Each year since 2006, MaxPreps has recognized outstanding performers in high school girls basketball. The tradition continues to close out the 2025-26 season by naming the top player in each state. Selections are based on team success and individual excellence in addition to local and state accolades. Addy Nyemchek of Red Bank Catholic (Red Bank) is the 2025-26 MaxPreps New Jersey High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year. The 6-foot-1 senior point guard led the Caseys to a 31-2 record and Non-Public A state championship. For the season, Nyemchek averaged 25.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 steals per night. She finished her career with 1,746 points and 772 rebounds in 119 games. Nyemchek came up big in the postseason with 22 points against nationally-ranked St. John-Vianney (Holmdel) in the South Jersey Non-Public A final and backed that up with 22 points and nine rebounds in a 62-45 win over Morris Catholic (Denville) in the state final. Regarded as a top 25 prospect in the Class of 2026, Nyemchek signed with Indiana in November and will participate in the McDonald's All American Game in March. Each state's MaxPreps Player of the Year will be considered for inclusion in the MaxPreps All-America Team, which is scheduled to be released in April. Past selections include 2025 WNBA Most Valuable Player A'ja Wilson (2014) along with 2025 All-WNBA selections Aliyah Boston (2017, 2018, 2019), Paige Bueckers (2018, 2019), Napheesa Collier (2015), Sabrina Ionescu (2015, 2016), Kelsey Mitchell (2014), Nneka Ogwumike (2008), Alyssa Thomas (2010) and Jackie Young (2014, 2015)....

Red Bank Catholic senior Addy Nyemchek was awarded the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year award on Friday night. Nyemchek, an Indiana-commit, was also selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game earlier this season. On Thursday afternoon she helped lead the Caseys, ranked No. 1 in the NJ.com Top 20, to their second Non-Public A title in three years with a win over No. 3 Morris Catholic. A 6-foot-1 guard, Nyemchek averaged 19.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, three steals and hit for 33 3-pointers as Red Bank Catholic went 30-2, won the Shore Conference A North Division title and its second-straight Shore Conference Tournament crown. She is also ranked No. 28 in country in the Class of 2026 by ESPN and ends her high school career with 1,781 points. She became the school’s all-time leading scorer on Thursday afternoon when she broke the old record of 1,761 set by 2008 graduate Kristina Danella. According to a press release, “Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their excellence in sport, academics and community. The award recognizes Nyemchek as New Jersey’s best high school girls basketball player, and she joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Candace Parker (2002-03 & 2003-04, Naperville Central High School, IL) Paige Bueckers (2020-21, Hopkins High School, MN) and Aaliyah Chavez (2024-25, Monterey High School, TX).”...

PISCATAWAY — Thursday was a historic day for the Red Bank Catholic girls basketball program, but with a coaching milestone, and individual scoring record and a No. 1 finish in New Jersey all in play during the NJSIAA Non-Public A championship game, coach Joe Montano and his players went into the game with the goal of getting one of their seniors the ball in the final seconds. Normally, Montano might draw up a play to get Katie Liggio the ball with the game on the line, but on Saturday, he sent her into the game the day after finding out she suffered a torn ACL in her right knee to give her a chance to stand on the floor with her teammates on one of the most significant days in the history of the Caseys storied girls basketball program. Liggio’s moment was a footnote in Red Bank Catholic’s 62-45 statement win over defending Non-Public A champion Morris Catholic Saturday, during which Montano became the first Shore Conference basketball coach to record his 800th career victory, senior Addy Nyemchek became the school’s all-time leading scorer and RBC locked up the No. 1 ranking in the state for the first time since 2000. Those final seconds, however, underscored how this group of RBC seniors got to celebrate all those accomplishments on Thursday afternoon at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the campus of Rutgers University. Six of the seven seniors began their journey as freshmen and over the