2025 Times Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Seneca’s Paxton Giertz

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is known as ‘The Greatest Show on Earth.’

For most of the past four basketball seasons in the Times area, even more so this past season, Seneca’s Paxton Giertz’s talents have been “A Dominate Display on Hardwood.’

The statistics, records and accolades back that up.

The senior point guard averaged 25.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 4.6 steals per game and helped the Fighting Irish finish 26-7 and become champions of both the regular season and Tri-County Conference Tournament.

For all of his ability, accomplishments and his leadership Giertz has been named the 2025 Times Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

He ended his career as the program’s all-time leader in points with 2,506 (34th all-time according to IHSA.org), assists (722, 8th) and steals (466, 2nd). And he also grabbed 503 rebounds.

“Scoring over 2,500 points and breaking the school record is amazing, but honestly the two records I’m most proud of are the career assist and steal records,” said Giertz, who also is a standout in football and baseball. “I’ve always not wanted to be thought of as a ball hog scorer, I don’t feel like that’s the player I am, so to have two other stats that show I cared about finding teammates and defending means a lot to me.”

During the season Giertz had many great games, but a home win over Beecher in early February where he scored a career-best 43 points, including making a program-record 10 3-pointers tops the list in his mind.

“That is one game I’ll remember for a long time, Giertz said. ”We prepared pretty hard for them and had some of our best practices before that game. It was just one of those nights where it seemed like, whether I was wide open or had a hand in my face, everything I shot went in. It was like the game was moving a lot slower for me that it actually was."

Seneca coach Russ Witte joked that he’s still trying to find a way to squeeze out another year of high school eligibility.

“When Pax came in as a freshman, I think we all knew that if he stayed healthy he was going to have a darn good high school career,” Witte said. “We saw his potential and the ability, but we just didn’t know where the ceiling would be. And to be honest, I know he still hasn’t reached there yet. No disrespect to any players who have ever put on a Seneca uniform, but I’m not sure Seneca has ever or will ever have another player like Paxton Giertz. I wish there was a way to keep him around another year. His best basketball is still ahead of him.”

The Irish have compiled a 100-31 record in Giertz’s four years, and Witte said he’s not sure what that mark would be without Giertz leading the way.

“He has basically carried the weight of our program for the last three years,” Witte said. “Even more so this season with every team’s Job 1 of trying to slow him down, which makes so many of the things he accomplished so special. He was in a position as an 18-year old kid, going into every game knowing if he didn’t score ‘X’ many points, we more than likely won’t win. That’s not a knock on any of our other players, they all knew their roles, and Pax’s roles were to score and to defend at a super high level every single night. With all that pressure and responsibility, he handled it like the great leader he is.”

Giertz began the season by scoring 97 points in three wins leading Seneca to the title and earned the Most Valuable Player of the Husker Hardcourt Tip-Off Tournament at Serena.

He then passed former Seneca great Seth Evans to become the program’s all-time leading scorer at the Eastland Shootout in early December.

From there he surpassed 2,000 career points against Earlville and won the MVP of the inaugural Shipyard Showdown Tournament at Seneca after Christmas as the Irish finished runner-up.

He scored 20 points and made the key steal and layup to help Seneca to 39-36 win over Marquette in the Tri-County Conference Tournament title game and was named to the all-tournament team.

Then add being named the TCC Player and Defensive Player of the Year after the Irish clinched the regular season league championship, as well as an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 2A second-team honoree.

“I have so many people to thank, but for me it all starts by thanking God,” Giertz said. “There is no doubt I would be nowhere near where I’m at or where I’m going without him. Next is my parents, Jenni and Mark, my sister, Brooklyn, my Aunt Nikki, really all of my family, they have always been my biggest supporters. Then there is Coach Witte and my teammates, basketball is a team game, and I couldn’t have accomplished what I have without them.”

Giertz will be trading in his Green and White basketball uniform for the Blue and White of Hillsdale College in Michigan. The Chargers are a NCAA Division II program and a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

“The goal moving forward is to get bigger and stronger. The college game is rough, so you have to be able to hold your own. I’m also going to keep working on getting even more accurate with my shot from beyond the arc.

“My time here playing at Seneca has been awesome, and I’ll admit I’m sad it’s over. These past four years have been more than I could have imagined.”