2/25/2026
Now that the 3A State Tournament brackets have been released and the schedules are set, let’s take a look at who’s in and who’s out, comparing the teams from last year to this year and other notable points of interest.
Let’s get started!
3A Girls Tournament
Link to 2026 tournament bracket
Link to 2025 tournament bracket
Last year’s Trophy winners
Champion (1) Central Valley
2nd (6) Lakeside (Sea)
3rd (2) North Thurston
4th (17) Bellevue
5th (19) Garfield
6th (7) Kennewick
Last year’s top 8 seeds
1. Central Valley
2. North Thurston
3. White River
4. Stanwood
5. Seattle Prep
6. Lakeside (Sea)
7. Kennewick
8. Meadowdale
This year’s top 8 seeds
1. Bellevue
2. Snohomish
3. Ridgeline
4. Roosevelt
5. North Thurston
6. Eastside Catholic
7. Evergreen
8. Edmonds-Woodway
Last year’s best underdogs
Bellevue and Garfield turned memorable campaigns into playing on the last day of the State Tournament. Bellevue had to overcome five loser-out games to place 4th in the State Tournament as a 17 seed. Garfield was the 19th seed and overcame a flurry of great teams to make the semifinals. Roosevelt also knocked down the number #10 seed in River Ridge in the round of 12 before falling by only nine points to the #7 seed in Kennewick.
This year’s underdogs to watch
#11 Lakeside (Sea), with its legendary head coach, Sandy Schneider, with her record 515 wins and a tie as head coach, can cause trouble for many tough teams in the bracket, especially considering its run to the State Championship last season.
And we don’t have to go any further to point out that teams from the Tuesday play-in games can be major factors with 19 seed Garfield in the semifinals last year and 17 seeded Bellevue both taking home a trophy. The question is can history repeat itself in this tournament?
#19 Lincoln has already started its postseason off strong with a win over the #14 seed University in the play-in game, and they have a star player and future Tennessee Volunteers Olivia Edwards. She is a problem for any team with her height and skill, and others have to be on the lookout for her.
#17 Bishop Blanchett traveled to Hermiston, Ore and took out the 16 seed 57-24. #15 Meadowdale put up 81 points in their win over #18 River Ridge and #13 Gig Harbor cruised in their win over #20 Kelso.
Last year’s best Favorites
Central Valley came into the tournament perfect, and to the surprise of no one, completed an unblemished 29-0 season with their State Championship win over Lakeside. North Thurston also walked their way to the semifinals before narrowly losing to Lakeside by two, sending Lakeside to the championship. It was an interesting year, where only two of the top five teams made it to the semifinals. This made the whole tournament from start to finish unpredictable, but in the end, the #1 seed prevailed.
This year’s best chance Favorites
Bellevue is certainly the team with the bullseye on their back. Bellevue’s speed and depth make them favorite to win the 3A tournament. The #2 seed in Snohomish and #4 in Roosevelt have both put together outstanding regular seasons and are looking to carry that into the state tournament and bring home the gold.
Snohomish is 18-6 and lost all 6 games in their 1st 8 game including beginning the year 0-4. Without knowledge this sure seems like an area where the Panthers may have been missing some key players for the first part of the season or they are just a team that needed time to gel. Whatever the reason, a committee of people who watch and follow these teams determined they are the 2 seed and they are coming in on a 16 game winning streak.
The Roughriders come in 21-4 overall. They won the Metro Mountain division and lost to Eastside Catholic 66-61 in the Metro league Championship game. Roosevelt took on Bellevue in the district tournament and lost 68-57.
#6 Eastside Catholic might be feeling slighted after taking 2nd to Roosevelt in league but beating them in the Metro League Championship and then losing by just 3 to top seed Bellevue.
Then there’s #3 seed Ridgeline. What do we do about the Falcons. They play in that tough 3A/4A Greater Spokane league where last year’s 3A Champ came from in Central Valley and regularly play powerhouses like 4A Gonzaga Prep, C-V and 4A Mead. They finished 19-4 overall this season with their only losses to Gonzaga Prep by 4, a 1-point loss to Wasilla HS in Alaska over the winter break, a 7 point loss to Mead. and then got handled well in a second loss to G-Prep which was their worst game of the year. They are on a 10 game win streak and hard to measure the competition they have been playing with the westside teams.
The most interesting game of the regional round to us is #6 Eastside Catholic fresh off their 3 point loss to Bellevue at #3 Ridgeline. We want to see if this is a tight game or if Eastside Catholic wins that likely either team could beat Bellevue with a perfect game and maybe a few things go their way. But if Ridgeline wins by say 15? What’s that say about their ability to battle a team like Bellevue?
Biggest surprises!
Who’s the most surprising they are in?
The Evergreen Plainsmen are making just their 4th state tournament appearance in school history and seeking their first ever state trophy. They aren’t sneaking in as a big high seed either but are the 7. They are 20-4 on the season and 8-0 in the Greater St Helens 3A league. This is a great chance for Evergreen to make a little school history.
Who’s the most surprising they are out?