last two seasons, the group of seven has built up one of the more impressive resumes in the history of the RBC program and all seven are set up to play in college next year. “Our accomplishments come with our team getting wins,” Nyemchek said. “I don’t think we realized that and I didn’t really know about all that, so that’s great. But again, the win is what matters. Being part of this team is what matters and all the accomplishments just come with that.” Thursday marked RBC’s second state title in the last three years to go with back-to-back Shore Conference Tournament championships in 2025 and 2026. This is the first season in which RBC (30-2) has won both the SCT and the Non-Public A title since 2013 and with just one loss in New Jersey this season — to a St. John Vianney team that RBC beat three times in four games during the — the Caseys will finish No. 1 in the state for the first time since the 1999-2000 team won the Tournament of Champions. “It’s sad in a way, because we won’t get to play together anymore,” Nyemchek said. “But I think we left our high school career in a great way.” “These are tears of joy,” said senior Sophie Smith, who finished with nine points and four rebounds. “I’m so happy with what we have been able to accomplish these last four years, especially this last season. I’m sad that I’m not going to get to play with them anymore. I’m just excited to see what everyone accomplishes in college.” Montano broke the news of Liggio’s injury by calling the seven seniors into his office during the Wednesday school day. Liggio sustained the injury at the end of the first quarter of Monday’s win over St. John Vianney in the South Jersey final, after which Montano was hopeful the injury was not as severe. A University of Rhode Island commit and a 1,000-point scorer for her career, Liggio finished her senior season averaging 11.1 points per game — second on the No. 1 team in the state behind Nyemchek. “They came to my office (on Wednesday) and we all got a cry in,” said Montano, who called his seven seniors into his office during the school day. “We said look, Katie is just going to have a different role for one game. She is going to help coach her position. She is going to be a cheerleader and the goal is to be up by enough to get her in the game at the end.” “I had just finished English class and I already knew what it was about,” Smith said. “It was an emotional day. We were so sad for her, but we all knew we needed to come together to get her into the game for that last time. We wanted to be up by double-digits so we could get her that chance so she could end her season in the game. It was really important that we did that.” Nyemchek led the Caseys with 22 points, eight rebounds, eight steals and two blocked shots and her and-one finish in the fourth quarter tied the school’s all-time scoring record, previously held by 2008 graduate Kristina Danella. With 1,780 points to her name, Nyemchek prefers to see herself as part of a record-breaking senior class. “I give all the credit to my teammates,” Nyemchek said. “I cannot thank them enough. I wouldn’t want to play with any other group of girls. Just because I have the most points doesn’t mean anything. They get me the ball when they needed to, got big stops, big rebounds, so they really do a lot of things that don’t get noticed as much.” With a chance to play in the McDonald’s All-American game, the all-time leading scoring record at RBC and team accomplishments that include two state titles, two Shore Conference Tournament titles and a No. 1 finish, Nyemchek made a strong case as the best player through Montano’s program before she heads to Indiana University. “I try not to compare guys,” Montano said. “Who is the best? Who scores the most points? The thing that is so impressive about Addy is she will do what the team needs for her to win. If it’s a day that she needs to pass the ball, she is going to pass the ball. If it’s a day she needs to score the ball, she is going to score the ball. If it’s a day we need her defense, she is going to play great defense. She’s got such a great understanding of the game that she always understands what we need from her.” After a quiet scoring first half, Nyemchek scored 17 of her 22 points in the second half, including 13 in the fourth quarter to help RBC close out what was a close game. The Caseys took a 25-24 lead on Morris Catholic (25-6) into halftime on a jumper by senior Scarlet LeVake, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds