MINNETONKA, Minn., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its
35th year of honoring the nation's most elite high
school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Paige
Bueckers of Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn. is the 2019-20 Gatorade
National Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Bueckers won the
prestigious award for her accomplishments on and off the court,
joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Girls
Basketball Player of the Year winners who have combined for nine
WNBA MVP awards, 49 All-Star appearances and 14 became WNBA first
round draft picks.
Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony
Towns surprised Bueckers with the award in front of family,
friends, teammates and coaches at her school. Check out a video of
the announcement here.
"Winning the Player of the Year award was a day that I will
always remember. That is why I am so excited to present
Paige Bueckers with her award," said
Karl-Anthony Towns. "Being
recognized by Gatorade as an elite athlete both on and off the
court is an honor like no other and I am thrilled to see what great
things Paige will accomplish in her career."
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic
excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and
exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court,
distinguishes Bueckers as the nation's best high school girls
basketball player. A national advisory panel comprised of
sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select
Bueckers from nearly a million high school girls basketball players
nationwide.
Competition for the national award is fierce. Bueckers topped
the list of 51 state winners in girls basketball who have an
incredible list of accomplishments, including 12 McDonald's
All-American Game selections, 12 Pac-12 committees, six ACC
committees, 15 with GPAs above a 4.0 and 88 percent volunteering
with at least two organizations.
Bueckers is now a finalist for the most prestigious award in
high school sports, the Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the
Year award, which is announced at a special ceremony after the
2020 ESPY Awards in July.
"Paige plays with natural instincts and an enthusiasm for the
game that is becoming harder and harder to find at the elite level
within our sport," said Chris
Menning, vice president and national evaluator for Blue Star
Basketball. "She's a skilled guard with length and carries the full
complement of sharp and efficient tools onto the court. She also
impacts the game in a broader fashion than most of her peers—Paige
can be the go-to scorer when needed, but has the ability to create
for others as well as impact the defensive end of the floor. She's
a fierce competitor who's already enjoyed great success in
international competition, and we'll be seeing her name throughout
and beyond the college basketball scene in the years to come."
The 6-foot senior guard led the Royals to a 28-0 record and the
Class AAAA sectional final at the time of her selection. The
state's three-time returning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of
the Year, Bueckers averages 21.8 points, 9.3 assists, 5.3 steals
and 5.1 rebounds per game. A starter for the gold medal-winning
USA Basketball U19 Women's World
Cup Team, she is a finalist for the Naismith High School Girls
Player of the Year trophy and a 2019 USA Basketball Female Athlete
of the Year. Also, a two-time Minneapolis Star Tribune Metro Player
of the Year and a FIBA World Cup U19 MVP, Bueckers has been chosen
to play in both the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan
Brand Classic and is ranked as the nation's No. 1 recruit in the
Class of 2020 by ESPN.
Bueckers organized her own series of youth basketball clinics,
"Buckets With Bueckers," which offers free admission to players in
Minnesota and Montana, while raising funds for local
charities via donations and corporate sponsorships. An invited
speaker and honorary guest at Lucy Laney grade school in
North Minneapolis, she has also
donated her time volunteering as a reader at the Hopkins Public
Library.
Bueckers has maintained a 3.80 GPA in the classroom. She has
signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on
scholarship at the University of
Connecticut this fall.
"Paige Bueckers has been
recognized as the best high school girls basketball player in the
nation because of her dedication to performing at her best,
striving for top marks in the classroom, and being a leader in her
community," said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager
Brett O'Brien. "The great thing
about the Gatorade Player of the Year Award is that it looks at the
whole athlete, not just the stats."
Through Gatorade's cause marketing platform "Play it Forward,"
Bueckers has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports
organization of her choosing. She is also eligible to submit an
essay to win one of twelve $10,000
spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be
announced throughout the year.
Each year a selection committee evaluates the nation's top
talent in the District of Columbia
and all 50 states, choosing national winners in 12 different
sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country,
boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls
soccer, and boys and girls track and field. From the 12
national winners, one male and one female athlete are each named
Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year.
Since the program's inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the
Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college
championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their
communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.
Previous winners include a distinguished list of athletes, such as
Peyton Manning, Abby Wambach, Karl-Anthony Towns, Derek Jeter and many other sports icons. To
learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out
past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit
www.Gatorade.com/POY, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY
or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.
