The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. [1] [2] They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls track & field, girls softball, and girls volleyball. [1]
A "State Player of the Year" award is given to the best student-athlete in each of the twelve sports in the District of Columbia and each of the fifty states, where each sport is recognized as an interscholastic sport. [3] Selection is based on three criteria: athletic achievement, academic excellence, and exemplary character (including sportsmanship, and participation in community and other activities). [3] Twelve "National Player of the Year" awards are then given, to the best student-athlete in each of the twelve sports, chosen from the state winners in the respective sport. [4]
Finally, one male Athlete of the Year and one female Athlete of the Year are selected from the twelve National Player of the Year recipients. [5] The two winners are voted on by a national panel with about 400 sports journalists, coaches, and others. [3] The two athletes of the year(Ethan Range and Micheal Swiney) receive their awards at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. [3]
The Gatorade Company established the awards in 1986. [1] The selection process was administered by ESPN RISE which was ESPN's division for high-school sports. The selection process is currently run by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee. [1]
Past national winners include Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith for football, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant for basketball, Allyson Felix for track and field, and Kerri Walsh for volleyball.
Awards include: [note 1]
Awards include: [note 2]
Year | Winner | Hometown | College |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Gary Sheffield | Tampa, FL | Did not attend |
1987 | Willie Banks | Jersey City, NJ | |
1988 | Mark Lewis | Hamilton, OH | |
1989 | Jeff Jackson | Chicago, IL | |
1990 | Todd Van Poppel | Arlington, TX | |
1991 | Brian Barber | Orlando, FL | |
1992 | A. J. Hinch | Midwest City, OK | Stanford |
1993 | Alex Rodriguez | Miami, FL | Did not attend |
1994 | Doug Million | Sarasota, FL | Miami |
1995 | Chad Hutchinson | San Diego, CA | Stanford (football) |
1996 | Matt White | Waynesboro, PA | Did not attend |
1997 | Darnell McDonald | Englewood, CO | |
1998 | Drew Henson | Brighton, MI | Michigan (football) |
1999 | B. J. Garbe | Moses Lake, WA | Did not attend |
2000 | Jason Stokes | Coppell, TX | |
2001 | Casey Kotchman | Seminole, FL | |
2002 | Zack Greinke | Apopka, FL | |
2003 | Chris Lubanski | Collegeville, PA | |
2004 | Mark Rogers | Topsham, ME | |
2005 | Justin Upton | Chesapeake, VA | |
2006 | Clayton Kershaw | Dallas, TX | |
2007 | Rick Porcello | West Orange, NJ | |
2008 | Kyle Skipworth | Riverside, CA | |
2009 | Matt Hobgood | Norco, CA | |
2010 | Kaleb Cowart | Adel, GA | |
2011 | Dylan Bundy | Owasso, OK | |
2012 | Lance McCullers Jr. | Tampa, FL | |
2013 | Clint Frazier | Loganville, GA | |
2014 | Justus Sheffield | Tullahoma, TN | |
2015 | Luken Baker | Conroe, TX | TCU |
2016 | Kyle Muller | Dallas, TX | Did not attend |
2017 | MacKenzie Gore | Whiteville, NC | |
2018 | Ryan Weathers | Loretto, TN | |
2019 | Bobby Witt Jr. | Colleyville, TX | |
2020 | Jared Kelley | Refugio, TX | |
2021 | Dylan Lesko | Buford, GA | |
2022 | Brock Porter | Orchard Lake Village, MI | |
2023 | Max Clark | Franklin, IN |
|
|
|
|
Year | Winner | Hometown | College |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Jeff George | Indianapolis, IN | Purdue / Illinois |
1987 | Emmitt Smith | Pensacola, FL | Florida |
1988 | Curtis Bray | Monroeville, PA | Pittsburgh |
1989 | Terry Kirby | Tabb, VA | Virginia |
1990 | Robert Smith | Euclid, OH | Ohio State |
1991 | Marquette Smith | Winter Park, FL | Florida State / Central Florida |
1992 | Chris Walsh | St. Paul, MN | Miami (FL) / Minnesota |
1993 | Ron Powlus | Berwick, PA | Notre Dame |
1994 | Peyton Manning | New Orleans, LA | Tennessee |
1995 | Brock Huard | Puyallup, WA | Washington |
1996 | Tim Couch | Hyden, KY | Kentucky |
1997 | Travis Minor | Baton Rouge, LA | Florida State |
1998 | Ronald Curry | Hampton, VA | North Carolina (football and basketball) |
1999 | Chris Lewis | Long Beach, CA | Stanford |
2000 | Brock Berlin | Shreveport, LA | Florida / Miami (FL) |
2001 | Joe Mauer | St. Paul, MN | Did not attend |
2002 | Lorenzo Booker | Oxnard, CA | Florida State |