Eastlake was eliminated on the final game in the District tournament this year but the Wildcats have had a pretty impressive run. From 2018 to 2023 they have 2 State Championships and 2 5th place trophies which means they got to the semifinals 4 straight years. Last year they got knocked out on opening day and missed altogether this season.
Bellarmine Prep is another regular in the Tacoma Dome that won’t be there this year as they had two shots to get to Regionals but lost both games in the district tournament. This is the 1st miss for the Lions since 2012.
Final Thoughts
Bellevue has played some of the toughest competition in the State. Wins against 4A regulars Woodinville, Sumner, and Lake Washington showcase why this team is tough to beat. Their lone losses this season have come to 4A seeded teams #1 Davis and #7 Bothell. Expect the Wolverines to be the hunted in this year’s tournament. There are other sleeping giants, though, and not just in the top seeds. This is a tournament that could very well see Cinderella runs and higher seeds make deep appearances. There are many teams that you cannot count out, and some have the star power to run wild in this season’s tournament.
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3A Boys Tournament
Link to 2026 tournament bracket
Link to 2025 tournament bracket
Last year’s Trophy winners
Champion (1) Rainier Beach
2nd (5) Edmonds-Woodway
3rd (3) Garfield
4th (7) Seattle Prep
5th (2) Mt Spokane
6th (8) Bellarmine Prep
Last year’s top 8 seeds
1. Rainier Beach
2. Mt Spokane
3. Garfield
4. Bellevue
5. Edmonds-Woodway
6. Lincoln (Tac)
7. Seattle Prep
8. Bellarmine Prep
This year’s top 8 seeds
1. Rainier Beach
2. O’Dea
3. Mt. Spokane
4. Eastside Catholic
5. Bellarmine
6. Prairie
7. Lincoln
8. Bellevue
Last year’s best underdogs
Seattle Prep was one of the standout stories as far as underdogs were concerned. Upsetting the 2 seed Mount Spokane in the Regional Round and playing on the final day of the tournament to finish in 4th. Edmonds-Woodway, as the 5th seed, upset Mt. Spokane in the semifinals to play in the State Championship. Bellarmine last year gave Mount Spokane a run for their money in overtime in the quarterfinal round.
This year’s underdogs to watch
The Puget Sound league has a pair of dark horse contenders. Bellarmine and Lincoln are playing red-hot basketball at the right time. People may forget that Bellarmine last year upset Rainier Beach in the regional round of the playoffs. And Eastside Catholic, with their lineup, is not your normal fourth seed; they have all the potential in the world to go on a run. There are also teams like Enumclaw, who played close games with the likes of Lincoln and were at the top of the NPSL 3A league.
Take a look at #9 Auburn Mountainview. The Lions have only been to 3 State tournaments in school history but two of them are the last two. So this is their 3rd tournament appearance in a row and they are looking for their first trophy. The Lions are 19-5 and have won 10 of their last 11 games.
Can anyone come out of the play-in games? You never know and 13 seed Central Valley may be coming in on a boost with a buzzer beater to beat #20 Lakes to avoid a 3rd upset. #17 Mountain View beat #16 Snohomish 69-62, #18 Monroe handled #15 University 53-39 and #14 Enumclaw knocked out #19 River Ridge 62-50.
Last year’s best Favorites
Even after losing in the regionals, the tournament was expected to run through Rainier Beach, and as expected, it went through Rainier Beach. Four of the top five seeds made it to the seminfinals including Garfield and Mt Spokane, who played close games against Rainier Beach and Edmonds-Woodway. All eight of the top eight seeds made it to the quarterfinals.
This year’s best chance Favorites
3A Boys run through Beach, and it is up to the rest of the bracket to stop them. There are teams that you cannot count out, though, including league rivals in O’Dea who have already played Rainier Beach twice and gave them all they wanted in each game.
Mt. Spokane is always in contention for getting to the championship setting year in and year out. Eastside Catholic is in the same league as Rainier Beach and O’Dea and has made games interesting with both those teams this season.
Biggest surprises!
Who’s the most surprising they are out?
Garfield is the most surprising team not in the tournament. We understand the off-season turmoil and coaching changes but this is only the 6th time the Bulldogs missed the tournament over the past 28 years. Hopefully, the new coaching staff can get the program back on track after a rough last year.
Seattle Prep is another who is out and has been a regular in the Tacoma Dome. The Panthers got knocked out on the final day of the district tournament by Liberty. The Panthers took home the 4th place trophy last year but fell short this year.
Final Thoughts
Rainier Beach is the clear-cut favorite. If they are to have trouble, the two likeliest teams it seems would be that of an O’Dea, who has played them tough in all four of their previous meetings, or a Mount Spokane, who has knocked on the door and yet to reach the ultimate glory of a golden ball.
Rainier Beach lost in the opening round last year, however, and although it seems like they would repeat their success, all it takes is for one team to be at the top of their game and dethrone the reigning champions as they look to go back-to-back. The state tournament has seen crazier things, and there is no telling what this season has in store. But it is going to take a huge effort to knock off the Vikings.
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