High school boys soccer preview: Top teams, players in South Sound in 2026
The high school boys soccer season is underway, and as usual, there’s plenty of talent in the South Sound this spring. Here’s what to watch for this season, some teams to keep an eye on before the postseason approaches and some of the area’s top players.
4A NPSL
Stadium couldn’t have asked for a better start this spring — six games, six wins, zero goals allowed. Junior striker Abraham Cooper has been the area’s most lethal scorer out of the gates, tallying a South-Sound best nine goals in five games. Goalkeepers Case Kelanic and Silas Grove have combined for six straight shutouts, keeping the Tigers in prime position for a league title despite the graduation of 4A NPSL Player of the Year Nicholas Coope. Watch for sophomore striker Andreas Valenzuela and junior forward Fisher Jarzynka, each with three goals in the season’s opening month. Tahoma, the defending league champion, graduated four first-team NPSL selections in 2025 but remains on the radar with returning all-league defender Dean Jordan. Auburn Riverside’s Ashton Riggs, a junior forward, is often on the scoresheet and plays club soccer for Seattle Sounders FC Academy; Auburn features emerging sophomore midfielder Keahi Ahuna.
4A SPSL
Curtis, Sumner, Olympia and Puyallup should be in the mix this spring. Olympia (6-0-1) has gotten off to the hottest start, a resume that includes wins over Tumwater, Union and a 2-0 win over perennial league title contender Puyallup on Tuesday. Olympia returns seven starters and is dangerous in the attack, led by first-team 4A SPSL forward Jake Murphy. Several impact transfers have the Bears in contention this year, including Timberline transfer Noel Fernandez, who was a first-team selection in the 3A PSL last spring. Senior goalkeeper Declan Borden, who was also a 3A PSL first-team selection, transferred in from River Ridge and senior midfielder Casey Smith, a 2A EvCo first-team selection last spring, transferred in from Shelton. Puyallup returns one of the league’s skilled forwards in 4A SPSL first-team selection Curran Caufield, a junior who has been an impact player since he was a freshman. In the back, Braylon Bowie is one of the league’s top defenders. Curtis returns F/MF Alex Leyva, a dynamic player in the midfield and moving forward in the attack. The Vikings also feature M/D Quinn Richardson, a captain and a pair of players who are coming off knee injuries and ready to make an impact in D/M Landon Lee and F Patrick Myers. Sumner features one of the league’s top defenses, returning a pair of TNT All-Area selections: defensive midfielder Aiden Vannoy, who wins 50-50 balls with ease, and senior center back Lucas Morgan, who made a quick impact at Sumner last season after leaving Sounders FC Academy. The Spartans also added Bonney Lake transfer, forward Gavin Murphy to the attack. He’ll be eligible to play beginning this month.
3A NPSL
After back-to-back runs to the 3A state semifinals — both as a 15-seed or lower — Auburn Mountainview’s looking for more. First-year head coach Donovan Gleason takes the reins, one of multiple former Lions players to rejoin the program as a coach or assistant (last year’s senior goalkeeper, Jonathan Ochoa-Felix, is now the C-Team’s head coach). Senior midfielder Benji Toscano is the headliner, who delivered a hat trick in last year’s 3-0 win over Gig Harbor in the state quarterfinals. Senior midfielder Benjamin Yitbarek is another four-year varsity contributor, joining Toscano, Pablo Montiel, and new keeper Ruvim Vasilchuk as captains. Emerging freshman Chase Bennion is Auburn Mountainview’s second-leading goal scorer early on, but the rest bring plenty of playoff experience in their quest for another tournament run. “The fact that we’ve been to 10 state playoff games the last two years... The guys that are leading the team are those guys that have been in those moments,” Gleason told The News Tribune. “Those are big-time skills that you learn. To have your season on the line on a continuous basis like that, and be able to continue to succeed.... We have a lot of experience on this team, even though we have a rather young team compared to what we had the last two years.” Look out for Kent-Meridian, which features Highline commit Jonathan Chino Lopez and dependable keeper Dayvan Martinez. Decatur’s Fernando Bonilla-Ruiz has six goals through five matches, a key returner alongside all-league defender Shukri Shukurov. Enumclaw returns scoring threat Nery Ruiz, a TNT All-Area second-teamer in 2025.
