpups: 9-1, 62.0 PPG, 45.1 OPPG (+16.9)   Puyallup Vikings: 9-1, 63.3 PPG, 49.1 OPPG (+14.2)   Emerald Ridge Jaguars: 8-2, 64.5 PPG, 46.7 OPPG (+17.8)   Auburn Trojans: 8-2, 67.8 PPG, 52.7 OPPG (+15.1)   Olympia Bears: 8-2, 66.7 PPG, 54.4 OPPG (+12.3)   Chiawana Riverhawks: 8-2, 69.5 PPG, 59.2 OPPG (+10.3)   Camas Papermakers: 8-2, 60.8 PPG, 53.4 OPPG (+7.4)   Lake Washington Kangaroos: 7-3, 68.4 PPG, 55.7 OPPG (+12.7)   Redmond Mustangs: 7-3, 57.0 PPG, 53.3 OPPG (+3.7)   Woodinville Falcons: 7-3, 58.6 PPG, 55.6 OPPG (+3.0)   Sumner Spartans: 6-4, 59.1 PPG, 49.5 OPPG (+9.6)   Sunnyside Grizzlies: 6-4, 63.8 PPG, 59.6 OPPG (+4.2)

The 4A state championships officially get going tomorrow at 6 PM, when 16 teams start their final push toward the 2025-26 title. There are plenty of storylines to pay attention to, and as always, drama will find its way into the tournament. We've got five storylines heading into the tournament to pay attention to, as well as how each team has fared over their last ten games, and who is the hottest team heading into the state tournament.