Trib HSSN boys basketball player of the week – Nick Trklja
School – Thomas Jefferson
Class – Senior
Height – 6-foot-6
Position – Guard/forward
#Earned – A year ago, the Thomas Jefferson boys basketball team finished 10-13 overall and qualified for the postseason as the fourth and final playoff team out of Section 3-5A.
This season, the Jaguars have dominated the section and are one of the top teams in the classification heading into the final three weeks of the regular season thanks in part to the play of one of their senior leaders.
Nick Trklja has scored often and in many ways in helping the Jaguars to a 7-0 section record and a two-game lead with five section contests remaining.
The 6-6 guard/forward can hurt opponents outside on the perimeter or he can use his size to do damage in the paint and on the blocks.
Both were on display last week as TJ earned two more key section wins and improved its overall record to 15-1.
On Tuesday at home against Baldwin, Trklja scored 25 points as the Jaguars clawed their way past the Highlanders, 57-54.
Then Friday in a rematch against second-place Peters Township, Thomas Jefferson played a more complete game. Trklja once again led the way with 24 points as the Jaguars pounded the visiting Indians, 77-54.
The program has never won a WPIAL boys basketball title, and it was nearly 40 years ago when it last reached the WPIAL finals. TJ lost to Aliquippa in the 1988 Class 3A title game, 79-59.
Personal history was made for Trklja a week ago Friday when in a nonsection victory at home over Montour, he went over the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Trklja, whose grandfather was from Serbia, plans to continue his basketball and academic career at college next year, but he is unsure of the school.
Nick’s older brother Mike also played for the Jaguars in the early part of this decade, and he has a younger sister Marissa who is a sophomore at Thomas Jefferson.
2026 Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Players of the Week
Week 1 – Nathan Schanbacher, North Hills