STAT HOUND MEDIA
CENTRAL WASHINGTON DIGITAL PREP SPORTS
DEVIN SHEA/For Stat Hound
Selah coaching family leading area's top baseball teams
Hall of Famer Archer guides Vikings, while son leads Rams and former Vik Fife runs Rangers
By JERREL SWENNING/Stat Hound
Mar 21, 2026
The coaching tree for Hall of Fame Selah baseball coach Mike Archer has entwined with his family tree.
And last week, both were on display when the perennial Class 2A-contending Vikings mey CBBN defending champion and 2026 favorite West Valley, coached by Brooks Archer, the eldest son of the Selah head man.
The Rams, who rolled through conference play unbeaten last spring with a roster heavy on juniors and sophomores, got the best of Selah.
“That was awesome,” Mike Archer said’ “Once you got going, you didn’t think about (the family aspect), but it was a fun experience.”
It was enjoyable, too, for West Valley’s second-year coach, although he knew he’d have t0 tweak the game plan after serving as an assistant under his father for more than a decade.
“It was kind of surreal,” Brooks Archer said. “You have to approach it differently and change it up. It’s a cat-and-mouse game, and it made us better playing them.”
Brooks Archer, a shortstop for his dad and the 2007 CWAC Player of the Year, is the most recent of former Selah players who have taken the reins of a high school or college program.
The list includes Marcus McKimmy, the former Yakima Valley College coach and Yakima Pippins mangers, and Jake Fife, the 2009 CWAC Player of the Year who is beginning his 10th season leading Naches Valley to the top of the SCAC.
Between the Archers and Fife, the Selah baseball family will be a big part of the three baseball storylines in the Stat Hound footprint.
Can West Valley break through at state
In the four seasons since the pandemic, the Rams have won three regular-season championships and two district titles, and carried a top-six seed into the 16-team 4A state playoffs.
They’ve also fallen in the first round of state each of the three years.
Last year, Oregon-signee Shane Johnson led Lake Washington’s shutout of host West Valley.
Advancing to state after a year away, however, should benefit the Rams. Archer said.
“This year, we have a little more experience to make a run,” he said. “Even if you’re not playing it helps to be around it, you know what it’s like.”
Pitching again will be a strength for the Rams, with conference Pitcher of the Year Rhyse Elder returning for his junior season and role as ace of the staff.
All-league reliever Noah Soptich also returns.
Moses Lake, which tied with Wenatchee for second place last season, figures to be the top challenger for West Valley with an offense led by sophomore outfielder Jonny Purcell, last spring’s league Offensive Player of the Year.
Will a front-runner emerge in the CWAC?
Three teams – East Valley, Othello and Selah – tied atop the conference with 16-2 records.
After the Vikings took the district championship over the Huskies, all three earned top-eight seeds for state, with Othello and Selah advancing to the semifinals at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham.
The Huskies eventually beat the Vikings in the game for third and fourth place.
Othello has all-leaguer and multisport standout Rjay Garza back along with several other all-CWAC picks.
CWAC MVP Brandon Stone reruns for East Valley, and all-CWAC first-teamer Braxton Young is a junior at Selah.
“It was a good league last year and it’s going to be a tough league again,” Mike Archer said, noting that his Vikings will be on the younger side after graduating five players, including a pair of first-team all-CWAC picks.
“We all play good nonleague schedules and that prepares you for the stretch run;” he said.
SCAC newcomer eyes top spot
Naches Valley has reigned atop the SCAC West for many years before the two divisions became one, and Cashmere joined the fray after leaving the Caribou Trail League.
The Bulldogs, who finished tied for third place with Zillah, could be the in line to challenge the Rangers supremacy.
Reigning SCAC Player of the Year Tom McDevitt leads four returning all-conference picks for Cashmere, which won the district championship and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the Rangers, 15-1 in conference play, missed the state tournament for the first time since the pandemic.