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, Cooper Flagg and Sadie Engelhardt, received their awards at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards.[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]
^For biographical sketches of the current winners, see:[5]
^For the official list of winners (1985–present), see[4]
^For the official list of state winners (including D.C.) from 1985 to the present, see[3]
References
^ a b c d"A History of Honoring the Future". Gatorade Player of the Year. Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
^"Gatorade Player of the Year Award". ESPN High School SPORTS. ESPN. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
^ a b c d e"Gatorade State High School Players of the Year". Gatorade Player of the Year. Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ a b"Gatorade Player of the Year All-Time National Winners". Gatorade Player of the Year. Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ a b"Gatorade Athlete of the Year". Gatorade Player of the Year. Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
^ a b cCarroll, Charlotte (July 10, 2019). "Kelley Lynch, Bobby Witt Jr. Named Gatorade Athletes of the Year". Retrieved July 11, 2019.
^ESPN News Services (July 19, 2022). "Kiki Rice (girls basketball), Colin Sahlman (cross country) named national prep athletes of year". ESPN. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
^"Max Clark, Ava Brown named high school players of the year". ESPN. Associated Press. July 11, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
^"UConn commit Bueckers named Gatorade POY". ESPN.com. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
^"Grant Fisher named Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year". USA Today. Gannett Co., Inc. January 30, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2019 – via usatodayhss.com.
^Jung, Tristan (February 27, 2019). "Liam Anderson Named 2018-19 Gatorade National Boys Cross-Country Athlete of the Year". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
^"Alexa Efraimson named Gatorade National Girls XC Runner of the Year". USA Today. Gannett Co., Inc. February 27, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2019 – via usatodayhss.com.
^Chavez, Chris (February 7, 2019). "Katelyn Tuohy Wins Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year Award". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
^"Ghanaian teen Farouk Osman voted Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year for third time". social_image.
^"Mary McDowell Profile". North Carolina Official Athletic Site - Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on June 4, 2009 – via tarheelblue.cstv.com.
^"Player Bio: Tia Bollinger :: Softball". Official Athletic Website of the University of Washington. Archived from the original on May 4, 2008 – via gohuskies.cstv.com.
^"Curtis Beach NM Wins National Gatorade Track and Field Boys Athlete of the Year Award". DyeStat (ESPN RISE). June–July 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
^"Trentavis Friday named Gatorade Athlete of the Year". USA Today. Gannett Co., Inc. June 30, 2014. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2019 – via usatodayhss.com.
^"Mondo Duplantis Bio". LSUsports.net. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
^Coleman, Adam (June 28, 2019). "Strake Jesuit's Matthew Boling wins Gatorade National Boys Track Athlete of the Year". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
^"Denise Boylan Bio :: Notre Dame Women's Volleyball :: UND.COM :: The Official Site of ND Athletics". cstv.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
^"Player Bio: Sara Sandrik :: Women's Volleyball". Stanford University Official Athletic Site. Archived from the original on February 4, 2007 – via gostanford.cstv.com.
^"Player Bio: Bre Ladd". Archived from the original on May 29, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
^"Kristin Richards Profile". Stanford University Official Athletic Site. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008 – via gostanford.cstv.com.
^"Alix Klineman Profile". Stanford University Official Athletic Site. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008 – via gostanford.cstv.com.
^"Kelly Murphy". GatorZone.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014.