Sydney Moss Named Gatorade Kentucky Girls Basketball Player of the Year

CHICAGO (March 8, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Sydney Moss of Boone County (Florence, Ky.) as its 2011-12 Gatorade Kentucky Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Moss is the first Gatorade Kentucky Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Boone County High School.

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 Moss as Kentucky's best high school girls basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award announced in March, Moss joins an elite alumni association of past state girls basketball award-winners, including Candace Parker (2003-04, 2002-03, & 2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Diana Taurasi (1998-99 & 1999-00, Don Antonio Lugo HS, Calif.), Maya Moore (2005-06 Collins Hill HS, Ga.), Rashanda McCants (2004-05, Asheville HS, N.C.), Shyra Ely (1999-00, Ben Davis HS, Ind.) and Lisa Leslie (1988-89, Morningside HS, Calif.).

The 5-foot-10 senior guard has led the Rebels to a 30-3 record and a berth in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen State Tournament against Dunbar High, scheduled for March 7. Moss averaged 22.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 4.2 steals and 1.6 blocks per game heading into the state tournament. A two-time Cincinnati Enquirer Player of the Year and a two-time Louisville Courier Journal First Team All-State selection, Moss is a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American. She had scored 2,935 points in her prep basketball career entering the 2012 postseason.

Moss has maintained a B average in the classroom. The daughter of former NFL All-Pro Randy Moss, she has volunteered locally as part of a fundraising campaign to benefit cancer research, as a youth basketball coach and as a member of the Boone County High PEP Club.

"Sydney Moss gets her teammates involved and knows when it is her time to take over," said Jeff Stowers, head coach at Simon Kenton High. "She does her work quietly and then the stat sheet is loud."

Moss has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on an athletic scholarship at the University of Florida this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner 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, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPNHS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Moss joins recent Gatorade Kentucky Girls Basketball Players of the Year Sara Hammond (2010-11, Rockcastle County High School), Sarah Beth Barnette (2009-10, Lexington Christian Academy), A'dia Mathies (2008-09, Iroquois), Tia Gibbs (2007-08, Butler Traditional), Rebecca Gray (2006 – 07, Scott County), Crystal Kelly (2003-04, Sacred Heart Academy), and Crystal Kelly (2002-03, Sacred Heart Academy) among the state's list of former award winners.

To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.