Brewster's Kelson Gebbers is SBLive's WaFd Bank Class 2B Senior Athlete of the Year

Welcome to a continuing tradition at SBLive Washington – honoring the WaFd Bank 2022-23 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 from a broader perspective.

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!

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As much as Kelson Gebbers would have liked to win every WIAA basketball championship he played in, the fact he got to compete in three was not lost on him.

Gebbers called playing in the state tournament – and three state title games – an experience unlike any other.

"Playing in the state championship every year away from the COVID year is something special and something a lot of people don't get to do," Gebbers said. "I wish I could've come out with more wins, but the excitement of a championship game is just a different atmosphere and something I wish everybody could experience."

Gebbers, SBLive WA's Class 2B senior male athlete of the year for 2022-23, leaves Brewster High School as one of its best athletes to ever step foot on the hardwood.

His basketball coach and cousin, Michael Taylor, said after the COVID year, he saw a lot of growth in Gebbers.

"He physically grew and mentally grew at the same time," Taylor said. "All of a sudden, it was his team and he was the basketball guy at a small school."

Knowing opposing teams would be keying in on him, Taylor said Gebbers took it upon himself to work on his craft in making tough shots and creating opportunities.

"I asked him to play all five positions and I thought he did a good job of that," Taylor said.

In addition to playing in three state basketball championship games, Gebbers said one of his favorite memories in high school was his sophomore year of football – the COVID season that took place in spring 2021.

Gebbers and the Bears only played five games that season, winning every one of them.

"We were on a long stretch of losing to Lake Roosevelt High School and we actually beat them in our fifth and final game," Gebbers said. "That was definitely a big highlight."

No matter what sport he was playing, though, Gebbers said getting to play in front of a crowd and his community will always stand out the most.

In a four-year high school career filled with ups and downs that included losing his older brother and a global pandemic, Gebbers looks at the big picture.

"It was a time of growing and I wouldn't trade anything for it," Gebbers said. 

KELSON GEBBERS BIO

School: Brewster.

Sports: Football, basketball.

Next step: Signed to play basketball at the University of Portland (NCAA D1).

Senior-year highlights: Voted first team 2B Central Washington all-league quarterback. Threw for 2,761 yards and 26 touchdowns with a .547 completion percentage...Basketball team finished second in state and was named to all state tournament first team. Also voted first team all-league, league MVP and Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association 2B Player of the Year. Averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Career accomplishments: Played in three Class 2B state basketball championship games, winning it all in 2020 where he was voted to the all state tournament second team. Voted to 2B Central Washington all-league first team in 2021, 2022 and 2023. All state tournament first team in 2022 and 2023. Basketball career averages were 19.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Scored 1,783 points in 90 games played in career...Played in just 24 games for the football team, but threw for 4,437 yards and 40 touchdowns with a .554 completion percentage in career.

School/community achievements: 3.929 GPA; Academic Honor Society in 2022 and 2023; earned University of Portland Academic President's scholarship ($35,000); earned University of Portland basketball scholarship ($45,000).

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