Fleetwood girls basketball senior Alexis Hess commits to Kansas State
Sep. 9—Alexis Hess is headed to the Little Apple.
The Fleetwood senior guard has announced her commitment to Kansas State, which is located in Manhattan, Kansas, where she will play women's basketball under coach Jeff Mittie.
"It's really exciting," Hess said. "I'm just really excited to keep working and be able to play at a school like Kansas State."
Hess, a 6-0 guard and Class 5A All-State selection, led the Berks Girls Basketball League with 399 points and 161 field goals in 21 games last season. Her 19 points per game scoring average ranked second in Berks.
Hess visited Kansas State for the first time on Saturday and said she immediately fell in love with the campus and program. The Wildcats went 20-13 last season and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"They are a really successful program," Hess said. "When I went, it just really felt like 'The Place.' "
The Hess family has connections to Kansas, as Alexis' mother, Robin Hess George, served in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Riley, just a short drive from Manhattan. While in the Army, Hess George was as a supply specialist for a helicopter battalion and served in Operation Desert Storm.
"It just felt like home when I went on my official visit," Alexis Hess said. "It's another piece of home for my mom, who was stationed there. That also made it more special to me as well, because it was special to my mom."
A three-time All-Berks selection, Hess scored the 1,000th point of her high school career as a junior on Feb. 7 and finished the 2021-22 season with 1,034 points. She scored 20 points or more in 10 games last season, including a career-high 34 points in a win over Hamburg on Jan. 24.
Now a senior, Hess is eager to make the most of her final high school basketball season.
"It's my last year, so I just want to take advantage of the little moments that I have with the team," she said. "(I want to) be a leader."
