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Lake Washington Head Coach Derek Bingham Reflects on Third State Title

January 30, 2026
Maggie Akins
PNW Reporter

Last spring, Lake Washington High School head coach Derek Bingham and his crew brought home a third state championship, defeating third-seeded Eastlake 15-5 on May 31. 

The Kangs have spent time in 2A, 3A, and 4A throughout Binghams' tenure, having won their most recent state championship at the 3A classification in 2019. They had made the championship game in 2023 as a 3A team again, but came up short against Lincoln. Lake Washington has also made appearances in three straight state tournaments, experience that was useful last spring.

“This group had felt what it was like to be a really, really good program for three straight years without the ending that they ever wanted. So, seeing them break through in the last year was super rewarding. They earned that, and all the tough times that they went through, at the end of the day, probably helped prepare them for what we did last year,” Bingham said.

Prior to the 2025 playoffs, LW had a middling season by their standards, leading to a tough draw in the 4A state tournament.

“I think that the personal highlight for us was kind of going through that gauntlet and maybe having some doubters,” Bingham said.

Going into the 2025 4A state baseball tournament, the Kangs were placed as a 13th seed out of 16 teams after finishing the regular season at 12-9. Bingham didn’t feel necessarily underseeded given their results to that point, and took joy out of the tough schedule. Lake Washington had gone through some injuries throughout the season, including their star pitcher and now Oregon Duck Shane Johnson, but Johnson was back at full health during the playoffs.

The Kangs ended up facing fourth-seeded West Valley, fifth-seeded Richland, and first-seeded Puyallup en route to the championship game.

However, Bingham was steadfast in his belief - it doesn’t matter who you play; all that matters is who is playing the best baseball at the right time.

“We always kind of say nobody wants to play the Kangs in May. We are shooting to be playing our best baseball around May 1st,” Bingham said. “Everybody would love to go 26-0, but I would argue that our struggles and our tougher competition during the year set us up to be playing our best when it mattered the most.”

The Richland quarterfinal matchup was a significant test for the Kangs after breezing past West Valley 8-0. Being down five runs in the first inning allowed the Kangs to battle some hardships, play from behind, recover from the mistakes, and end up coming on top.

“I think that was a huge hurdle for us because earlier in the season, we struggled to win some close games,” Bingham said.

The Kangs were able to rely on their lineup depth, with players top to bottom hitting well and offering little relief to opposing pitchers.

“Logan Schuster hit that two-run home run against Richland. I'll never forget that; that was so exciting. Our guys got so jacked up from that,” Bingham said.

After Richland came number one seeded Puyallup. Puyallup was a perfect 28-0 to that point, led by RHP/INF Mason Pike, a hard throwing righty, one of the top players in the state and now an Oregon State Beaver.

The Kangs weren’t fazed. At that point in the season, they knew who they were as a team. They also felt confident in their preparation heading into the matchup.

In the week leading up to the game, Bingham had his batters in practice, hitting against a pitching machine that was clocked at over 100 mph to get used to seeing the high velocity.

“Their mindset was just off the charts in that game. They went in there as the aggressor,” Bingham said. “Our guys were just ready,  so that preparation that we had of hitting the velocity all week and kind of knowing what we were getting ourselves into helped a lot.”

In the first inning, the Kangs sprang ahead, going up five runs to nothing, getting contributions up and down the order. The semi-final game carried over to the next day due to a lighting issue, but the Kangs were unfazed yet again. They defeated Puyallup 8-1.

The Kangs finally got their ring in their win against Eastlake. They started down five runs, similar to the Richland game, but the bats werre blistering hot yet again, putting up 15 runs and shutting out Eastlake after the first inning.

Throughout the two games against Puyallup and Eastlake, the Kangs' batters capitalized and put up 23 runs. Bingham credited the team's mindset endlessly as a key to their success.

“Every tournament, everybody starts 0-0. In the state tournament, there's 16 teams, one team's gonna go 4-0, and just so happened to be us,” Bingham said.

Bingham now looks ahead to 2026 as a new challenge.

“The players that are coming back are seeing what success looks like. No matter how many players we lose to college or graduation, the standard and the expectations are the same,” Bingham said.

The Kangs celebrated a well-deserved state championship and will soon start the march for their next title.

“2025 was great, it was amazing. It is not 2025 anymore. It is now 2026,” Bingham said.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Northern Washington Preseason ID WA 02/01 BASE By Pros - Skagit Valley, WA
Central Washington Preseason ID WA 02/07 The SIX Athletic Training Facility - Moses Lake, WA
Seattle Preseason ID WA 02/08 Big League Edge Training Center - Kent, WA
Pacific Northwest Preseason All-State (Invite-Only) WA 02/16 NW Sports Hub - Centralia, WA
Pacific Northwest Preseason ID WA 02/17 NW Sports Hub - Centralia, WA
Seattle Preseason ID - Session II WA 02/21 Mariners Training Center - Puyallup, WA

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