Alex Stewart has been a stellar three-sport athlete at Yorkville, but the senior’s skills go beyond the athletic playing field.

She also plays a mean trumpet.

The Foxes’ senior plays in Yorkville’s highest band, and has played trumpet since fifth grade. Stewart, at her coach’s behest, even played a few requests at basketball practice one day.

“I love music so much, I have so much joy playing music,” Stewart said. “I don’t know what it is, but it calms me down listening to and playing music. Every now and then, I’ll pick up the saxophone. I do also want to learn to play that.”

Stewart played all the right notes on the basketball court this season.

The four-year varsity player and unquestioned leader of a young and talented Yorkville team, with three sophomores making key contributions, Stewart led the Foxes in points, rebounds, assists and deflections. She was the engine that fueled Yorkville’s high-octane style. After a few so-so seasons in Yorkville, Stewart led the Foxes to a 19-13 record – the most wins in five years – second place in the Southwest Prairie West and a regional final.

She’s the Record Newspapers Player of the Year.

“She is our senior leader. She had goals coming into the season, and wanted to improve on that,” Yorkville coach Kim Wensits said. “She’s been our go-to player. We want the ball in her hands, and she’ll make a good decision.”

That decision-making was the biggest area of growth Wensits saw this season in Stewart, who averaged 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 deflections. Stewart developed the sixth sense of when she needed to take over a game and hunt her shot, or when it was time to get her teammates involved. In a game against Kaneland in December, Stewart had a near triple double – in the first half. She had a game-high 20 points in Yorkville’s regional semifinal upset over SPC West champion Plainfield North.

“Teams knew that she was our best player but not only did she find ways to score, but she found ways for other girls to score,” Wensits said. “There is no stat to measure it, but you could look around and feel her presence.”

Yorkville played at a frenetic pace, with waves of girls coming in and out, everyone with the green light to let shots fly.

Stewart, though, was the axis it all revolved around.

With good length for a point guard and speed – Stewart has run on state qualifiers in cross country and track – it wasn’t uncommon for her to grab rebounds at one end and lead the fast break at the other. Yet she did so under control.

“So much of it I attribute to AAU, they play at such a fast pace these days that Alex was very comfortable playing at that pace,” Wensits said. “I look at her turnover percentage and the percentage is very low, third-lowest on the team and she had the ball in her hands all the time and played the most minutes hand down. I felt more comfortable when she was on the floor.”

Indeed, Stewart credited her work at M14 Hoops Basketball Academy for her skill development, particularly her decision-making at a fast pace. She’s also worked to improve her communication on the court, an area the quiet lead by example type admits she struggled with at a younger age.

“I have always struggled with communication on the court but the last two years I have developed that skill. I always try to communicate on offense and defense and just try to be a point guard and lead,” Stewart said. “I think I just started realizing that I don’t need to be going so fast throughout the whole game. I can slow down and see the court better.”

Stewart sees herself playing at a high level collegiately, and is headed in that direction in short order.

She has signed with Morton Community College to play for former Montini coach Jason Nichols at a program that is the defending national runner-up currently unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in NJCAA DII.

“I love it. Kudos to her and her family, I think it is a great spot for her,” Wensits said. “Jason Nichols is a phenomenal coach who gets the best out of his athletes. She has big goals. She has told me she wants to go Division I. He will get the most out of her to make that possible.”