Who’s the Berks girls Player of the Year? Depends on your perspective

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Berks girls basketball coaches will soon gather and vote for the Player of the Year. This has been an uneventful process recently. The winner is often a foregone conclusion.

Berks Catholic’s Dejah Terrell won in 2018. Twin Valley’s Peyton McDaniel was chosen in 2019 and 2020. Wyomissing’s Lily Seyfert was selected last year. The announcements were hardly given a second thought.

This year is different. The discussion about who should win is a proxy for what you believe about the award. Should it be given to the most talented player? Or the player who filled the most important role for a successful team?

There is no correct answer. There are only opinions. Which makes this year’s choice all the more interesting.

Casual conversations with coaches reveal Fleetwood’s Alexis Hess and Berks Catholic’s Caroline Reedy are the top candidates. Both were All-Berks last season. Both have compelling, if different, Player of the Year cases.

Hess is a 1,000-point scorer and former All-State selection in Class 5A. The 6-1 junior will likely earn All-Berks recognition for the third time.

There’s no dispute that Hess is the league’s most talented player. She has a combination of skills rarely seen in Berks and is a coveted recruit who brings coaches from the Big Ten and ACC into Fleetwood’s gym.

Hess averaged 19 points, second in the league behind Kutztown’s Ky Brantley, and made 40 3-pointers. Only Gov. Mifflin’s Taylor Koenig and Berks Catholic’s Caraline Herb, another All-Berks selection last year, made more.

Fleetwood (11-10), which has been undermanned throughout Hess’ career, missed the league and District 3 playoffs for the first time since she arrived. That’s something many coaches will consider.

Reedy is a four-year varsity player who surpassed 1,000 points against Wyomissing eight days ago. The 5-8 senior is averaging 14.3 points in a division that produced all four teams that reached the county semifinals.

No one brought more to the court than Reedy. She is one of the league’s top rebounders, a strong defender and made 26 3-pointers. Her effort and athleticism changed games.

Berks Catholic (19-5) went 11-1 in Berks I and 5-2 against the other semifinal teams. The Saints’ hopes of repeating as county champion were stopped by Gov. Mifflin on Shakyla Mayo’s buzzer-beater in the semifinals. They’re the No. 3 seed in District 3 Class 4A.

Seven players are named All-Berks each season. Reading High’s Kya Washington joins Hess, Reedy and Herb as a previous selection. Washington was recognized as a sophomore in 2020.

Will the Player of the Year be Hess or Reedy? The answer will tell you what the coaches believe the award really means.