off the bench in helping to fill the void left in Liggio’s absence. Senior Daniela Maletsky ignited the Caseys in the first half with nine of her 10 points on the game while also adding four rebounds and five assists — all in the first half as well, as RBC scored the first eight points of the game. “Dani played really great,” Montano said. “She drove the ball to the basket. We joked with her, we said, ‘When you were a sophomore in this gym, you scored twelve points (in the Non-Public A final). We need twelve today. We got ten, which is pretty good.” Starting in Liggio’s place, senior Lola Giordano added six points, four rebounds and five assists and nailed a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter that capped an 8-0 run and gave RBC its first double-digit lead of the game, 46-34. “We didn’t have Katie, but they are great players and they are very capable of hitting shots and getting easy layups like they did,” Nyemchek said. “Lola had some great passes and she was very disciplined under pressure as a point guard.” Smith came alive in the third quarter, hitting all three of her three-point shots in the quarter to give RBC a 40-34 lead heading to the fourth. The three threes were RBC’s first hits from beyond the arc in the game. “Sophie was huge in the third quarter,” Montano said. “I told her at halftime, ‘You’re really, really good and we need you. You’ve got to go out there and just play,’ and she did.” “The third quarter was pretty fast-paced, so it was just a matter of finding out where I was open,” Smith said. “We ran a lot of five-out stuff, so it was easy to draw the defense in and get some good looks. My teammates always find me, so it’s really on them.” Senior guard Tessa Liggio — Katie’s sister — chipped in four points and three assists and freshman Sumaiyah Lashley scored on a putback at the first-quarter buzzer to give Red Bank Catholic 11 bench points between LeVake and Lashley. Nyemchek’s and-one that tied Danella at 1,773 points gave RBC a 50-39 lead and after missing the ensuing free throw that would have set the new record, Nyemchek passed Danella with a pair of free throws on the next trip down the floor to extend the Caseys’ lead to 52-39. The rest of the way, RBC piled up its lead, with the ultimate goal of closing out a second state title in three years and ending it with Liggio on the floor. LeVake and Nyemchek each hit a pair of free throws and Tessa Liggio found Nyemchek for a breakaway layup to make the score, 62-43. “We wanted to leave no doubt that we were the number one team,” Smith said. “We wanted to really close it out. This was our last game ever so we really wanted to make sure we finished out strong.” That was enough for Montano, who sent Katie Liggio into the game with 35 seconds left and after the other four Caseys chewed up most of the clock, Nyemchek flipped the ball to Liggio for the final five seconds. After the final buzzer sounded, her teammates mobbed her, starting with he sister. No other coach in Shore Conference boys or girls history has reached 800 wins and any coach who gets there in the future will have a hard time topping Montano’s 800th, which clinched the program its 10th state championship — all under his watch. “I told them I’m grateful for the opportunity to coach them,” Montano said of his seniors. “If you saw the development from freshman year to now, how they have become mature, really great young ladies, you would feel as happy as I feel. That’s as important as winning.”...

Senior Addy Nyemchek poured in a career-high 37 points as top-seeded Red Bank Catholic, No. 1 in the NJ.com Top 20, returned to the NJSIAA South Jersey, Non-Public A final with a 68-31 win over fourth-seeded and No. 12 St. Thomas Aquinas in the semifinals in Red Bank. The Caseys (28-2) advanced to the sectional final for the third year in a row. They will face second-seeded and No. 2 St. John Vianney, a 63-54 winner over third-seeded and No. 3 Paul VI. Red Bank Catholic won the final in 2024 and lost last year, both against Paul VI. The Caseys have already defeated St. John twice this season, by scores of 62-51 and 53-49. Nyemchek hit five 3s and beat her previous career-best performance by nine points. She also had 14 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and three steals. Katie Liggio added 14 points and Tessa Liggio chipped in nine. Leah Kearney scored 10 points to lead St. Thomas, which finished with the season with a 24-7 record....

