Rainier Beach’s Jaylen Petty is TNT’s 2025 state player of the year
It was everything Jaylen Petty envisioned when he hoisted the state championship trophy on the floor of the Tacoma Dome in early March.
He began his career at Rainier Beach, spending his freshman year at the high school before life circumstances took him to Auburn High, where he played two seasons for the Trojans before transferring back to Beach for his senior year.
This time around, he wasn’t a wide-eyed freshman sitting on the bench for Mike Bethea’s squad, he was a star guard and focal point of the offense. He led Rainier Beach to a dominant run through the 3A bracket at the Tacoma Dome; the Vikings won their four tournament games by an average margin of 23 points, including a 20-point win over Edmonds-Woodway in the state championship game.
Petty scored a game-high 26 points in the championship game. He was named the 3A state tournament MVP. This postseason, he was named the Gatorade state player of the year and WIBCA’s “Mr. Basketball.”
Add The News Tribune’s 2025 state player of the year to the list of accolades for the New Mexico signee.
“We had to work hard for it,” Petty told The News Tribune after the championship game. “Nothing’s easy. The fact that we came out here, just stayed together as a brotherhood, it means a lot to me.”
Longtime Rainier Beach coach Mike Bethea, who has now run out of fingers on which to place all of his championship rings — he now has 10 titles — said Petty’s transfer back to Rainier Beach elevated the Vikings from good to great.
“Unfinished business,” he said. “We knew that once his parents moved back into the area and he decided to come back to Beach, that was the missing link.”
Teammate Kaden Powers, a Rutgers signee, called Petty the team’s vocal leader, on and off the court. Former NBA player Jamal Crawford, who played in the league for 20 years, joined Bethea’s coaching staff at his alma mater for the first time this season.
He told The News Tribune that Petty reminds him a bit of himself at that age.
“He’s one of the best kids I’ve ever been around,” Crawford said. “In the group chat he’s sending prayer verses to his teammates. If they need anything, he’s there for them. It’s like he’s been here before. I’ve never worked with a kid that’s been that obsessive with being great, the small details.”
Petty averaged 24.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.2 steals per game in the 2024-25 season.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Rainier Beach’s Jaylen Petty is TNT’s 2025 state player of the year."
