Paige Bueckers and Arik Gilbert Named Gatorade High School Athletes of the Year

CHICAGO, July 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Gatorade announced the recipients of its 18^th annual Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards. Paige Bueckers was named the 2020 Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year and Arik Gilbert was named the 2020 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year. Bueckers is the first female basketball player to win the award since 2014, and Gilbert is the first tight end in history to win.

"Arik and Paige are truly the best of the best, outshining not only the fierce competition among the exceptional Gatorade National Players of the Year, but also beating out nearly six million student-athletes that participate in the sports our 12 nominees play," said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O'Brien. "What makes the Gatorade Athlete of the Year award so prestigious is not just the sheer size and quality of the talent pool, but also the criteria to be outstanding on the field of play, in the classroom and in the community."

Gatorade's Male and Female Athletes of the Year awards are among the most difficult to win in high school sports. Recent female winners have included the first prep to run a 100-meter dash in under 11 seconds, a 16-year-old Olympic semifinalist and the first student-athlete to win National Player of the Year honors in two different sports. Recent male winners have included the current starting quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals, a 2020 NBA All-Star, last season's starting quarterback at USC, and the KC Royals' No. 1 prospect.

Gatorade Athletes of the Year have gone on to have incredible success – they've combined for nine MVP awards, 13 National Championships, 59 all-star appearances and 20 were first round draft picks. Their accomplishments are more impressive in the context of their competition. The athletes who've been nominated but didn't win still went on to win hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.

2019-20 GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

Bueckers: A three-time Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Bueckers of Hopkins High School (Minnetonka, Minn.), led the Royals to a perfect 30-0 record and the Minnesota Class 4A state championship game, which was canceled due to concerns over coronavirus. She averaged 21.0 points, 9.2 assists, 5.2 steals and 5.1 rebounds per game. Below are additional facts about Bueckers:

• Named the 2020 Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year
• Winner of the 2020 Miss Minnesota Basketball Award
• Named the 2019 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year
• Three-time Minneapolis Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year and FIBA World Cup U19 MVP
• Starter for the gold-medal winning USA Basketball U19 Women's World Cup Team and tournament MVP
• Ranked as the nation's No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2020 by ESPN
• 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
• Maintained a 3.80 GPA in the classroom
• Signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Connecticut this fall

Arik Gilbert: Gilbert of Marietta High School (Marietta, Ga.), led the Blue Devils to a 13-2 record and the Georgia Class 7A state title, the school's first in 52 years. A two-time All-State honoree, he was also named Region 3 Offensive Player of the Year as a junior and selected to play in the 2020 All-American Bowl. He caught 105 passes for 1,860 yards and 15 touchdowns. Below are additional facts about Gilbert:

• Ranked as the nation's No. 1 tight end prospect in the Class of 2020 by ESPN and Rivals
• Ranked as the No. 11 player in the country regardless of position by Rivals
• Founded a campus-wide initiative called "Whisper," which urges students to have device-free conversations and supports diversity and inclusion efforts
• Volunteered on behalf of the East Atlanta Kids Club, Habitat for Humanity and March of Dimes
• Served as a parishioner at the Life Revolution Church and donated more than 50 hours to Marietta elementary schools and the Marietta Youth Football program
• Maintained a 3.14 GPA in the classroom
• He verbally committed to play football on scholarship at Louisiana State University this fall

2019-20 GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINEES

From the 12 national award winners in 12 different sports, Gatorade names one male and one female athlete as the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year. Below are this year's nominees:

PAST GATORADE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

Former winners of Gatorade Male and Female High School Athlete of the Year award include:

Established in 1985, the Gatorade Player of the Year program recognizes the nation's most elite high school athletes for their accomplishments on and off the field. Winners are selected in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field. One National Player of the Year is awarded in each sport, becoming the nominees for the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year award, which was established in 2003.

For more information on the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards and the Gatorade Player of the Year program, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.

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 $67 billion in net revenue in 2019, 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 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business.  For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE The Gatorade Company