Joe Montano built an unmatched resume as the head girls basketball coach at Red Bank Catholic for 31 seasons before one of his players was finally named to the McDonald’s All-American game — the most name-brand of all the All-American selections across the high-school sports landscape. Only a few weeks after his first All-American graduated in the spring of 2022, Montano would have his first conversation with his next All-American. He did not know at the time he was in the presence of a future All-American, but after meeting Addy Nyemchek, Montano new not to put anything past her. “She has always been very driven,” said Montano, currently in his 36th season as head coach at Red Bank Catholic, where he has set an all-time Shore record for basketball coaches with 796 career wins. “Before she even stepped into the school, she called me when she was in eighth grade and asked, ‘Can I come in and talk to you? I want to find out what I need to do so I’m ready to play next year.’ How many eighth-graders do that: come in by herself, without her parents, carry on a conversation like an adult, understand what you need to do, then go out and do it?” That first conversation was the start of a high school career that has landed Nyemchek on the roster for the 2026 McDonald’s All-American Game on March 31 in Phoenix. Nyemchek joins current Vanderbilt senior and 2022 selection Justine Pissott as the only McDonald’s All-Americans from Red Bank Catholic. On Friday, Nyemchek was presented with her commemorative All-American jersey by representatives from McDonald’s during a ceremony at Red Bank Catholic’s Eck Center. “For me, I have always wanted to be part of a winning team,” Nyemchek said. “I didn’t know too much about RBC when I moved down here, so looking around, I saw that they had won. (St. John Vianney) was really good too, so I came in to talk to coach (Montano) and it felt like a great fit and the rest of our group decided the wanted to come here as well. We all came here together and we wanted to build something special.” Nyemchek is the sixth girls McDonald’s All-American from the Shore Conference since the first girls game in 2002, with all of the Shore selections coming since 2012. The first two of those honorees were Manasquan graduates and sisters Michaela and Marina Mabrey and the last four of the Shore’s selections have all come since 2021: Destiny Adams from Manchester in 2021; Pissott in 2022; Zoe Brooks from St. John Vianney in 2023; and Nyemchek this season. “The Shore Conference — St. John’s, ourselves, Manasquan, Rumson-Fair Haven when George (Sourlis) was the coach there — we have set a standard within not only New Jersey but the east coast of quality basketball and kids that go on to play at the next level,” Montano said. “Whether it’s Addy here or someone at Vianney or someone at another school, I think it’s a unique club that all the kids in the Shore are proud to be a part of.” In 50 years of the boys McDonald’s game, only three Shore Conference graduates have been selected, including Ranney teammates Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine in 2019. Shore area natives Naz Reid (Asbury Park) and J.R. Smith (Lakewood) were also McDonald’s All-Americans while playing at North Jersey private schools — Reid at Roselle Catholic in 2018 and Smith at St. Benedict’s Prep in 2004. CBA’s John Crotty in 1987 was the first boys selection from the Shore. Nyemchek is also the lone selection from New Jersey this year, although she follows a long line of recent All-Americans from the Garden State. She is the 19th New Jersey player named to the game in its history and ninth since 2019. There is a balance of exclusivity and tradition that comes with being a representative from the Shore Conference and from New Jersey that is not lost on Nyemchek. “I think it’s cool,” Nyemchek said. “You look around college basketball today and you see a lot of players from New Jersey: Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), Justine Pissott — they are all having great years and great college careers. I think it comes down to the league, the competitiveness, the coaches around here in high school basketball. I think it’s rare to find a great group of high school coaches like we have around here, so I think you have to give a lot of respect to the coaches for the job they have done building players and the competitiveness for players to succeed at the next level.” Before she went on to build her amateur legacy at the Shore, Nyemchek got her start growing up in Nyack, N.Y., just a few miles north of the border with Bergen County in New Jersey. Prior to entering seventh grade in the fall of 2020, Nyemchek and her family moved to Monmouth County looking for a chance to get Addy more of an opportunity to play sports during the height of the COVID pandemic. Monmouth County was not foreign to the Nyemcheks. Addy’s parents met at Monmouth University, where both were athletes in different sports — her father, Brian, in basketball and her mother, Heidi, in soccer. At the time of the move to New Jersey, Addy was a two-sport athlete in both basketball and soccer, but once she got used to