3A PSL
In the Narrows division, Gig Harbor is the favorite. The Tides return eight starters and are led by senior midfielder Henry Blake, an Oregon State commit and 2025 TNT All-Area selection who scored 20 goals and had five assists last season. Four other returners scored double-digit goals for the Tides last season: senior F Eli Hanson (14), junior winger Jackson Powell (18) and senior winger Jack Learned (12). If anyone can challenge the Tides, Silas (5-1-1) and Central Kitsap (7-0-1) will have the best chance. Central Kitsap returns seven starters and will be tough to score on with junior GK Tyler Adams, a TNT All-Area selection last spring, junior D Kamden Bailey and senior D Myles Peterson. Silas returns first-team all-league midfielder and 2025 TNT All-Area selection Caden Grant and last year’s 3A PSL defensive player of the year Zane Edmond, another TNT All-Area selection who played a key role in eight clean sheets a season ago. Silas features one of the league’s top keepers in senior Aiden Zawilski.
The Nisqually side feels more open and less certain. We like Capital’s chances with nine starters back; the Cougars graduated only two seniors from last year’s team. Junior forward Jaden Annan, who was the team’s top goal scorer with 11 goals last year, leads the attack, complemented by senior F Tanner Fricke. D Landin Vargas, MF Quinton Fisher and D Oliver Schrader are other players to watch.
2A SPSL
Graduated 2A SPSL MVP Bethel Ndugba powered Fife to the state tournament with 21 goals and 10 assists last spring, but the Trojans reloaded — returning a staggering six all-league players from their 2025 squad. Reigning defensive player of the year Jacob Patten, first-team defender Aidan Villa-Ayala, and keeper of the year Matty Kalinowski headline a stingy defense that’s allowed three total goals in five league matches (4-1). Watch for midfielders Hayden Wilbur, a Tacoma Community College commit, and Addison Becker, both first-team SPSL selections last season. Franklin Pierce knocked off the defending-champion Trojans, 2-1, on March 17 and will contend for the title with five straight league wins in March. Cardinals midfielder Drew Tinder and senior forward Gabriel Arriola have been heavily involved early on, alongside returning all-league sophomore midfielders Pablo Castro and Jhesua Bautista. Goalkeeper Jorge Hernandez has posted three shutouts in his last four matches, adding a goal in a 7-0 win over Foss on March 26. The Washington Patriots are contenders, too, with contributions from all-league midfielder Alejandro Jimenez and junior Braylon Diaz. Clover Park is led by junior forward Jesus Cruz, who scored twice in a season-opening win over Centralia on March 16.
2A EVCO
Aberdeen (8-0) looks like the team to beat. The Bobcats have wins over Kelso and Mountain View and have torn through league play, picking up wins over W.F. West, Black Hills and Shelton. All three wins have been shutouts. Ryker Scott, Edgar Ceja, Josh Alcala and Cristhian Lopez are players to watch for Aberdeen. Tumwater should be in the thick of things, as well.
TOP 40 PLAYERS TO WATCH
GK Tyler Adams, Central Kitsap, jr.
M Keahi Ahuna, Auburn, soph.
F Jaden Annan, Capital, jr.
M Max Argo, White River, jr.
MF Fernando Bonilla-Ruiz, Decatur, jr.
M Addison Becker, Fife, sr.
F Chase Bennion, Auburn Mountainview, fr.
MF Henry Blake, Gig Harbor, sr.
MF Braylon Bowie, Puyallup, sr.
F Curran Caufield, Puyallup, jr.
F Jonathan Chino Lopez, Kent-Meridian, sr.
F Abraham Cooper, Stadium, jr.
F Jesus Cruz, Clover Park, jr.
D Zane Edmond, Silas, sr.
F Noel Fernandez, Olympia, sr.
F Tanner Fricke, Capital, sr.
F Bogdan Gozhiy, Todd Beamer, sr.
MF Caden Grant, Silas, sr.
F Eli Hanson, Gig Harbor, sr.
F Fisher Jarzynka, Stadium, jr.
M/D Dean Jordan, Tahoma, sr.
GK Matty Kalinowski, Fife, soph.
F/MF Alex Leyva, Curtis, jr.
D Vinny Miles, Rogers, jr.
D Lucas Morgan, Sumner, sr.
F Gavin Murphy, Sumner, sr.
F Jake Murphy, Olympia, sr.
D Jacob Patten, Fife, sr.
MF Jackson Powell, Gig Harbor, jr.
M/D Quinn Richardson, Curtis, sr.
F Ashton Riggs, Auburn Riverside, jr.
F Nery Ruiz, Enumclaw, jr.
D Gavin Scholer, Bonney Lake, sr.
F Benji Toscano, Auburn Mountainview, sr.
F Andreas Valenzuela, Stadium, soph.
MF Aiden Vannoy, Sumner, sr.
D Landin Vargas, Capital, sr.
M Hayden Wilbur, Fife, sr.
M Benjamin Yitbarek, Auburn Mountainview, sr.
GK Aiden Zawilski, Silas, sr.
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "High school boys soccer preview: Top teams, players in South Sound in 2026."
