Cameron Boozer, Jane Hedengren Named Gatorade Best Players of the Year at ESPY Awards

Incoming Duke basketball player Cameron Boozer and BYU cross country and track and field commit Jane Hedengren were recognized as the best high school athletes of the year Wednesday.

Boozer and Hedengren took home the Gatorade Best Male and Female Players of the Year awards during the broadcast of the ESPYS on ESPN. Track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford announced the winners during the annual award show.

Here is the full list of finalists who were up for the award:

• Aaliyah Chavez, National Girls Basketball Player of the Year 
• Cameron Boozer, National Boys Basketball Player of the Year 
• Keelon Russell, National Football Player of the Year 
• Seth Hernandez, National Baseball Player of the Year 
• Addison Halpern, National Girls Soccer Player of the Year 
• Charlie Vause, National Boys Cross Country Player of the Year 
• Jane Hedengren, National Girls Cross Country + Track & Field Player of the Year 
• Tate Taylor, National Boys Track and Field Player of the Year 
• Hannah Wells, National Softball Player of the Year 
• Dan Klink, National Boys Soccer Player of the Year
• Campbell Flynn, National Girls Volleyball Player of the Year 

Boozer is a familiar name among sports fans, as he is the son of former Duke star and NBA player Carlos Boozer. He is following in his father's footsteps and joining the Blue Devils, which is quite the legacy to live up to as he enters the college game.

After all, his father was a national champion, All-American and ACC tournament MVP with Duke and then played with the Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers over the course of 13 seasons.

The younger Boozer is well on his way to building his own legacy, and Wednesday's award is just his latest achievement. He was also the 2022-23 Gatorade National Player of the Year and was recently a member of the McDonald's All-American team and Team USA's Nike Hoop Summit squad.

Boozer is a highly regarded recruit and could be Duke's next star freshman after Cooper Flagg departed for the NBA. He is the No. 3 overall player and No. 1 power forward in the 2025 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

As for Hedengren, her list of accomplishments includes no shortage of record-shattering performances.

She set the national record with a time of 8:40.03 in the 3,000-meter run at the Nike Outdoor Nationals this past season. Her time was more than 18 seconds better than the previous national record.

What's more, she set national high school records in the mile, two-mile and 5,000-meter run this past season while also winning the mile competition at the HOKA Festival of Miles, the two-mile competition at the Brooks PR Invitational and the 1,600-meter run at the UHSAA state meet.

"Jane Hedengren delivered the multi-generational type of season we've never seen before and might never see again," Rich Gonzalez, who is an editor for  PrepCalTrack.com, said. Pure domination in the distance events and a ridiculous re-writing of the record books at multiple distances.

"The only thing more amazing than her repeated displays of mind-boggling stamina was her sheer grace in doing so, never flashing any sign of physical duress during her parade of record assaults. Her senior year resume was truly remarkable."

And now she is a Gatorade Player of the Year.