Arik Gilbert Named Gatorade High School Male Athlete of the Year

LSU freshman tight end Arik Gilbert was named the 2020 Gatorade high school male athlete of the year Friday, the first tight end to ever win the award.

Gilbert caught 105 passes for 1,860 yards and 15 touchdowns last year for Marietta High School. He helped Marietta win the 7A state championship and is the highest rated tight end recruit in 247’s history.

Paige Bueckers a basketball player from Minnetonka, Minnesota, was Gatorade’s 2020 female high school athlete of the year. She led Hopkins High School to the 4A state championship and a 30-0 record while averaging 21 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five steals. Bueckers will be playing basketball for the UConn Huskies.

“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.”

Gilbert and Bueckers received the news from a variety of professional athletes including Peyton Manning, JJ Watt, Sue Bird, Brittney Griner and LSU’s own Joe Burrow.