Cam Hiatt is The Herald’s 2024-25 Boys Basketball Player of the Year

Published 7:00 am Friday, April 4, 2025

EDMONDS — When Cam Hiatt departed King’s after two years to play the 2023-24 season at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, it was not ‘goodbye.’ While leaving behind a situation where he had fluctuating confidence for a new one that marked different opportunities, returning home always stuck at the back of the 6-foot-4 combo guard’s mind.

A year later, he did just that, enrolling at his hometown Edmonds-Woodway High School to play his senior season. Hiatt led the Warriors to a 26-3 record and the Washington 3A State Championship game in Tacoma on March 8 as the fifth seed. Despite losing to the top seed Rainier Beach 68-48, Edmonds-Woodway’s second-place finish marked the best in program history after only reaching the quarterfinals just once before in 2008.

Final: E-W wins 41-34

Off the back of Cam Hiatt’s 28p and a strong team defense that limited Mt. Spokane’s shots down the stretch, Edmonds-Woodway is headed to the 3A State Championship for the first time.

E-W allowed only 9p in the 2nd half from the Wildcats@HeraldNetPreps

— Joe Pohoryles (@Joe_Poho) March 8, 2025

Hiatt averaged 21.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game en route to being named Wesco 3A MVP and a selection to the All-Tournament First Team and All-State Game.

Now, Hiatt can add one more accolade to the list: The Herald’s 2024-25 All-Area Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“(Edmonds-Woodway) was the one that was home, and I think that was the main feeling that I wanted to have when I came back here,” Hiatt said. “It’s been a really big message of this run and this year, I think, is just giving back to this community and being able to experience this community in a way that I haven’t been able to before, and I think that was something that really kind of hit the forefront for me. And I think I’ve only (begun) to realize how special that was.”

Two years prior to leading the team at Edmonds-Woodway, Hiatt was doing the same at King’s. However, being “the head of the snake,” as he phrased it, comes with a lot of pressure. Dealing with that as a senior is one thing, but in Hiatt’s case as a sophomore at the time, it was even tougher.

Between a poor shooting season and getting inconsistent playing time on his AAU team under a new coach, Hiatt’s confidence took a hit. Stuck in a rut for the first time in his playing career, Hiatt found a new opportunity at Western Reserve. But the door was always open to come home.

Hiatt’s parents encouraged him to pursue the opportunity in Ohio, but also expressed how much they would love to have him back home a year later, if the situation was right. No plan was in place when he left, but it stayed in the back of his mind.

“I knew as soon as I kind of stepped away, and I got away from my family and away from my friends… how much I miss those people, how much I miss this area and this place,” Hiatt said. “I wanted to cherish it and be around it and really immerse myself in it one last year before I knew that I was probably gonna be stepping away for good.”

His college recruitment process ended at Dartmouth — where he eventually committed on Oct. 29 and was officially accepted late last week — so his senior season would be his last in Washington. While being close to home was the main priority, a high-level basketball environment was also paramount. In Edmonds-Woodway, he got the best of both worlds.

Had he not started high school at King’s, he would have enrolled at Edmonds-Woodway to begin with. In addition to going from 1A to 3A competition, Hiatt would join a Warriors program on the upswing under first-year coach Tyler Geving, who also serves as Edmonds-Woodway’s athletic director. Geving has nearly 30 years of experience as a collegiate assistant or head coach, including eight years leading Portland State from 2009-2017.

Geving remembered watching a younger Hiatt play in the AAU circuit and Little League Baseball. He was excited that he picked a senior homecoming with the Warriors.

“It was really special when he decided to come here,” Geving said. “I think everybody kind of knew how good he was, and it was kind of like, ‘We’re going to be good, but this guy can really help us (be) better.’”

Despite joining the Warriors with a high pedigree, and entering a locker room where he would be taking away minutes and usage from some of his teammates, Hiatt eased his way in and took the time to earn their respect, according to Geving. His teammates embraced his leadership, and he was voted team captain early in the season.

“This is a team thing,” Hiatt said. “I understand what it takes to win, and you coming in and asserting yourself and just telling everyone that you’re the best isn’t how that works. You do it as a team effort. It’s a five-on-five game.”

That team effort led to the best season in program history, and while Hiatt is spending the time before Dartmouth’s preseason training starts by relaxing, hanging out with friends and enjoying March Madness — for which he filled out at least 10 brackets, with little success — he wants to see the Warriors build on what they accomplished.

After the emotional state championship loss in Tacoma, in the locker room, Hiatt told his teammates that they better return next season. Besides Hiatt, the rest of Edmonds-Woodway’s starting five — Grant Williams, William Alseth, DJ Karl and Julian Gray, as well as sixth-man Dre Simonsen — are all returning next season. Throughout their state tournament run, Hiatt emphasized this year being just the start for the Warriors.

“Not to be a one-hit wonder,” Geving said. “He wants to see the program be good for years to come, and kind of starting (the success).”

More than turning around his hometown basketball program, more than winning personal accolades, more than setting himself up for continued success at an Ivy League institution, Hiatt’s senior season back home restored his confidence. After some up-and-down years that saw him go across the country and back, Hiatt finally feels ready to take the next step.

“I think coming back here and being able to play that way I did, especially down the stretch, and control games and win games, and do things that I feel like I’ve never really been able to do before on the basketball court, I think it’s given me a lot of confidence,” Hiatt said. “And I think more than anything, it’s reminded me that I’m a good player.

“I can contribute and feel like I’m in a spot that I’m at the best I’ve been playing in my whole life. It’s really exciting, and it’s assuring to know that when I walk through those doors at Dartmouth and I’m playing against those guys, that I feel like I’ll be able to do some stuff.”