her new home, basketball won her full attention. “When I was in New York, I was in between both sports,” Nyemchek said. “I stopped playing soccer and then meeting these people — my trainer, my coaches, my peers, who work so hard — they all showed me that I have to work just as hard, if not harder. Everyone around me motivated me and solidified the love that I have for basketball.” Addy Nyemchek’s first close friends in the Shore area were the Liggio sisters, who have carved out their own distinguished careers at Red Bank Catholic alongside Nyemchek. Christina Liggio graduated in 2025 and is a freshman guard at the United States Naval Academy, while Tessa and Katie Liggio are starting senior guards on this year’s team. “That summer, I practically lived at their house and we would go play,” Nyemchek said. “It’s been since seventh grade with them and then the rest all kind of filtered in and we have been playing together since basically eighth grade. It’s cool to have moments like this and it’s crazy that it’s about to be the end, so I’m really just trying to soak up all the good moments.” Along with an accomplished group of senior teammates, Nyemchek has led RBC to back-to-back Shore Conference Tournament championships and is hoping to add a second overall NJSIAA Non-Public A group championship to go with their 2024 state championship. She is currently the owner of 1,673 career points and career-long averages of 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game. During her All-American season, Nyemchek is averaging 18.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.3 blocks — all of which are career-highs except for steals. “This summer, she set out to shoot the three better and she has done that,” Montano said. “She has improved her mid-range game, she is getting to the basket better, she has worked on her strength and conditioning. I think every year, she took stock in what was going on, whether it was after her AAU season or our season and said, ‘Okay, I was happy with this, but playing against this competition, I realize I have to do that.’ Then, she went out and did it.” In last Saturday’s Shore Conference Tournament championship game vs. St. John Vianney, Nyemchek helped bring home the title by scoring nine of her 13 points in the fourth quarter to go with seven rebounds and six assists in a battle between the top two teams in New Jersey. RBC will begin its quest for a second NJSIAA Non-Public A title in three years Monday, when the Caseys — the No. 1 seed in the South Jersey section — host eighth-seeded Union Catholic. While the current group of seniors experienced a state title in 2024 and a Shore Conference title in both 2025 and 2026, they have yet to win both trophies in the same season. If RBC can run the Non-Public A gauntlet, which could require a fourth match-up vs. St. John Vianney, the Caseys would finish No. 1 in New Jersey for the first time since winning the Tournament of Champions in 2000. “When they first walked in the door, it was important for them to be successful as a group,” Montano said of RBC’s group of seven seniors. “They all did their part pulling for each other and helping each other. In Addy’s case, it was never all about her. Her passing, her defense, the things that she does to help her teammates. Katie (Liggio) was going for a thousand (career) points and on that night, she scored ten baskets and Addy assisted seven of them because she knew she was getting close. That’s just the kind of person she is and the kind of player she is.” Once this season ends with the McDonald’s Game at the end of March, Nyemchek will shift her focus to the University of Indiana, where she will continue her basketball career. “I had a lot of great options, so it was definitely hard picking one, but what stood out to me about Indiana was the culture they have and the connection I had with the coaches,” Nyemchek said. “I have been talking to those coaches for four years now, so it felt like a home to me. I think that’s why I ended up choosing Indiana. Chemistry is a big part of it and I think what Indiana does really well is build that chemistry and bring players together that will work together.” “I think she picked the right school,” said Montano, who once compared Nyemchek to another decorated high school player who chose Indiana during high school before switching over to a different Indian program. “They play very similar to how we play. The coach (Teri Moren) really understands her value and what she can bring to the table. A lot of times, it’s just a matter of being with the right kids and someone who understands where to put you and where you can be effective.” Once Nyemchek and this senior class walks out of the gym for the final time, Montano and all the other coaches of the Shore Conference hope that the latest All-American from the Shore will fan the flames of competition that has produced so many standout talents. It could be an underclassmen already in the thick of her high school career or a grade-schooler just beginning to chart her course. As the Shore’s latest All-American demonstrated, that journey can begin with a simple phone call....

