Big picture: Gonzaga Prep’s Jayden Stevens’ patient approach with recruiting lands him at Oregon State

The high school class of 2022 has been through a lot the past few years. High school athletes have seen additional challenges, with scholarship offers reduced due to the number of college athletes sticking around for an extra year under COVID-era allowances.

Throw in an injury or two along the way and it’s easy to see how an aspiring college athlete could grow frustrated with the process.

But Gonzaga Prep forward Jayden Stevens remained patient through the difficult ordeal to land a coveted Pac-12 offer. Stevens committed to Oregon State on Feb. 22 and officially signed with the Beavers last week.

“Jayden is going to exciting player for us,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said via release. “He had some minor injuries that kept him off the AAU circuit after his sophomore year, and then a shortened COVID season, so he’s been a bit under the radar.

“Adding size and strength will dictate how soon Jayden will impact our program, but the will and desire is already there.”

“I mean, the whole thing is a process,” Stevens said on Tuesday. “Getting to finish out my career (at G-Prep) was amazing, get to play all four years here.

“Even through the ups and downs and the highs and lows, it’s just amazing to be able to finish it here and just stick with it and get that offer and just keep going and just persevere through everything.”

G-Prep coach Matty McIntyre called Stevens a “quintessential Bullpup.”

“It means being more than just a great basketball player,” McIntyre said on Tuesday. “A lot of his legacy and the stuff that he’ll leave behind are the things that he’s done in the classroom, the relationships with his peers, his leadership on retreats. So it’s being a complete person.

“I mean, he’s a gifted basketball player. But I am just so thrilled at the growth that has taken place from when he was a ninth-grader to now. He is going to be a big-time contributor to our society and to his family and certainly to our school community – he has already done that. But he just has a super bright future.”

Stevens was a bench player in 2019 when then-senior Anton Watson led the Bullpups to their second consecutive state title and third overall under McIntyre. He spent much of his sophomore season injured, then COVID drastically shortened his junior season and robbed him of the opportunity of postseason play.

That didn’t stop Oregon State from contacting Stevens the summer between his junior and senior season.

“We went down to California (for a clinic),” he said. “They saw me down at Irvine, California, and watched me play and then they contacted me and started the relationship from there.”

Knowing a Pac-12 offer was a possibility helped fuel Stevens’ stellar senior season. He led the Bullpups to an 8-1 record in league, then elevated his play throughout districts and regionals.

At the State 4A tournament in Tacoma, Stevens led all players in total points, field goals, steals and blocks and was third in total rebounds – despite the Bullpups playing in just three games – and was named to the all-tournament first team.

Stevens was named first-team All-Greater Spokane League, second-team all-state and averaged 19.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

“I think (the interest from OSU) gave him a lot of confidence,” McIntyre said. “I was fielding multiple calls from Division I schools all last summer – he was definitely getting interest. But even that was a little bit of a roller coaster. It comes and goes and there’s uncertainty with some of that stuff.

“But I think for Oregon State, they look at Jayden the basketball player, and the person, and they’re trying to recreate the culture. And Jayden is the perfect fit.”

Stevens had two face-to-face meetings with Kamiakin’s Tyler Bilodeau, who had committed to Oregon State earlier in the year. G-Prep beat Kamiakin in the District 8 title game, then was eliminated by the Braves in a state fourth-place bracket game.

Stevens scored 19 points during the district game and half of the Bullpups’ 40 points in the state game.

“The goal was just to go out and play and go show everybody I could play,” Stevens said. “It was cool when we played Tyler, because when we played him he was already committed. So it’s kind of like, I showed everybody I could play too, so it was cool.”

If Stevens was uncomfortable about not signing until late in his senior season, he never showed it on the floor – or anywhere else, for that matter.

“I’ve talked to my mom about this and my mom knows I kind of like being the underdog in all these situations,” he said. “So just being able to fly under the radar and keep playing and keep hooping – it was cool. I mean, you don’t have all that pressure on you.

“You get to just play. I mean, I liked my journey. Everybody has their own different recruiting journey and I loved mine.”

Stevens respects and appreciates the legacy he’s created – and helped continue – at G-Prep.

“This is a great place to come and improve and be a better basketball player,” he said. “I mean, coach McIntyre – I give him a lot of credit. He was hard on me my first two years. I just kind of took that and it turned me into the person I am and the leader I am.

“I mean, just being behind all those (previous players) and learning from them all like Anton, just learning how to be big and dominate everybody, and then Liam (Lloyd) having that attitude and just get it done, no matter what it costs and learning from those guys. I feel like it was a great deal.”

“(Stevens) got to learn as a freshman from Anton and Jamaari Jones and that group, what it took to become a state champion, but his experience has not been smooth,” McIntyre said. “I mean, there’s been ups and downs and a few hiccups along the way. With injuries and then the shortened season last year with COVID. And so he had to be patient with the process and believe in the big picture. And he’s done that.

“So just to see him lead this group of guys, get back to the Tacoma Dome, win the GSL, win the district tournament – it was very satisfying for me to kind of step back and just watch it all unfold. And so much of our success was due to what he was able to do on and off the floor.”