ROYAL CITY — Though high school basketball is still a couple of months away, it wasn’t a bad time for Knights all-time leading scorer Grant Wardenaar to announce his commitment to the Central Washington University Wildcats.  

“They started recruiting me (after) my sophomore year, and then we've just been in touch since then,” Wardenaar said. “Coach (Brandon) Rinta was always calling me – probably two times a week since, like a few months ago. It felt good to kind of wrap up (recruitment) and know what I'm going to do after high school and just have a plan.” 

So far in his time as a Knight, Wardenaar has carved out his own legacy to leave behind. As a hooper, Wardenaar played a key role guiding the Knights and first year Head Coach Tim Ravet to a third-place finish in the 1A state basketball tournament, setting the RHS all-time scoring record and eclipsing 1,600 points in the process.  

He has also recorded multiple first team All-League honors in the South Central Athletic Conference, a league MVP and All-State honors. Despite collecting many accolades through his three seasons thus far, Wardenaar is always looking ahead on the next goal, he said. 

“I can always keep working and that stuff is good, but I feel like there's more that I need to accomplish in my basketball career, like a state title – I'm super hungry for one of those,” he said. 

Wardenaar is a dual-sport athlete, serving as the Knights starting quarterback where he has already won a state title (2025), but his true passion is basketball, he said.  

“Basketball means a lot,” he said. “It's been a big part of my life and I played basketball since I can remember. My mom, when I was growing up, she was a coach, and I would have this little hoop that I'd play on at my house, and then my dad, I just remember growing up he would take me into the gym, and we'd go shoot sometimes. I knew basketball is what I wanted to do at an early age.” 

As he’s grown up, Wardenaar continued to invest himself into basketball, joining AAU teams and now currently plays for Select Hoops, a travel team based in Idaho, he said. Additionally, he’s come across several coaches who have made an impact on him as a player. 

“My mom and dad helped me out a lot. Coach Ravet is an awesome mentor. I trained a lot growing up with Andy Birley in Yakima,” Wardenaar said. “Coach Ravet has been an awesome mentor, even though I've only known him for less than a year. He's just awesome with helping me, telling me what I can do better.” 

Though basketball will be what awaits him at the college level, it does not mean football and Head Coach Wiley Allred hasn’t contributed to Wardenaar’s development as an athlete and person.  

“I would say (Coach Allred) just keeps telling me to keep working, and something from football that helps me is being a quarterback, I feel like I've become a better passer in basketball, and so I would say being a quarterback just helps me have better eyes on the court and seeing everybody,” he said.  

Wardenaar joins a Wildcats program coming off a slight down year compared to their tournament appearance the year prior. Led by Head Coach Brandon Rinta, the Wildcats went 16-15, competing in the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference tournament, defeating Seattle Pacific 58-53 before suffering a season ending loss to Saint Martin’s.  

Despite the season not going the way they wanted, Rinta felt the team saw a lot of growth, ideally something Wardenaar can add to once he arrives to the program.  

“We were not at our best tonight and Saint Martin's came out of the gates on fire,” Rinta said after their loss to Saint Martins in a statement by CWU Athletics. “Not the ending we were hoping for, but this team came a long way this season. It took a lot of growth for us to get from where we were in December to finishing in the top four in the conference and the conference tournament.” 

Before he can join a program with a history of winning, Wardenaar has his eyes set on finishing his time as a Knight with more hardware.  

“I'm super excited. I know Coach Ravet is going to push our team to be the best because he's a really good coach and he knows what it takes to win,” Wardenaar said.

    The Knights’ Grant Wardenaar takes a deep breath before shooting a free throw in the 1A state semifinals against Zillah last season.
  

    Grant Wardenaar (24) walks toward the center of the court holding a basketball celebrating his achievement in breaking the all-time scoring record at Royal High School. He has amassed over 1,600 career points through his junior season.
  

    Grant Wardenaar (24) shoots a contested three-pointer over a Wahluke defender.
  

    Grant Wardenaar (24) slams the ball down for two points as the Knights battled Zillah last season.