2003 | Kyle Wright | Danville, CA | Miami (FL) |
2004 | Jeff Byers | Fort Collins, CO | USC |
2005 | Greg Paulus | Syracuse, NY | Duke (basketball) / Syracuse |
2006 | Mitch Mustain | Springdale, AR | Arkansas / USC |
2007 | John Brantley | Ocala, FL | Florida |
2008 | Matt Barkley | Santa Ana, CA | USC |
2009 | Garrett Gilbert | Austin, TX | Texas / SMU |
2010 | Malcolm Jones | Westlake Village, CA | UCLA |
2011 | Justin Worley | Rock Hill, SC | Tennessee |
2012 | Johnathan Gray | Aledo, TX | Texas |
2013 | Max Browne | Sammamish, WA | USC / Pittsburgh |
2014 | Andrew Brown | Chesapeake, VA | Virginia |
2015 | Kyler Murray | Allen, TX | Texas A&M / Oklahoma |
2016 | Jacob Eason | Lake Stevens, WA | Georgia / Washington |
2017 | Tate Martell | Las Vegas, NV | Ohio State / Miami (FL) / UNLV |
2018 | J. T. Daniels | Santa Ana, CA | USC / Georgia / West Virginia / Rice |
2019 | Jake Smith | Scottsdale, AZ | Texas / USC / Arizona State |
2020 | Arik Gilbert | Marietta, GA | LSU / Georgia / Nebraska |
2021 | Jaxson Dart | Draper, UT | USC / Ole Miss |
2022 | Nick Singleton | Shillington, PA | Penn State |
2023 | Jackson Arnold | Denton, TX | Oklahoma |
|
|
Year | Winner | Hometown | College |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Amanda Freed | Cypress, CA | UCLA |
1999 | Maureen LeCocq | West Hills, CA | Stanford |
2000 | Tia Bollinger [17] | Santa Ana, CA | Washington |
2001 | Cat Osterman | Cypress, TX | Texas |
2002 | Alicia Hollowell | Fairfield, CA | Arizona |
2003 | Lisa Dodd | San Diego, CA | UCLA |
2004 | Anjelica Selden | Fairfield, CA | |
2005 | Dani Hofer | Palm Harbor, FL | LSU |
2006 | Kirsten Shortridge | Keller, TX | Baylor |
2007 | Ashley Brignac | River Ridge, LA | Louisiana-Lafayette |
2008 | Kenzie Fowler | Oro Valley, AZ | Arizona |
2009 | |||
2010 | Kasey Fagan | Dunnellon, FL | Florida/Arkansas |
2011 | Paige McDuffee | The Woodlands, TX | UCLA |
2012 | Geri Ann Glasco | Watkinsville, GA | Georgia/Oregon |
2013 | Carley Hoover | Central, SC | Stanford/LSU |
2014 | Taylor McQuillin | Mission Viejo, CA | Arizona |
2015 | Rachel Garcia | Palmdale, CA | UCLA |
2016 | Bubba Nickles | Merced, CA | |
2017 | Taylor Dockins | Norco, CA | Cal State Fullerton |
2018 | Megan Faraimo | San Diego, CA | UCLA |
2019 | Kelley Lynch [6] | Sharpsburg, GA | Washington |
2020 | Jayda Coleman | The Colony, TX | Oklahoma |
2021 | Jordy Bahl | Papillion, NE | |
2022 | Keagan Rothrock | Indianapolis, IN | Florida |
2023 | Ava Brown | Montgomery, TX |
|
|
Year | Winner | Hometown | College |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Kerri Walsh | San Jose, CA | Stanford |
1997 | Denise Boylan [22] | Lisle, IL | Notre Dame |
1998 | Sara Sandrik [23] | Pelham, AL | Stanford |
1999 | Logan Tom | Salt Lake City, UT | Stanford |
2000 | April Ross | Newport Beach, CA | USC |
2001 | Ogonna Nnamani | Bloomington, IL | Stanford |
2002 | Bre Ladd [24] | Tucson, AZ | Arizona |
2003 | Kristin Richards [25] | Orem, UT | Stanford |
2004 | Cynthia Barboza | Long Beach, CA | Stanford |
2005 | Cynthia Barboza | Long Beach, CA | Stanford |
2006 | Megan Hodge | Durham, NC | Penn State |
2007 | Alix Klineman [26] | Manhattan Beach, CA | Stanford |
2008 | Kelly Murphy [27] | Wilmington, IL | Florida |
2009 | Gina Mancuso | Papillion, NE | Nebraska |
2010 | Ashley Wittman | Shakopee, MN | Minnesota |
2011 | Krista Vansant | Redlands, CA | Washington |
2012 | Jordan Burgess | Tampa, FL | Stanford |
2013 | Lauren Carlini | Aurora, IL | Wisconsin |
2014 | Alexa Filley | Louisville, KY | Auburn |
2015 | Mikaela Foecke | West Point, IA | Nebraska |
2016 | Khalia Lanier | Phoenix, AZ | USC |
2017 | Lexi Sun | Solana Beach, CA | Texas/Nebraska |
2018 | Thayer Hall | Roebuck, SC | Florida |
2019 | Ellie Holzman | New Orleans, LA | Illinois |
2020 | Jess Mruzik | Livonia, MI | Michigan/Penn State |
2021 | Ally Batenhorst | Katy, TX | Nebraska |
2022 | Averi Carlson | Lucas, TX | Baylor/Texas |
2023 | Harper Murray | Ann Arbor, MI | Nebraska |
2024 | Ayden Ames | Prosper, TX | Texas |
See [note 3]
Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first developed in 1965 by a team of researchers led by Dr. Robert Cade. It was originally made for the Gators at the University of Florida to replenish the carbohydrates that the school's student-athletes burned and the combination of water and electrolytes that they lost in sweat during vigorous sports activities.