There’s been a lot of pressure on this Red Bank Catholic team over the last four years. According to head coach Joe Montano, before this current group of seniors ever played a game at Red Bank Catholic they were heralded as “the greatest team, and we only had an undefeated team that was nationally ranked, before they even stepped on the floor.” Last year, the Caseys won their first Shore Conference Tournament title since 2013 with the likes of Tessa Carman and Christina Liggio, who were both 1,000-point scorers. Those two were lost to graduation last year, but the expectations were still very high for Red Bank Catholic. On Friday night, Red Bank Catholic did not disappoint as the top-seeded Caseys, ranked No. 2 in the NJ.com Top 20, rallied in the final minute to beat second-seeded and No. 1 St. John Vianney 53-49 to win their second-straight Shore Conference Tournament final at Monmouth University. “How many people lost two 1,000-point scorers, that’s a lot of points, and then came back and won it again the following year,” Montano said. “Shows a lot for our guys to do that against a great team. You saw how they fought back and played, it’s amazing. I’m really proud of these guys.” Friday night was the third time this season that these two Shore Conference A North Division rivals had met. Red Bank Catholic won the first meeting 62-51 on Jan. 6, while St. John Vianney picked up a win in the second game on Jan. 22, 61-52. “It definitely prepared us, I think it hurts us both because we know each other a little bit too well,” Red Bank Catholic’s Addy Nyemchek said. “So again it’s the people who come out and play harder and ultimately makes more shots.” Red Bank Catholic jumped out to a very fast start and led 22-6 after the first quarter, with 12 points coming from senior Tessa Liggio. “I think we came out with the best defense I think we’ve had all year,” Katie Liggio said. “We got steals, we got the ball up and we knew we wanted to run the court, especially in this big gym. We started out great, so that was good for us.” St. John Vianney began to fight back in the second quarter. In the final 2:55, the Lancers hit four-straight 3-pointers to cut the Caseys’ lead to 27-24. A 3 from Tessa Liggio with 18.7 seconds left sent the game to halftime with Red Bank Catholic up 30-24. “They hit a lot of big threes, I think we started getting a little bit tired, but again having each other’s back, being composed,” Nyemchek said. “We knew they were going to go on runs, and in that environment just staying calm and then coming back and getting stops on defense and making shots.” St. John Vianney didn’t slow down in the third quarter, once again outscoring Red Bank Catholic 16-10. The Caseys led 40-34 with 1:53 remaining in the third, but a 6-0 run with baskets from Taylor Sofilkanich, Tatum Sharpe and Stella Lockhart tied the game 40-40 heading to the fourth. Lockhart scored to open the fourth quarter, which gave St. John Vianney its first lead of the game, 42-40. From there, the two teams traded baskets until two free throws from Sofilkanich gave the Lancers a 49-46 lead 3:23 left. “We know Addy is going to see two or three kids, we know that certain guys on our team in certain spots on the floor, they’re not going to play them, and (St. John Vianney coach) Dawn (Karpell) did a nice job with that,” Montano said. “So we had to play differently, we had to put other guys in position to score and Tessa shoots the ball really well. You have to give Addy a lot of credit, she didn’t force a lot of stuff, she made big passes when she had to. It really wasn’t anything more than us taking what we did and trying to put people in spots where they can be effective.” Nyemchek scored with 3:12 remaining to cut the lead to 49-48, and with 1:14 remaining Katie Liggio hit her first 3 of the game to give Red Bank Catholic back the lead 50-49. Nyemchek and Tessa Liggio both went to the line in the final 21.3 seconds and hit 3-of-4 for the 53-49 final. Red Bank Catholic’s Daniela Maletsky then intercepted the inbounds pass as time expired for the win. “I think we trusted in each other, we had confidence in each other,” Katie Liggio said. “Not at one time did one of us look at each other without positive energy and I think that’s what wins games. Just having trust in your teammates that they’re going to make the right play, like I know Addy’s going to make the right play when she gets the ball, so I think it’s just trust.” For St. John Vianney, which had a 12-game win streak snapped, Lockhart posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Madison Kocis and Sofilkanich each finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Tessa Liggio led Red Bank Catholic with 21 points, while Nyemchek contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and added a game-high six assists. Sophie Smith chipped in 11 points. “I don’t want to see them again, but if we do that means we both did something pretty good,” Montano said of St. John Vianney. “I’m just really proud of our kids.” ...