Spring sports breakdown: NPSL surprises and standings

With spring break coming and going, we want to encapsulate the local high school spring sports seasons so far. Below are the team sports standings as of April 17, along with the biggest surprises and our first half award winners.

3A NPSL baseball

1. Auburn Mountainview, 5-6 (5-0)

2. Kentlake, 7-5 (4-1)

3. Auburn Riverside, 7-6 (3-2)

4. Thomas Jefferson, 5-7 (4-3)

5. Auburn, 3-10 (3-3)

6. Kent-Meridian, 3-9 (1-6)

7. Todd Beamer, 2-11 (1-6)

Biggest surprise: Auburn Mountainview. After starting the season 0-5 and being outscored 34-2, it seemed like the Lions were in for a brutal 2024 season. But under the leadership of first year skipper Austin Simpson, the Lions have righted the ship. A two-game sweep of Todd Beamer and of Auburn jolted some life into Auburn Mountainview when it appeared like they were treading to keep their head above water. Pitching has been the key for the Lions. In that series against Auburn, the Trojans only scored four runs over the two games, their lowest run total against a league opponent all season.

1st Half MVP: Gino Trippy Jr. (AubMV)

1st Half Cy Young: Christopher Moore (Kentlake)

1st Half Coach of the Year: Joe Townsend (TJ)

4A NPSL Baseball

1. Kentridge, 9-3 (4-2)

2. Tahoma, 9-5 (3-2)

3. Kennedy Catholic, 11-3 (3-2)

4. Mount Rainier, 10-6 (3-4)

5. Kentwood, 7-6 (3-4)

6. Decatur, 6-8 (3-4)

7. Federal Way, 7-6 (2-3)

Biggest surprise: Kentridge. Coming into the season, the Chargers were in a tough spot. Tahoma and Federal Way both made the state tournament last year and Kennedy was a game short a year ago. It seemed that the Chargers were going to have to scrap to find their way, and they have done just that so far this season. A two-game sweep of Mount Rainier shows exactly that. The Rams have one of best pitching staffs in the NPSL this season. That paired with a win over Lake Washington inside T-Mobile Park and a series split against Federal Way has put Kentridge in a solid position to make a run in the second half of the season.

1st half MVP: Rylan Gullard (Kentridge)

1st half Cy Young : Adam Jay (Tahoma)

1st half Coach of the Year: Sheldon Stober (Kentridge)

3A NPSL Softball

1. Auburn Mountainview, 7-3 (4-1)

2. Thomas Jefferson, 4-3 (3-2)

3. Kentlake, 5-6 (3-2)

4. Auburn Riverside, 8-2 (1-1)

5. Auburn, 1-6 (0-2)

6. Kent-Meridian, 0-9 (0-4)

7. Todd Beamer, 1-7 (0-6)

Biggest surprise: Auburn Mountainview. The Lions had a very strong regular season last year, but couldn’t gain enough momentum to make a run last year in the district tournament. This season, the Lions look to be the team to beat. Of course the team in navy and teal will have something to say about that. The two sides face off in the final game of the regular season on May 10 at Auburn Mountainview. The Lions have scored 41 runs over their past three games before spring break and allowed just one over that trio of games.

1st half MVP: Kaylee Walker (AubR)

1st Half Cy Young: McKenna Ward (AubMV)

1st Half Coach of the Year: Annalise Campbell (TJ)

4A NPSL Softball

1. Kentwood, 6-1 (3-0)

2. Tahoma, 9-1 (3-1)

3. Decatur, 6-2 (3-1)

4. Kentridge, 4-6 (2-1)

5. Federal Way, 5-5 (2-1)

6. Kennedy Catholic, 2-7 (1-2)

7. Mount Rainier, 2-3 (1-2)

Biggest surprise: Kentwood. It’s clearly not a surprise if you pick the biggest surprise as the best team, but Kentwood has surpassed all expectations and is playing like one of the best teams in the state. Of course, Sarah Wright catches people’s attention — her fastball and her just utter domination are up there with some of the best in the state. JJ Ursino is a sneaky pick for MVP this season. She has demonstrated power to all fields at the plate, gold glove defense and speed on the bases. Kentwood’s state hopes petered out last year in Richland, falling in the semifinals to Glacier Peak. But this year with the supporting cast that Wright has developed, Kentwood is poised to make another deep playoff run this season.

1st Half MVP: JJ Ursino (Kentwood)

1st Half Cy Young: Sarah Wright (Kentwood)

1st Half Coach of the Year: Darren Rawie (Tahoma)

3A NPSL Soccer

1. Auburn Mountainview, 5-5-1 (4-4-1) 13 Pts

2. Kent-Meridian, 3-4-4 (3-4-3) 12 Pts

3. Auburn, 3-5-3 (3-4-3) 12 Pts

4. Todd Beamer, 4-4-3 (3-4-2) 11 Pts

5. Auburn Riverside, 4-7-1 (3-6-1) 10 Pts

6. Kentlake, 0-8-2 (0-7-2) 2 Pts

7. Thomas Jefferson, 1-8-2 (0-8-2) 2 Pts

Biggest surprise: Entire league. Compared to last season, this league just got flipped on its head. Thomas Jefferson, Auburn Mountainview and Kent-Meridian were fighting for playoff spots. This year, Todd Beamer and Auburn are leading the charge. Auburn won a single game last season and three in their last three seasons since coming out of the pandemic. Todd Beamer also only won one game a year ago. It was their final match of the year against Kentlake, which the Titans won 1-0. It has been a scoring revelation for both Todd Beamer and Auburn this season. Last year, Todd Beamer had just three games all season where they score more than one goal. This year, they have scored more than one goal in six games, going 4-1-1 in those six. Auburn has scored more than a goal in five games and has gone 3-1-1.

1st Half Ballon d’or: Davyd Fedina (AubMW)

1st Half Yashin Trophy: Mason Duarte (Kentlake)

1st Half Manager of the Year: Skyler Roehr (Aub)

4A NPSL Soccer

1. Kentwood, 8-4-1 (8-0-1) 25 Pts

2. Mount Rainier, (8-1-0) 24 Pts

3. Kennedy Catholic, 9-3-0 (8-2-0) 24 Pts

4. Tahoma, 9-2-1 (7-2-1) 22 Pts

5. Kentridge, 6-3-2 (6-3-1) 19 Pts

6. Federal Way, 2-6-4 (1-4-4) 7 Pts

7. Decatur, 2-7-2 (2-7-1) 7 Pts

Biggest surprise: Kentwood. The biggest surprise from an outsider’s perspective is the Kentwood Conquerors sitting two points out of the top spot of the league. A year ago, Kentwood was sent home in the district tournament on a 7-0 loss to Tahoma. As it stands this season, the Conks are currently on a six-game unbeaten streak and just shutout Tahoma in a 1-0 win. Kentwood finished as the NPSL two seed last season heading into the district tournament, but went 0-2 and bar-b-que. This Kentwood squad has experience from that season and is using it this year.

1st Half Ballon d’or: Harrison Emert (Mount Rainier)

1st Half Yashin Trophy: Patrick O’Brien (Kentridge)

1st Half Manager of the year: Jason McGlothern (Mount Rainier)

Kent-Meridian and Federal Way soccer players fight for possession earlier in the season. Ben Ray / The Reporter