Frederick U. Conard High School is a public high school in West Hartford, in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It opened in 1957, and was named after Frederick Underwood Conard, president of Niles-Bement-Pond Company and chairman of the local Board of Education when plans for the school were approved. Conard is one of two West Hartford public high schools, the other being Hall High School.
Volleyball is a popular sport in the United States with both male and female participants of all ages. Almost all high schools and colleges in the United States have female volleyball teams, and most regions of the country have developmental programs for girls of all ages as well. While many areas of the country are forming male teams and development programs, there are still fewer opportunities for young male athletes to play volleyball in the United States than for young female athletes. Men's volleyball is a fast-growing sport among high schools, with 36 states having male volleyball programs. Most men's seasons are in the spring while women's seasons take place primarily in the fall; however, there are a few men's teams such as in Wisconsin, Virginia, and New York who play in the fall as well.
Ogonna Nneka Nnamani is a physician, retired American indoor volleyball player, and former member of the United States National and Olympic teams. She was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2004 as the nation's top female athlete across all NCAA sports and is regarded as one of the best players in Stanford University's history with a career record of 2,450 kills, for which she entered the Stanford Hall of Fame in 2015.
Gregory Russell Paulus is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team. He previously served as an assistant basketball coach for Louisville, Ohio State, and George Washington University. Paulus is a former multi-sport athlete, playing college basketball as a point guard on the Duke University men's team and later football at Syracuse University.
Andrew Mitchell Vlahov is an Australian retired professional basketball player. He played his entire eleven-year professional career for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL), with whom he won three championships in 1991, 1995 and 2000.
Archbishop Alter High School, also known as Alter High School, is a Catholic high school in Kettering, Ohio, United States. It is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati and is named after Archbishop Karl Joseph Alter.
Northwestern High School is one of three high schools in Rock Hill, South Carolina, United States. It was opened in 1971 as the city's second high school, replacing Emmett Scott High School, which had been designated for African American students during the era of segregated schools. Along with rival Rock Hill High School, it is one of the 16 largest schools in the state by enrollment, with about 1,791 students in grades 9–12.
Central Arkansas Christian Schools (CAC) is a group of three private schools based in North Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. CAC was established in 1971 at Sylvan Hills Church of Christ in Sherwood, Arkansas. Because of its foundation date, the school has been categorized as a segregation academy although enrollment records indicate black students were enrolled in the school as early as 1974. The Central Arkansas Christian School system includes a combination middle and high school campus in North Little Rock and two elementary schools: a campus in Pleasant Valley/Little Rock and a campus in North Little Rock. Together, they composed the state's fourth-largest combined private school for the 2018-19 school year. The schools are "affiliated" with the Churches of Christ and are members of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team that is generally composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". The term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889.
Breanna Mackenzie Stewart is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Women's Basketball Super League, Euroleague Women.
Each year the Miss Iowa Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school girls' basketball player in the state of Iowa, in the United States.
Michael Arthur Norman Jr. is an American sprinter. He previously held the world best time in the indoor 400 meters at 44.52 seconds. Outdoors, his 43.45, set at the 2019 Mt. SAC Relays is tied as the #4 on the all time list. In 2016, he became the world junior champion in both the 200 meters and 4×100 meter relay. In 2022, he became the world champion in both the 400 meters and 4x400 meter relay.
Kelly Katlyn Barnhill is an American, former collegiate All-American, professional softball pitcher. She played college softball for the Florida Gators from 2016 to 2019 and was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Honda Sports Award and espnW Player of the Year in 2017. She is the career no hitters (7), strikeouts, strikeout ratio (10.5) and WHIP leader for the Gators. She also ranks in career strikeout ratio for both the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA Division I.
Quentin Marshall Grimes is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks and the Houston Cougars.
Paige Madison Bueckers is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference.
Jenna Gray is an American professional volleyball player who completed her collegiate career at Stanford University. She currently plays for Minas Tenis Clube.
Madison Paige Lilley is a former American professional volleyball player and current collegiate coach. She is an assistant coach for her alma mater, Kentucky.
Kira Carroll "Kiki" Rice is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. She played for Sidwell Friends School at the high school level, where she was one of the top recruits in her class and earned national player of the year honors as a senior.
Cooper Flagg is an American basketball player who attends Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. Committed to Duke, he is a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class.