About Gatorade
The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), meets
the needs of consumers who participate in Sports and Fitness,
through brands that include Gatorade, Propel, Muscle Milk and
Bolt24. The solutions they provide are driven by a deep
understanding of the unique needs and occasions of different types
of sports and fitness. Gatorade, their marquee brand, is
underpinned by more than 50-year history of studying the best
athletes in the world and sports-nutrition research by the Gatorade
Sport Science Institute, allowing it to provide
scientifically-formulated products that meet athletes' needs both
on and off the field. For more information and a full list of
products, please visit www.gatorade.com
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion
times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the
world. PepsiCo generated more than $64
billion in net revenue in 2018, driven by a complementary
food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade,
Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio
includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including
22 brands that generate more than $1
billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our
fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably
linked to the sustainability of the world around us. We believe
that continuously improving the products we sell, operating
responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the
world enable PepsiCo to run a successful global company that
creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more
information, visit www.pepsico.com.
PREVIOUS GATORADE
NATIONAL GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS
|
YEAR
|
NAME
|
HOMETOWN
|
STATUS
|
2018-19
|
Azzi Fudd
|
Washington, D.
C.
|
High School
Junior
|
2017-18
|
Christyn
Williams
|
Little Rock,
AR
|
University of
Connecticut
|
2016-17
|
Megan
Walker
|
North Chesterfield,
VA
|
University of
Connecticut
|
2015-16
|
Erin Boley
|
Elizabethtown,
KY
|
University of
Oregon
|
2014-15
|
Katie Lou
Samuelson
|
Santa Ana,
CA
|
Dallas
Wings
|
2013-14
|
Brianna
Turner
|
Manvel, TX
|
Phoenix
Mercury
|
2012-13
|
Mercedes
Russell
|
Springfield,
OR
|
Seattle
Storm
|
2011-12
|
Breanna
Stewart
|
Cicero, NY
|
Seattle
Storm
|
2010-11
|
Kaleena
Mosqueda-Lewis
|
Santa Ana,
CA
|
Seattle
Storm
|
2009-10
|
Chiney
Ogwumike
|
Cypress,
TX
|
Los Angeles
Sparks
|
2008-09
|
Skylar
Diggins-Smith
|
South Bend,
IN
|
Phoenix
Mercury
|
2007-08
|
Nneka
Ogwumike
|
Cypress,
TX
|
Los Angeles
Sparks
|
2006-07
|
Maya Moore
|
Suwanee,
GA
|
Minnesota
Lynx
|
2005-06
|
Tina
Charles
|
Middle Village,
NY
|
New York
Liberty
|
2004-05
|
Abby Waner
|
Highlands Ranch,
CO
|
Retired from New York
Liberty
|
2003-04
|
Candace
Parker
|
Naperville,
IL
|
Los Angeles
Sparks
|
2002-03
|
Candace
Parker
|
Naperville,
IL
|
Los Angeles
Sparks
|
2001-02
|
Ann
Strother
|
Denver, CO
|
Retired from Atlanta
Dream
|
2000-01
|
Shyra Ely
|
Indianapolis,
IN
|
Retired from Indiana
Fever
|
1999-00
|
Shereka
Wright
|
Copperas Cove,
TX
|
Retired from Phoenix
Mercury
|
1998-99
|
Nicole
Kaczmarski
|
Lake Ronkonkoma,
NY
|
Retired from Los
Angeles Sparks
|
1997-98
|
Tamika
Williams
|
Dayton, OH
|
Retired from
Connecticut Sun
|
1996-97
|
Nikki
Teasley
|
Frederick,
MD
|
Retired from Atlanta
Dream
|
1995-96
|
Jaime Walz
|
Ft. Thomas,
KY
|
Played for Western
Kentucky
|
1994-95
|
Stephanie
White
|
West Lebanon,
IN
|
Retired from Indiana
Fever
|
1993-94
|
Monick
Foote
|
Wilmington,
DE
|
Retired from
Cleveland Cavaliers
|
1992-93
|
La'Keshia
Frett
|
Hampton,
VA
|
Retired from New York
Liberty
|
1991-92
|
Katie
Smith
|
Logan, OH
|
Retired from New York
Liberty
|
1990-91
|
Michelle
Marciniak
|
Allentown,
PA
|
Retired from Seattle
Storm
|
1989-90
|
Lisa
Leslie
|
Inglewood,
CA
|
Retired from Los
Angeles Sparks
|
1988-89
|
Lisa
Harrison
|
Louisville,
KY
|
Retired from Phoenix
Mercury
|
1987-88
|
Vicki Hall
|
Indianapolis,
IN
|
Retired from Los
Angeles Sparks
|
1986-87
|
Kris
Durham
|
Scotch Plains,
NJ
|
Retired from USA
Basketball Women's National Team
|
1985-86
|
Susan
Anderson
|
Deming, WA
|
Played for University
of Texas
|
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content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/paige-bueckers-named-2019-20-gatorade-national-girls-basketball-player-of-the-year-301019934.html
SOURCE The Gatorade Company