How BYU senior guard Trey Stewart persevered to become a valued contributor to Cougars’ success
American Fork product reflects on his dedication to the program, and how it’s finally paid off
After BYU basketball player Trey Stewart returned from a pandemic-altered church mission in Leeds, England, and Kennewick, Washington, teammates, coaches and mentors would often tell him to take advantage of every minute of his time in Provo, because time flies.
The then-freshman from American Fork often found himself questioning that unsolicited advice, because “days went by really slowly” his first year at BYU, and not much was happening for him on the basketball court, either.
“I was on scholarship but I only played like 27 minutes total my freshman year,” said the 6-foot-2 guard. “I did a lot of watching and observing most of the time.”
He played quite a bit more his sophomore season (2022-23) under coach Mark Pope, appearing in 27 games and averaging 10.2 minutes and 1.5 points per game. His playing time decreased his junior year (9.3 minutes per game), and because he did show flashes of brilliance when he did play, especially on the defensive end, there were some who wondered if Stewart was in the coach’s doghouse.
There were also some who saw his athletic ability and defensive prowess, and wondered why Stewart didn’t hit the transfer portal. That list of people didn’t include the player himself.
“I am a stubborn individual. I want to overcome stuff. I want to go through hard things.”
— BYU guard Trey Stewart
This season, with first-year coach Kevin Young at the helm, Stewart’s patience has paid off. He’s emerged as a valued contributor on a team that is ranked No. 23 in the country and headed to the NCAA Tournament, perhaps as a No. 7 seed.
And time really has flown by, the senior told the Deseret News Thursday as he reflected on his roller-coaster career at BYU.
“I am a stubborn individual,” Stewart said, when asked why he stuck it out when a lot of folks believed he was being criminally underutilized. “I want to overcome stuff. I want to go through hard things. … I feel like if I were to go somewhere else, I would be the exact same person, but just in another environment, so my character wouldn’t grow as much as it would if I were to figure out and kind of adapt to the environment was not ideally working out for me at the time.”
To say he has adapted well would be an understatement. He graduated in three years with a degree in psychology, has started his own clothing design business, is a partner in a company (Woodn Grail) that makes designer hats and caps and is one of the most popular athletes on campus.
Also, he started a program where he mentors kids on running businesses. There might not be a busier guy in Provo.
“Now that (the end) is here for me, I can definitely say that time really does fly by,” he laughed. “It has been fun.”
Senior Night
Stewart and three other BYU players who have exhausted their eligibility — sixth-year Trevin Knell, senior Fouss Traore and graduate transfer Mawot Mag — will be honored on Senior Night at the Marriott Center (8 p.m., ESPNU) before the No. 23 Cougars host rival Utah (16-14, 8-11) in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
Regardless of what happens in the rematch of Utah’s 73-72 overtime win on Jan. 18 at the Huntsman Center, BYU (22-8, 13-6) is locked into the No. 4 seed in next week’s Big 12 tournament, and will play Thursday at 10:30 a.m. MDT against either the No. 5 seed (Iowa State) or the winner of the 12-13 seed game.
Stewart said it will be an emotional night, but won’t distract the Cougars from their ultimate goal — a lengthy run in the NCAA Tournament.
“I am just trying to be present and enjoy the moment,” he said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to play in front of so many great fans in the Marriott Center one last time.”
He will be accompanied by his three sisters, his grandmother, a few aunts and, of course, his parents, Ray and Denise. A former BYU women’s basketball assistant coach, Ray Stewart is now an academic advisor for the football team at BYU.
Young saved some of his greatest praise for Trey Stewart when he was asked about the outgoing players last Monday.
“Trey has been an unsung hero, honestly. Even before he sort of cracked the rotation here in the last couple of weeks, he has been unbelievable in practice, which is not easy to do, when you are not playing,” Young said. “He helped us get a lot better, whether that be scout team stuff, whether that be him having a level of competition that he brings every day. It got to the point where we just couldn’t ignore it.”
Stewart has teamed with Mag to give BYU what Young refers to as a “two-headed monster” on the defensive end; he’s been asked to lock down some of the top scorers in the Big 12, including Arizona’s Caleb Love, West Virginia’s Javon Smalls and Iowa State’s Keshon Gilbert in the Cougars’ 88-85 overtime win over the Cyclones on Tuesday.
“We gave him some opportunities, and every time we did, he came in and something happened with his energy and his effort,” Young said. “Then he takes the right shots as well. He has been tremendous. I love coaching him. He has really helped our culture in our locker room.”
“Trey has been an unsung hero, honestly. Even before he sort of cracked the rotation here in the last couple of weeks, he has been unbelievable in practice, which is not easy to do, when you are not playing.”
— BYU coach Kevin Young on Trey Stewart
When the Cougars were grounded by a blizzard in Iowa last Tuesday night and were forced to spend most of Wednesday waiting for clearance to return to Provo, Stewart and Knell got into a lengthy discussion on their careers at BYU.
“It is just crazy to look back and see all the hard times you went through. You really do forget those really quickly. I don’t know if it is a trauma block, or whatever,” Stewart said. “My career has had a lot of ups and downs, and has not been the most ideal.
“Going into college, you don’t really think about your career, or being benched, or not getting playing time for years. So it has been like less than ideal, but I would not want it any other way.”
Stewart said he wouldn’t trade it because of the lifelong relationships he has built with teammates such as Knell and Traore and former teammates such as Caleb Lohner, who, in an ironic twist, will play against the Cougars as a Ute on Saturday night.
“I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to go through it, because it has been very hard,” Stewart said. “But it is one of those things I would not trade for the entire world because I am grateful for the character development that I have had, and beyond that all the relationships that I will have for a lifetime.”
A faith-building experience
Stewart said his emergence as a solid contributor midway through this season has been “faith-building to me” in the principle of hard work.
“I am a big scripture person. For example, on the fourth watch of the night, the Lord came,” Stewart said. “I used to be like, ‘Man, I am working so hard, and nothing positive is coming from it.’ Now, it is like I am finally seeing the fruits of my labors. So it is one of those things where you really reflect on it with total gratitude.”
Stewart also counts Utah guard Hunter Erickson, another former Cougar, among his best friends. And he’s been roommates with Traore for 3 1/2 years and developed a brother-like relationship with the 6-foot-6 center from Mali, West Africa.
“Fouss has become one of my greatest friends and one of the greatest examples of a believer I know, a great example of how to be a good person,” Stewart said. “I have roomed with him every road trip. I have got to know and observe him and learn who he is as a person, and every day it just blows my mind how blessed I am to be around someone who is just genuinely one of the greatest persons I have ever met.
“He cares about everyone, is very aware (of his blessings), is smart, hard-working, all those character traits,” Stewart continued. “I am so blessed to be around someone who motivates me, someone I can always turn to for the rest of my life. So yeah, beyond grateful for the relationship I have with Fouss as well.”
So what’s next for Stewart?
He said he will “play it by ear” as far as a future in basketball is concerned, and will keep his options open. But his success with the clothing company and his motto of “make art to spread love” will probably take him in that direction.
As far as what direction the BYU basketball team will take in March Madness, Stewart said he expects that story to end on a positive note as well.
“The way we have been playing over these past few games, that just speaks for itself. We are playing at a really high level offensively and defensively,” he said. “At the beginning of the year, KY kept saying our ceiling offensively was high, and that we were going to be able to score, but our defensive attention to detail is going to be the key indicator of how far we can go.
“So yeah, we are playing at a high level at both ends,” he continued. “We know what we are going after, so let’s go get that national championship.”
