Bierlink commits to Whitworth basketball

Apr. 13—QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks' Pierce Bierlink has declared his intent to pursue basketball at the collegiate level by committing to the Whitworth Pirates. According to him, he's been working toward this goal for a long time.

"It's a lot of blood, sweat and tears. I've been playing basketball since before I can remember," Pierce said.

Coming into the 2025-26 school year, there was some uncertainty surrounding what might be next for him after he graduates.

"I was actually really nervous, because my first couple weeks of my senior year, I didn't really have anyone talking to me," he said.

During the basketball season Pierce erupted against Yakima with a 50-point performance. From there, he started to gain traction, which included Whitworth Athletics reaching out. However, he was already familiar with the University, since his dad and coach Scott Bierlink is an alumnus of the school.

"I knew they had a winning program," Pierce said. "I went to a game against Lewis and Clark, and that environment was super fun to be in and so I really liked it a lot, so I think that's kind of what led me to now."

From there, the Pirates coaching staff remained consistent with their outreach to Pierce, which left a positive impression on him. As he evaluated the program and how he might fit, Whitworth checked a lot of the boxes for him, he said.

"I was just looking for a place where (the) coaches believe in me, players believe in each other and it's a winning culture because I think those three all tie into each other," Pierce said. "All the coaches are super supportive of each other, and all the players seem like they're really close to each other."

Over his four years at Quincy High School, Pierce averaged 32 points, nearly six rebounds and three assists. Against Toppenish, Pierce scored 64 points, which set scoring records in the Central Washington Athletic Conference, Quincy High School and possibly North Central Washington.

By the end of his tenure as a Jack, he was the all-time leading scorer in program history with 2,224 career points, a record that stood for 48 years, according to Scott. He's been named first team All-League all four years, twice in the Caribou Trail League before Quincy moved up to 2A and secured league MVP his sophomore season.

After an 80-71 home victory over the Othello Huskies in December, Scott spoke candidly about Pierce's improvements over his time in a Jacks uniform.

"It's been a joy coaching him since he was a freshman. He's been in the gym since he was two years old," Scott said. "He's just always loved the game, and he's worked really hard. As a coach, for four years, he started as a freshman for me, and he's improved every year. I think as a coach, that's what you want to see... he's added something to his game every year. It's been a joy coaching him (and) as a father I couldn't be prouder of him."

Pierce credited Scott for pushing him to reach the level of play he is at now. Scott was tough on him as he grew up, which he learned to appreciate, he said. Pierce recalled a conversation they had coming into his freshman season.

"I remember he came in and he told me, 'This isn't middle school basketball anymore. You're going to be going up against grown men,' and so he has done a lot, he's opened the gym for me, he's taken me out to tryouts, he came out to tournaments. All this... it's not for nothing, and so I like to thank him every time that I get the opportunity. Because I know a lot of people don't get that opportunity, for their dads to be able to do that for them, and I think my dad was huge in my development," Pierce said.

In the last four years, his game has evolved in several ways, for example how he approaches the offense, defense and transition. However, Pierce believes his biggest growth came in toughness and leadership. He noted a few players who came before him as key mentors to him that helped him along the way. One player being Aidan Bews, who he will reunite with at Whitworth next season.

"I feel like, my freshman year, I was kind of nervous. I didn't know what I was doing out there, and I was small compared to these other guys," Pierce said. "Bews and Julian (Ibarra) helped me a lot with the leadership side. Those guys are bigger than me, and so to get in the gym with them just goes to show how much the physical aspect of the game changes... those guys really helped me a lot."

As the sun sets on his time as a Jack, Pierce reflected on what he will miss the most about representing the green and yellow.

"Just the environment of us being at home, we got the crowd behind us. I go to school with all these kids; I know all the kids in the student section. I know all the families in the crowd. And all my teammates, especially (since) you never have the same teammates. I'm just going to miss all the guys that have been on the same journey as me and all this, and so I feel like I'm going to miss that a lot, and the culture of it all," he said.