When Addy Nyemchek was in eighth grade, her biggest aspiration was making the varsity basketball team at Red Bank Catholic and seeing playing time as a freshman. Fast-forward four years and Nyemchek’s star is one of the brightest to have played for the Caseys. This season the 6-foot-1 guard helped lead Red Bank Catholic to its second-straight Shore Conference Tournament title, the South, Non-Public A title and its second Non-Public A title in three years as the Caseys finished ranked No. 1 in the NJ.com Top 20 with a record of 30-2. The Indiana University-commit averaged 19.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, three steals and hit for 33 3-pointers. She posted six double-doubles and became Red Bank Catholic’s all-time leading scorer in the final game of the season. She scored 22 points in the final against Morris Catholic for 1,781 career points, which surpassed 2008 graduate Kristina Danella’s 1,771 points. Which is why Nyemchek is the NJ.com Girls Basketball Player of the Year for 2025-26. “She’s meant an awful lot to the team,” Red Bank Catholic coach Joe Montano said. “I think the thing with Addy is she’s such a great teammate. It’s always been about winning with Addy and being there for her teammates and instilling confidence in her teammates. She’s really good with telling them how well they can play and what they can do. It’s always great when your best player is your hardest worker, but more importantly isn’t looking for the headlines and just wants to be part of the team.” Nyemchek, a four-year starter, was also the lone player from New Jersey to be selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game, and was also named the Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year. Nyemchek said she had goals for her high school career entering her freshman year, but she never imagined the accolades her senior year would bring. “I remember when I was in eighth grade I talked to Montano, not really having crazy expectations because I knew RBC was always a very good school basketball-wise so I was kind of going into RBC hoping to make varsity, hoping to play,” Nyemchek said. “Obviously I had the goals to be a really good high school player, play Division I basketball but I never knew the scale of the goals that I could achieve freshman year. Over the course of time I knew that I could push those goals bigger and farther and again, as we all kind of got better and grew those goals got a lot bigger.” Nyemchek said she started playing basketball in the first grade and also played soccer growing up. When COVID hit she had to choose between the two sports and decided to stick with basketball. “Obviously playing the game, the competitiveness, the fast-paced type of game,” Nyemchek said of what sparks her joy for the sport. “Then kind of off the game, the people I was surrounded by, the people that I was training with and everything kind of motivated me to love the game even more.” Nyemchek has always been the type of player who was willing to do anything to help her team win, but after losing captains Tessa Carman and Christina Liggio to graduation last year, Montano had a new role for Nyemchek entering this season. “I think as a senior and talking to Montano a lot, I had to really take on that leadership role and I think I did a pretty good job this year kind of taking on that role,” Nyemchek said. “We lost two of our seniors last year, who were both our captains, so kind of taking that in and holding myself responsible, making sure I’m holding my teammates responsible, whether that’s practice, on the court, off the court. So I think that’s what I kind of improved on this year.” Along with her leadership abilities, Nyemchek did a little bit of everything on the court this season to help Red Bank Catholic win. While she was the team’s leading scorer, she was also second on the team in assists as she had no problem spreading the ball around in order to get baskets. If she had to focus on defense instead of scoring she was fine with that as well, as long as the team was winning. “I think the thing that impresses me the most is that she just has a great understanding of the game,” Montano said. “She can go into a game and say, ‘Today I’ve got to pass the ball to my teammates,’ or ‘Alright it’s the fourth quarter and I need to score 15 points or else we’re not going to win. Today I have to play defense for my team to win, I have to stop somebody who’s really good on the other team.’ For her to be able to do those things and kind of switch gears in the middle of the game is really impressive.” Nyemchek’s high school career in New Jersey might be over, but she’s nowhere near done with basketball just yet. She’ll play in the McDonald’s All-American Game on Monday night in Glendale, Arizona and will take her talents to Indiana in the fall. No matter where her basketball career takes her, Nyemchek will always remember what Red Bank Catholic was able to accomplish during her four years with the team. “It was so fun,” Nyemchek said of this season. “Obviously the last four years have been super fun, but again coming out with both championships, the last kind of go-around with the girls I think was a little bit more special this year than it was the last few years. We all kind of soaked it up, we knew we were moving on to different chapters after this season so basically having more fun and not taking anything for granted because we knew it was our last year.”...

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).”...