By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Long regarded as one of Washington’s premier high school basketball coaches, Rainier Beach High School boys basketball coach Mike Bethea added another honor to his legacy after readers voted him Best Male High School Coach in The Seattle Medium’s inaugural Best of the Best Northwest Readers’ Choice Awards.
For the Black community, where athletics has long served as both a source of pride and a pathway to opportunity, coaches often play a role that extends far beyond sports. They become mentors, role models and leaders who help shape the next generation.
For more than 30 years, Bethea has embraced that responsibility.
While his résumé includes state championships, national rankings and countless accolades, Bethea said the true measure of his success has never been the banners hanging inside Rainier Beach’s gymnasium.
“I am family first, and I am about my community,” Bethea said. “This is not about winning championships, it is not about the wins and losses, it is about preparing these young men to go out into the world and deal with everyday life. Becoming young men. You get them as immature boys, and it is up to me and my staff to help them become well-rounded individuals, men that can go out and do something positive with their lives.”
That philosophy has guided Bethea throughout his coaching career.
Bethea began coaching at Rainier Beach in 1992 as an assistant under Francis Williams before taking over the program in 1994. What followed was the foundation of one of the state’s most successful high school basketball programs.
“I actually started coaching at Rainier Beach in 1992 as an assistant with Francis Williams, and in 1994 I took over the program,” Bethea said. “We went through some growing pains, and in 1998, Jamal Crawford transferred in, and we had a pretty good team and won a state title then.”
“The next year, Crawford’s senior year, we came up short, but the next year Nate Robinson enrolled at Rainier Beach, and as a freshman and starter, he too became the launching pad to where we are now,” Bethea continued. “I’ve been blessed to never have a losing season in 30 years of coaching.”
Since taking over the program, Bethea has led Rainier Beach to 16 Metro League championships, 15 district titles and 10 state championships. His teams also earned national recognition, finishing No. 1 in the country in 2003 and No. 2 nationally in 2014.
Yet Bethea believes success begins long before the opening tip.
“The motto I live by I call the four ‘ins.’ Believe in, Trust in, Buy in, and All in,” Bethea said. “The biggest challenge with this team was getting them to trust in, getting them to believe in, getting them to buy in, and those are the everyday things like getting to class on time, getting to practice on time, giving a hundred percent effort.”
That emphasis on accountability and discipline is something longtime assistant coach Robert Delgardo witnessed firsthand during the 23 years he coached alongside Bethea.
“Eighty to ninety percent of the game is psychological,” Delgardo said. “You have to be able to be coachable. The other thing is hard work will always outdo talent. So, if you can play well together with less talent, you’ll be more successful.”
The 2025-26 season demonstrated exactly what Bethea’s philosophy looks like in practice.
Related Article: Thank You For Making Our Inaugural Best Of The Best Northwest Readers’ Choice Awards A Huge Success
Rainier Beach finished 29-1, captured Metro League, district and Class 3A state championships, and secured Bethea’s 10th state title with a 75-53 victory over Lincoln in the championship game at the Tacoma Dome.
“We set a goal for the team, and we said anything but a championship was going to be a disappointing year,” Bethea said after the game. “So I’m glad to say the year wasn’t disappointing.”
Despite coaching one of the nation’s most talented rosters, including top-ranked prospect Tyran Stokes, Bethea constantly reminded his players that individual talent would never outweigh teamwork.
“Young men will come in with a preset agenda, [and say] I am going to be the guy that scores 30 points a game, and that can hurt the team more than anything,” Bethea said. “I tell them that coming in, just by understanding your role, being a star in your role, and playing this game without an agenda, is when the rest is going to take care of itself.”
Stokes said Bethea’s message helped create a team-first mentality.
“Coach Mike keeps us in the headspace that it is going to be a different person’s game each night. Everybody is able to know their roles, and everyone excels,” Stokes said. “We all know each other’s personalities, so that if in the game they are not doing what they should be, we know how to help get them in the spot they need to be in, get them the ball, and get them to score.”
Leadership became especially important after the graduation of key veterans Jaylen Petty and Kaden Powers, forcing younger players to step into larger leadership roles.
“I had Jaylen and Kaden, who were big-time vocal leaders, and Marques, who was more of a quiet leader, so I had to figure out who was going to be those two vocal leaders. And fortunately for us, Tyran really stepped into that leadership role and, believe it or not, JJ Crawford,” Bethea said. “I told [Crawford] you don’t have to be a senior to be a leader. All you have to do is gain your teammates’ respect, and they will follow.”
For Bethea, building chemistry extends well beyond basketball.
“They are kids who actually want to be kids, so we have to allow them to have fun and do what normal kids do,” Bethea said. “Don’t put that pressure on, hey, you’ve got to do this to get a scholarship. All that stuff is going to take care of itself. We made team bonding a big part of the things they do away from the court, so they can trust in each other and love each other. And that chemistry goes a long way.”
His players say those lessons have shaped them both on and off the court.
“Coach Mike is always talking about sacrificing for your brother. We have to do the little things and sacrifice for each other to get far at the dome,” said KJ Hightower.
“I have never played at the dome until I came here. I never received an offer until I came here,” Kam Babbs said. “All of the coaches are the reason why I am even in the position that I am in right now, and their passion, I feel, is what has rubbed off on us to be able to perform.”
Although championships have become the expectation at Rainier Beach, Bethea said his greatest responsibility has always been preparing young men for life after basketball and ensuring they are seen for who they are rather than judged by stereotypes.
“Sometimes people put you in a box, for lack of better words ‘a bunch of ghetto players,’ and nothing can be further from the truth,” Bethea said. “They put us in this box, but the message I like to send is I have future leaders, so don’t try to put that tag on us.”
For more than three decades, Mike Bethea has built one of the nation’s premier high school basketball programs. But the legacy he hopes will endure isn’t measured by championship banners or trophy cases. It will be reflected in the generations of young men who leave Rainier Beach prepared to lead in their families, careers and communities.
To see the full list of winners visit bestofthebestnw.com
