They’re at once a big chunk of West Valley’s top-10 boys basketball team and harbinger of things to come.

Three precocious underclassmen – sophomores Austin Birley and Jett Bremerman, and freshman Jrayden Whitfield – who team the Rams’ resident Parkers – Hill and Mills – to make the West Valley the king of the CBBN and a Class 4A trophy contender next month in Tacoma.

They’re also a reminder of the past. Not the times of too-short shorts, but the turn of the century, when freshmen and sophomores weren’t always ticketed to the varsity roster. Close enough in 

history to elicit, ‘hey, isn’t that so-and-so’s kid?’

Their dads before them were stars at the prep and collegiate level, leaving their names in the record books and jerseys enshrined – Andy Birley at Colorado State, Dustin Bremerman at Seattle Pacific and Rams coach Tyson Whitfield at Pennsylvania’s Lafayette University.

It’s not a back-in-my-day relationship, but more of a fostering – two of the dads there for the third to help grow the players and in turn the program.

“It’s gift and a curse because you have a million coaches in the stands, but that has never been a problem for us,” Tyson Whitfield said. “They’ve been valuable resources for our guys in the offseason and helping guys out and develop that gives us an advantage over other programs.”

The Heir

Austin Birley’s slashing get-to-the-rim style often leads to a dunk that draws oohs and aahs from the crowd.

It also spurs the question, ‘where’d he get that from?’ While older brother Landen, the all-time leading scorer at West Valley, and father Andy, until recently CSU’s all-time leader in 3-pointers, were scorers, they were more likely to get their points in 3s rather than eye-level with the hoop.

“I feel like that’s what I do best,” Austin Birley said. “Obviously I practice it, and some of it is just natural ability and athleticism.”

Ah, nature, which dictates a child’s makeup comes from the father and the other half from the mother.

Or in Austin’s case, where he might get his hops.

“I think he got it from his mom,” Andy said. “I had decent athleticism but not like that.”

Mom is Katie Birley, nee Borton, part of the fourth generation of 114-year-old Borton Fruit, and a West Valley hoops legend herself, who won the 3A state triple jump championship.

Andy and Katie met when playing for the Rams of the Colorado State variety.

Their oldest son Landen graduated last spring, the leader of four Bortons in the combined top 10 of scorers in school history.

Landen finished with 1,691 points, cousin Teresa 1,629, Katie 1,376 and uncle Matt 1,331.

Big brother also gave Austin someone to emulate.

“He was a great example, and I got to watch him do his thing before I came up,” the younger sibling said. “He was a great example to let me know what the expectations were and what high school was like.”

Teresa went on to play at Notre Dame, and Matt played at Idaho and Seattle Pacific, where grandpa John also played after also being a Rams standout.

The family tree also includes cousin Logan Kinloch, a two-time all-leaguer at West Valley, playing for his dad, Jon Kincloch, a star at Sehome High School and starter at Gonzaga in the mid-1990s.

Andy runs Hoop House, an indoor basketball court that’s a few steps from the family’s home. It’s used for training and pick-up games that match members of Yakima’s first family of basketball.

“It’s very, very competitive,” Austin said.

Andy, the Greater St. Helens League MVP his 1998-99 senior year at Battle Ground High School, said last year could be a bit nerve racking with both sons playing, but he tries to let it be their time.

“I was a gym rat growing up, but I don’t push them that hard, it’s their decision,” he said. “Landen was a gym rat, he was always in there. Austin has gotten more and more into it as he gotten older but it’s their decision.”

Austin is on pace to reach the 1,000-point mark early next season, and eventually big brother’s record. And whether Birley, Borton or Kinloch, he’s already part of the family legacy.

“There’s been a lot of great players in the family,” Andy said. “Basketball has been good to us for sure.”

The Lefty

For Yakima’s longtime hoops junkies, it’s not just Jett Bermerman’s name that hits the rewind button.

It’s his game.

The wing’s smooth game, right down to the left-handed jumper, conjures images of his dad at Eisenhower, leading the Cadets to seventh place at the state tournament his senior year in 2001.

“I’ve always tried to play like him; he was a great shooter,” Jett said.

He leads the CBBN in 3-pointers, and it’s that stroke that helped Jett land on the varsity roster when physically he might’ve not quite been ready.

“He’s really worked on his shot, that was something I was pretty decent at,” Dustin Bremerman said. “I could really put the ball in the hole.”

So ‘decent’ that he was a Division II All-American and co-GNAC Player of the Year his senior season at Seattle Pacific University. He graduated as the program’s second-leading scorer, and has his jersey on the wall in the school.

“Their coach took me to the locker room where his jersey is hung up, which was cool,” the younger Bremerman said.

Jett is the oldest of Dustin and wife Jessica’s three sons. As he did his oldest, dad coaches the younger sons, an eighth-grader and fifth-grader.

Dustin, though, is happy to hand off the coaching, too.

“I like to experience the journey with them but I also like them to hear from a different voice,” he said. “He’s developed and improved so much from the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grade. He’s spent so much time in the weight room, he’s getting bigger and stronger and he’s getting more confidence, so I think the next couple years are going to be fun to watch.”

The Frosh

Jrayden Whitfield’s skills can deliver moments like the four 3-pointers he drained in quick succession in the first quarter of a home win against Moses Lake late last month.

But he’s still prone to the occasional freshman hiccup that triggers dad’s grimace.

And those miscues – and the resulting instruction – in games or practice stay at the gym, Tyson Whitfield said.

“You definitely have to leave them (at the gym),” he said. “Whatever has happened here during practice and games, all that stuff has to remain here because my family takes priority.”

While the father-son dynamic doesn’t seem too different from the AAU days for Jrayden, coach and dad said it’s changed.

“It’s a lot different, every game matters this time of the year,” said Tyson, who split his time at Davis and Ike in the mid-1990s before heading east, where he earned Patriot League Rookie of the Year and all-conference honors, finishing his career with an 11.9 points-per-game average.

“We have big goals and aspirations so every game matters this time of the year so there’s added pressure that doesn’t exist in the summer,” the older Whitfield said.

Beyond basketball skills, the Whitfields share a drive. It’s helped them on the court this and previous seasons. It’s also kept them taking on each other.

“I never really played him because he knew that I’m so competitive that if I lose it’s going to hurt,” Jrayden said.

The Rams enter this week needing a Tuesday win at Eisenhower to complete the team’s first sweep through the Big Nine since the Kinlochs led the feat in 2020.

West Valley looks primed for a long tournament run in three weeks under the dome in Tacoma.

The future also is bright with the three legacies leading the way.

“It stacks nicely,” Whitfield said. “The talent is there at each grade level, and we have players who should be able to come in and contribute in the future.”