Ballplayers know that going 5 for 5 is great.

Carson Trivellini isn’t satisfied, however. Think better. Lots better.

“My dad and I talked about trying to go 8 for 8 in regionals,” Trivellini said.

Regional championships, that is.

Trivellini and his Crystal Lake South baseball teammates will seek their third regional title in a row this spring. A varsity starter for the basketball team since his freshman year, the junior already has experienced three regional championships in that sport.

Big-time players think big. Trivellini, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard, welcomed receiving the torch from AJ Demirov, who accepted it from Cooper LePage, and he looks forward to handing it off when it’s his time to move on. For Trivellini, that’s the University of Illinois, where he plans to continue his baseball career once he graduates high school.

But that time can wait. There are still many basketball and baseball games to be won for him as a Crystal Lake South Gator.

Trivellini is the 2026 Northwest Herald Boys Basketball Player of the Year after leading South to 27 wins and a Class 3A sectional final for the third year in a row. Demirov won the honor each of the past two seasons.

In his first season running the offense, after playing 2 guard as a sophomore and coming off the bench as a freshman, Trivellini averaged 18.1 points, 3.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals a game. He sits at 1,290 career points.

The oldest of two sons of South graduates Mark and Angela, Trivellini answered some questions from the Northwest Herald about his team’s season, his two sports and what the Gators need to do to advance to a supersectional after back-to-back losses in the sectional final.

Going back to your freshman year, you’ve never been shy about taking a big shot. Where does your fearlessness come from?

Trivellini: When I get into the game, I just get into that type of mode, where it’s like, ‘I’m not going to let you guys beat me.’ I just go out there and compete every night and put it all on the floor for my coaches and my teammates.

You were a shooter coming off the bench your freshman year, then became a first-year starter as a sophomore. This season, you were the team’s primary ball-handler. How have you adapted to the change in roles?

Trivellini: It’s definitely been good. I feel like I’ve played in a lot of big games. Watching AJ [Demirov] and learning from him was definitely a big thing for me. [I focused] on getting my teammates involved, picking my spots and knowing when guys are hot to give them the ball. If it’s my night, I just go do my thing.

You’ve been playing basketball “since I was born,” you said. Last fall, you verbally committed to play baseball for the University of Illinois. What’s your favorite sport?

Trivellini: When I was younger, I actually liked basketball more. As I started to get older and older, I gradually fell in love with baseball more. I’ve always had like a little hoop in my house. During COVID, my dad got this little hoop for me and my brother [Owen] in the basement. We played down there all the time because there was nothing else you could really do. It was probably an eight-foot rim.

Which teammate will we learn a lot more about next season?

Trivellini: I would probably say [junior] Ethan Nawracaj. He was hurt a lot this season. He probably would have been our No. 2 handler. He can shoot the lights out. He’s a big soccer guy too, but he broke his thumb right before the [basketball] season started, so we didn’t get to have him. He’ll definitely be a big piece.

Was playing college basketball ever a consideration for you?

Trivellini: When I was younger, I played AAU with [Jacobs junior] Elijah Bell, Coach Lafeyette [Bell, Marian Central coach] and [Jacobs freshman] Malachi [Bell] for a while. I always had it in the back of my head that maybe I could [play college basketball], but at a smaller school. But last summer, when schools like Illinois, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa started calling me [to recruit me for baseball], I knew I probably was going to be playing big-time baseball in college.

Do you have a favorite NBA team or player?

Trivellini: I was a big Derrick Rose fan. I grew up watching him a lot. I liked to play with his flashiness and create my own shot, create for others. He was electric, for sure.

How does basketball complement baseball?

Trivellini: I think basketball has been a huge thing,games especially for baseball. Even when I was on my visit at Illinois, they were asking me about that. I think they saw something on Twitter about me and basketball. They knew I was a baseball guy. They saw my athleticism. Playing in these bigger games will help me down the road when I’m playing college baseball.

Where do you want to improve most going into next basketball season?

Trivellini: I want to get in the weight room more this summer. I definitely want to be more athletic, get up and dunk, create my own 3 and knock down 3s.

What gives you the confidence that your team can continue to have success in the postseason?

Trivellini: You saw it in the playoffs. The Morgans [twins John and Ryan] are players. Noah [Cook] is a player. During the summer league, Noah shot the lights out. He didn’t have the greatest shooting year, but I have all the confidence in him. He’s willing to go to work and battle for our guys. I think [next] season Noah is going to be an all-state-caliber player, and I think Nick [Stowasser] will keep building off what he’s been doing.

What’s needed to the team to reach its goals next season and have an even more special 2026-27 season?

Trivellini: I talked to [Coach Matt] LePage, and I think we’re going to try to schedule more bigger nonconference games, like he wanted to schedule St. Patrick, Warren, Metamora, all of those big [Class] 4A schools. ... Next year, my goal is to get downstate and win it, win the conference, obviously. I think with this group of guys, it could be special.