Trey Drechsel started playing basketball around the age of seven years old. Although he fell in love with the game early on, pursuing a professional career playing the sport was not something that was at the forefront of this Woodinville, Washington native's mind initially. Instead, it was the game's ability to constantly present new challenges and fuel personal growth that intrigued him the most; and in turn led him to solely focus on basketball in high school—despite being a two-sport athlete playing baseball and basketball growing up. He was all in. Trey worked day in and day out to strengthen his skills on the court and secure an opportunity to play at the next level. Sure enough, upon graduating from Cedar Park Christian High School, he began his collegiate career at Western Washington University before transferring to Grand Canyon University. It wasn't all smooth sailing though.
During his time at Western Washington, Trey had a recurring foot injury that forced him to assess his outlook on the game and discover his identity outside of basketball. Trials which, as he highlights, helped him become a more well-rounded person, strengthened his relationship with basketball, and prepared him for his first healthy season as he transferred to the Division I level. It was up from there. Throughout his time at Grand Canyon, Trey learned about the importance of being adaptable, remaining versatile, and handling adversity on and off the court. Three important lessons that equipped him with the necessary tools to succeed at the next level. After graduating from Grand Canyon, Trey embarked on the next chapter of his basketball journey and signed his first professional contract in 2019. He hasn't looked back since.
Over the past five years, Trey has played in several countries including Serbia, Poland, and Germany; and is currently playing for S.L. Benfica in Portugal. Along with this, he has also fostered his personal brand beyond the game. From founding his "An Atypical Life" brand to creating his own YouTube channel—where he gives insight into life as a professional basketball player while also providing tools to expand one's skill sets—, Trey has pursued an array of ventures off the court fueled by his passion for storytelling, content creation, and mentorship. Through it all, there is a clear guiding force for Trey as he builds out these platforms and continues his professional basketball career: the opportunity to inspire others through his story to be fearless in the pursuit of their dreams, embrace their own journeys, and BE ATYPICAL!
Let’s start with your journey early on! When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career playing basketball one day?
I never really thought of basketball as a career. It was always just an avenue that I could really pursue improvement in. What I love about basketball is that I always felt that the energy and the effort that I put into the game, the game would give it back to me. I really liked that kind of equation in my mind. I felt like however hard I worked at basketball, basketball was going to reward me to that degree. I loved that basketball was about making reads, it's so dynamic, and it's not boring. That's why I knew baseball wasn't my sport because it was too slow and I just liked the culture of basketball better too—more fun, more new age, more cutting edge.
Diving more into that journey early on, you played at Western Washington and Grand Canyon throughout your time in college. Could you share more with us about your time at each institution and your collegiate career there?
Totally! In my life, in general, I haven't had a lot of what other people would deem as hardships. I haven't had a lot of sick family members. I haven't had a lot of tough things happen to me in that regard. But for me, a lot of my big traumas in my life happened when I went to my Division II—Western Washington—because of how much I cared about basketball. I had a reoccurring injury for my freshman, sophomore, and junior year. My redshirt year, I was healthy—my first year. But then, my second and third years I broke my foot three times in a span of 18 months. So for me, that was probably the trauma climax of my life and it kind of forced me to find an identity outside of basketball. I mean, everybody talks about injuries. As an athlete (though), when you treat your sport as who you are, injury is the quickest way for you to realize that it's not everything you are. I had to have that realization in college my first two years. By my third year—it's funny how life works—, after it had taken me 18 months to learn that lesson, I became a more well-rounded and complete person. My relationship with basketball was much better. I had my first healthy season. Normally at the Division II level, you don't have a lot of guys that go on to play professional basketball; but on that team we had six guys—most notably Daulton Hommes, who was recently in Baskonia and was with the New Orleans Pelicans (as well). He was my teammate. I played at a high level too and we had four other guys that played overseas. We all got paid to play the game, so it was really cool. I had always thought I was a Division I player, even out of high school. I was a late bloomer—I grew late in high school. So after that healthy year (in college), I wanted to prove to myself that I could play at the Division I level. I had never really heard of someone transferring up from Division II—it was not really a normal thing, especially because this was before all the transfer stuff. I transferred up and went to Grand Canyon (University). I was healthy again that whole year, got the Division I experience, played in front of 8,000 fans every game—one of the best environments in all of college basketball—, and I learned a lot that year. I learned how serious Division I basketball is. I learned the business side of the game, and it was also my first time really being away from home because Western Washington was only about an hour-and-a-half drive away. So when I moved down to Arizona it was a nice middle step to going across the world to play in Europe. A lot of good things happened throughout that year, but a lot of hard things (happened as well). I played for Dan Majerle—who's an NBA legend and has that old school, Miami Heat mentality—and learned a lot.
As you reflect back on your time in college, how do you think your game elevated to prepare you for the next level?