Evergreen three-sport star Carter Monda has major league dreams. He's SBLive’s 3A Senior Athlete of the Year

Welcome to something that is the first of its kind at SBLive Washington – the WaFd Bank 2019-20 senior male and female athletes of the year for each classification.

Because the SBLive crew gets so immersed in specific sports seasons, it is nice to take a step back to pick a statewide honor on a broader scale.

The criteria isn’t too expansive: The starting point is finding seniors who are all-league/all-state performers in two or more sports. Totality of career is also a factor. So is administrator/coach/fan recommendation.

Enjoy as we honor some of Washington’s top multi-sport senior athletes over the next week!

3A GIRL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: CAMILLE DUCKETT, ROOSEVELT

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Carter Monda was already a standout outfielder with MLB aspirations and an all-league shooting guard entering his senior season when newly hired football coach Christian Swain approached him about being Evergreen’s quarterback. 

The catch? He’d hardly played the position, and hadn’t strapped on football pads since the eighth grade. Still, he agreed, and his role in helping a losing program complete a momentous .500 season is an example Swain will laud to newcomers for years to come. 

“It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had, to be honest,” Monda said of his fall spent slinging balls to uber-athlete Zyell Griffin and a dynamic receiving corps. “Playing football helped me play basketball, weirdly, and it’s going to help me in baseball. It just helps your game, period.”

Monda, SBLive’s 2019-20 3A Senior Athlete of the Year, was tasked with learning the hardest position in sports on the fly, a transition he admits was, at times, rocky. “My first game, I don’t remember any of the first half because I didn’t know what I was doing,” Monda said. 

Meanwhile, Swain fielded calls from curious college coaches wondering if his rocket-armed quarterback appeared out of thin air. Monda credits Plainsmen quarterbacks coach Domenic Rockey for his one-on-one work that helped him fast-track his quarterback coursework.

After the football season ended in a thriller against Garfield in Seattle, success continued on the hardwood. 

The Evergreen basketball team started 5-0, swept the 3A Greater St. Helens League title, and placed second in district before dropping a closely contested first-round matchup with Rainier Beach in the Tacoma Dome. 

Throughout the basketball season, Monda routinely woke up early and hit in the cages to stay fresh for baseball — a season that was later canceled due to COVID-19. That didn’t prevent Monda from leaving his mark on the program. In three years, he already amassed a program-record for hits. 

He hopes to end up playing baseball for a living. Before the 2020 MLB Draft was downsized from 40 rounds to five, he thought he had a chance to hear his name called. Regardless, he has his eyes set on using his freshman year in the NWAC to prepare for the 2021 draft. 

“I know my time’s coming,” Monda said. “I just gotta wait it out.”

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CARTER MONDA’S BIO

School: Evergreen

Sports: Football, basketball, baseball

Next step: Signed to play baseball at Clark College

Senior year highlights: Football: In his first season since eighth grade and first time playing exclusively quarterback, Monda threw for more than 2,300 cards and 23 touchdowns opposite one interception. First team all-3A Greater St. Helens League quarterback. Basketball: Posted 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, filling a pivotal role for a league champion, district runner-up and 3A state quarterfinal team. Baseball: Season cancelled due to COVID-19, though Monda was identified by SBLive among the state’s top returning outfielders and a second team preseason all-state selection. 

Career accomplishments: Football: His senior season was his lone season playing football. He was a first team all-league selection and helped air the ball out to UNLV commit Zyell Griffin and Central Washington-bound Tae Marks, among others, as the Plainsmen posted a turnaround 5-5 season and reached the 3A regional state round. Basketball: As a three-year starter, Monda was a second team all-league selection as a junior, set the school’s single-game record for 3-pointers made (nine) and hit 130 career 3s. Baseball: In three years, he broke the school’s career hits record. He was twice a first team all-league selection and was named to The Columbian’s all-region team as a junior. That same year, he hit .434 with four home runs, 12 stolen bases and only gave up one earned run in 24 innings as a relief pitcher — and 6-for-6 in closing opportunities.

School/community achievements: Evergreen High School Scholar Athlete of the 2019-20 school year. Posted a 3.1 cumulative GPA.

COACH SAID:

Christian Swain, Evergreen football: 

"Carter is highly competitive but has a great personality and sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed coaching him last season and I have no doubt he will be extremely successful in all future endeavors. Coming out for football to play with his friends and doing what he did last season will be something we talk about for many years."

Brett Henry, Evergreen basketball: 

"During the boys basketball season, Carter would regularly wake up early to hit before school. He would then attend all of his classes, go to basketball practice, and then lift weights after practice. He is naturally gifted but it is his work ethic that separates him from most. He is extremely dedicated to improving himself and competing at a high level in everything that he does."

Chad Burchett, Evergreen baseball:

"I think what separates Carter from others is his supreme self confidence and a burning desire to win and be the best player on the field/court every time he competes."