Tyran Stokes, Rainier Beach withdrew from The Throne tournament

Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player from the Class of 2026, only has a handful of high school basketball games left before finalizing his college basketball path. However, the likelihood of him wearing the Rainier Beach uniform decreased after the team withdrew from The Throne High School Basketball Championship Tournament.

As VarsityWA News’ Todd Milles posted on X (formerly Twitter), head coach Mike Bethea confirmed that the Vikings will not compete in New Jersey for the said tournament due to injuries to Stokes and J.J. Crawford.

Stokes and Crawford led Rainier Beach to a 29-1 record, capped off by a second consecutive Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A state championship after defeating Lincoln. This achievement made Tyran Stokes a shoo-in for the VarsityWA All-State basketball selection.

Taking Rainier Beach’s place in the tournament is New Jersey’s Plainfield High School. Last season, the Cardinals finished with a 27-4 mark and capped off their campaign with a victory over Montgomery to capture the NJSIAA Group 4 championship. Plainfield will start The Throne tournament against fellow New Jersey-based team Bergen Catholic on March 19 at 8:00 p.m. local time.

With The Throne out of the picture, Stokes will compete in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Nike Hoop Summit before announcing his college commitment. Rivals’ predictions show that Kansas has the best odds of recruiting the five-star small forward at 28.6 percent. Louisville (18.9%) and Kentucky (16.2%) are also in the running because they are in Stokes’ home state. USC and Oregon (tied at 13.5%) complete the top five.

Tyran Stokes made official visits to all five schools. However, he made an unofficial appearance when he watched the Jayhawks face BYU last January. There’s even a video of Kansas head coach Bill Self dapping recruits Taylen Kinney and Javon Bardwell but skipping Stokes.