AJ Alexeev Only Knows One Direction: Forward

That helped more than I thought it would.”

For once, AJ Alexeev isn’t the new kid. That may not seem like a big deal, but for the Peninsula High School incoming senior who’s changed schools three times in three years, it’s everything.

“I don’t have to go through that whole thing of meeting everyone for the first time again,” he said.

Alexeev had already made his presence known on the basketball court. And even though he’s roamed the Peninsula hallways for a year now, he doesn’t exactly blend in. At 6-foot-4 with a wingspan to match and the kind of motor that never quits, he stands out. Coaches notice it. Opponents plan for it. Teammates count on it.

But if you ask Alexeev what shaped who he is, he won’t point to his stat line. He’ll talk about the numbers that tell his real story: Three high schools in three years. Seven siblings in a blended home. Wake-up calls at 5 a.m. to work construction with his dad. Two-a-day summer practices — basketball drills in the morning, football hits in the afternoon.

And one constant: Keep going.

“I’ve just kind of had to adapt,” he said. “I just keep moving forward.”

Throughout all the transitions, basketball has been Alexeev’s anchor.

Raised in Puyallup, Alexeev expected to play high school ball with his childhood friends. But everything changed in February 2022, when his mother passed away from stage four breast cancer. It was her second fight with the disease — she first beat it when Alexeev was in second grade — but it returned just before his eighth-grade year.

“It was a tragedy for our family,” he said.

Later that day, Alexeev went to basketball practice; not because he was expected to, but because it was the only place that made sense for the then middle-schooler.

“My dad told me I should take the day off,” he said. “But one of my closest friends, whose dad was our coach, texted me and said, ‘You don’t have to tell anyone. Just come if you want.’ So I did.”

His teammates didn’t know what had happened. They didn’t have to. Just being there — doing layup lines, running drills, being around people who didn’t ask questions — was exactly what he needed.

“That meant everything,” he said. “That helped more than I thought it would.”

His father, Alex Sr. — AJ’s full name is Alex Junior — became a steady presence as the family adjusted to a new normal. A former hockey player from Russia, he was drafted by the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets in 1992 and spent more than a decade playing professionally, including a stint with the Tacoma Sabercats in the West Coast Hockey League before retiring.

“He wasn’t really a basketball fan,” AJ said about his dad. “But he’s always been my biggest influence in sports. Everything I’ve learned about being tough or accountable, I got from him.”

After the elder Alexeev remarried, the newly blended family moved to the Purdy area, near the Pierce–Kitsap County line. AJ had planned to attend Peninsula, but zoning and eligibility issues led him to enroll at South Kitsap for his freshman year. Being a Wolf wasn’t a good fit for him.

As a sophomore, he transferred to Sound Christian Academy, a private school in Tacoma, where he found immediate success. He averaged 20.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, led the team to an 18-8 season, and helped them finish fourth at the 2023 1A state tournament. But instability at the school made it difficult to stay.

Going to Peninsula for his junior year was a homecoming of sorts, though it took nearly two months for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association to clear his eligibility. Once on the court, he became one of the Seahawks’ most consistent contributors.

Alexeev scored in double figures in 17 of 21 games, averaging 14.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, second on the team in both categories. His season included a 32-point, 8-rebound performance against Lakes, a 27-point, 12-board night at Mount Tahoma, and 20 points in a single half against Bainbridge Island before the flu sidelined him for the second half.

“For a school that has a lot of multisport athletes, I think we did pretty decent,” said Alexeev about his team going 6-15 overall and 4-12 in the Puget Sound League. “We don’t have a lot of year-round basketball players at Peninsula like we did (at Sound Christian).”

He especially enjoyed playing alongside teammate and scoring leader Isaac Schultz-Tait, who graduated in the spring.

“If I wasn’t having a hot game, I knew he could easily drop 15-20 points,” Alexeev said. “It took a lot of pressure off me.”

In summer, Alexeev spends most mornings working construction for his dad’s business: laying carpet tile, hauling materials, or cleaning up demo sites. It’s hard, physical labor, but to Alexeev, it feels familiar.

“I’m not a facilitator on the court, but I like trying to help others get better,” he said. “It’s the same thing working construction. I’m not the skilled guy finishing the job, but I’m doing what I can to make things easier for the people who are.”

At home, he’s the oldest of seven kids in a blended family. It’s noisy, busy, and sometimes chaotic, but it’s where he’s depended on the most.

“I like being the one they look up to,” he said. “Especially my little brother — I think he watches everything I do. I try to be someone they can follow.”

What defines AJ Alexeev might rest on where you find him — on a construction site, in a locker room, or among siblings at home. But one thing is constant: he shows up and works hard.

And now, he’s adding something new to the mix.

In the fall, AJ will suit up for the Peninsula football team for the first time since middle school. It’s a bold move for any senior, let alone one with college basketball ambitions. But for him, it’s just another way to compete and grow. And his size and athleticism make him an ideal fit for the tight end and defensive end positions he’s battling for.

Still, the goal that matters most hasn’t changed.

He’s hoping to help lead the Peninsula basketball team back to the playoffs, something the team hasn’t done in a decade.

“That’s my biggest aspiration right now,” he said.

After years of starting over, Alexeev finally gets to start a season right where he left off. No new schools. No eligibility delays. No need to reintroduce himself.

“Going to the same school two years in a row — that’s huge for me,” he said. “I’m excited.”