PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles’ Tyler Hunter is making a big jump straight to an NAIA four-year school as he signed a letter of intent last week to play basketball for The Evergreen State College in Olympia.

Hunter, a two-year varsity player for the Roughriders, was a big part of a Port Angeles team that finished sixth at state in 2022 and went 14-10 and qualified for the postseason in 2023.

Hunter had several monster games for the Roughriders this past season. He scored 24 against powerhouse North Kitsap, 19 against Foss, 26 against Bremerton and 25 to go along with 18 rebounds against Foster. He was an honorable mention all-Olympic League selection.

Evergreen State is part of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, one of the more powerful NAIA basketball conferences in the nation with eight men’s and women’s NAIA Div. II national basketball championships since 1993.

For Hunter, the chance to go to Evergreen State is part of a dream come true.

“I’ve always wanted to play basketball in college,” he said. “My high school career went by fast. I enjoyed the time that I had.”

“You earned everything to get to this moment,” said Port Angeles High School Athletic Director Dwayne Johnson, who oversaw the ceremony at the high school. “What you’ve done here, you can do there.”

“Enjoy this. Now, the real work begins,” said his high school coach Kasey Ulin. “I invested a lot of my time and effort in [Hunter]. Now go forth and have a positive impact.”

Hunter’s mother, Tammy Hunter, said his first word was “ball,” and she remembers when he was first trying to learn basketball, him staring up at the rim wondering how he could get the ball through the hoop. Since then, Hunter has grown into a 6-foot-7 player. “And fast forward to now and he can slam dunk that ball.

“He’s smart enough, talented enough and God willing, stubborn enough to succeed,” she said.

“I’m so proud of you,” said grandmother Barbara Sellers. “I have four grandchildren and you’re the tallest grandchild.”

His grandfather Robert Elofson attended Western Washington and played some sports there. “It’s much more of a challenge” at college, he told Hunter. “I’m so happy you’ve done so well.”

“I thank my family for putting me in a spot to succeed,” Hunter said. He also thanked Ulin “for helping me push past what I thought was my limit.”

“He has the skills and length that can transfer to the college level,” said Ulin. Hunter has college height at 6-7 and long arms to go with it, but he was also an underrated outside shooter for the Roughriders who could knock down 3-pointers, something that’s important in the college game.

“I hope they let him mature and get stronger,” Ulin said. “He’s got the love of the sport.”

Hunter said he plans to major in business and communications at Evergreen State.