Still on the Rise
After early stumble, Rainier Beach has made a steady climb up national rankings
The general fan base may have stopped keeping track of the various national high-school team rankings, but Rainier Beach certainly has not.
The Vikings suffered a precipitous drop in most rankings, and out of some, after their shocking defeat to Southridge (Ore) 69-65 at the Les Schwab Invitational in Portland on Dec. 28. It was only their sixth game of the season — which Beach says factored into the loss.
But Rainier Beach is not out of national contention. The Vikings are ranked as high as No. 13 in the Sports Illustrated Power 25, and are No. 16 by MaxPreps and the Is Composite, which takes into account rankings by SI, MaxPreps, and on3/Rivals. The Rivals composite rankings (Massey, MaxPreps, ESPN, and SI) has Rainier Beach at No. 20.
The Vikings have been riding their defense to wins lately. They’ve held four playoff opponents, from the Metro League championship on, to 53.3 points per game. For the season, Rainier Beach has been outscoring its opponents by an average of 29.4 points — 88.1 to 58.7.
Where the stumble in Portland cost Rainier Beach the most was a probable championship matchup with Sierra Canyon (Los Angeles). Sierra Canyon won the Les Schwab tournament. Its star player, Brandon McCoy is ranked as high as No. 2 in 2026 prospect rankings, which all are topped by Beach’s Tyran Stokes.
Stokes remains in the running for several individual national honors. He is a semifinalist for the Naismith national player of the year and on the watch list for MaxPreps’ national player of the year. Gatorade and Morgan Wooten are the other national player of the year awards. Stokes has been named to the McDonald’s All-American game in Glendale, Arizona, and the Nike Hoops Summit in Portland.