Tonight, Gatorade announced Sadie Engelhardt and Cooper Flagg as the 2023-24 Gatorade Best Female and Best Male Players of the Year during the 2024 ESPYs. This prestigious honor places Engelhardt and Flagg among past winners, including Jayson Tatum, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The awards were presented live on stage by former Gatorade Best Female Players of the Year Candace Parker and Paige Bueckers.
The awards ceremony was part of a week-long celebration in Los Angeles, where the 12 Gatorade National Players of the Year experienced exclusive events. Highlights included photoshoots, early access to the latest Gatorade iD Drop, and a performance by Lil Yachty. The event also featured opportunities for athletes to give back to the community through Gatorade’s Equity in Sports initiative.
Engelhardt and Flagg and other Players of the Year visited local sports organizations to support young athletes. At Hollywood High School, they surprised LA Rec&Parks and Girls Athletic Leadership School with a $25,000 donation, presented by 2022-23 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year and USC guard Juju Watkins. This donation will cover sports programming, equipment, and fees for the next year.
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In addition to the $25,000 donations, each Gatorade Player of the Year receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. Athletes can submit videos explaining why their chosen organization deserves a Spotlight Grant, which provides an additional $10,000. This year’s 12 Spotlight Grant recipients joined the Los Angeles celebration, adding to the more than $4.9 million in grants awarded by Gatorade Player of the Year winners to over 1,600 organizations.
Sadie Engelhardt, a standout in California high school track and field, was the national leader in four events this season and led her team to a second-place finish at the state meet. She broke the national high school mile record with 4:28.46 at the HOKA Festival of Miles and clocked 4:08.86 in the 1500-meter run at the Portland Track Festival, ranking No. 5 in U.S. girls prep history. Engelhardt also broke the California record in the 1600 with a 4:32.06 at the state meet. She has maintained a weighted 4.59 GPA and is committed to competing at NC State.
Cooper Flagg, the nation’s No. 1 basketball recruit in the Class of 2024, led the Montverde Eagles to a perfect 34-0 season and a Chipotle Nationals title. Flagg, also the 2021-22 Gatorade Maine Player of the Year, averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 blocks, and 1.6 steals this season. He participated in fundraisers for the Ronald McDonald House and the Donovan Kurt Memorial Cancer Fund and volunteered at youth basketball camps and clinics. Flagg has a weighted 4.10 GPA and is signed to play at Duke University.
As part of the celebration, the 12 National Players of the Year received exclusive first access to Gatorade’s limited-edition Drop co-created with UNINTERRUPTED. Engelhardt and Flagg were the first to model the collection, which includes a vintage-inspired Gatorade-branded track jacket and towel, a t-shirt, a limited-edition snapback, and a Gx bottle. The Drop will be available for sale on the brand’s free membership platform, Gatorade iD, beginning Friday, July 12, at 10 a.m. ET, with limited quantities available.
For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
