Five of the nation's best high school flag football players have emerged as finalists for MaxPreps National Player of the Year honors. This will mark the inaugural award sponsored by MaxPreps in the sport
Representing five different states and championship programs, the finalists include
Ariana Akey of
Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch, Colo.),
Mariah Harrison of
Central (Phenix City, Ala.),
Jaylani Palmer of
Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas, Nev.),
Samaya Taylor-Jenkins of
Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) and
Daisy Throckmorton of
McClatchy (Sacramento, Calif.).
The MaxPreps National Player of the Year will be announced Monday, June 15. MaxPreps will also recognize underclass players of the year and All-Americans.
Ariana Akey,
Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)A two-time Colorado Player of the Year, Akey led Mountain Vista to a second straight undefeated season capped with another state championship. In the title game, she completed 31 of 40 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 104 yards and five scores. In two seasons, the Nebraska commit threw 171 touchdown passes, rushed for 35 more, recorded 131 flag pulls and intercepted 13 passes as a defensive back. She was named AFC MVP at the NFL FLAG Showcase during the Pro Bowl festivities in February.
Mariah Harrison,
Central (Phenix City, Ala.)Transitioning into the starting quarterback role this season, Harrison made sure Central never missed a beat. She led the Red Devils to their third consecutive state championship and helped extend their win streak to 57 games. Harrison threw for 3,941 passing yards and 80 touchdowns while adding 18 rushing scores.
Jaylani Palmer,
Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas, Nev.)The Nevada Player of the Year helped lead the Mustangs to their fourth state championship in the past five seasons while proving to be one of the nation's most versatile playmakers. Palmer finished the season with 1,886 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns, 527 rushing yards and two scores and 1,197 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. Defensively, she recorded 23 interceptions. The Nebraska signee finished her career third all-time nationally with 7,712 receiving yards, second all-time with 130 receiving touchdowns and stands alone as the national career leader with 70 interceptions.
Samaya Taylor-Jenkins,
Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)Taylor-Jenkins capped her stellar career at Hamilton by earning consecutive Arizona Player of the Year honors and once again proving herself as one of the nation's elite two-way stars. Her game-changing ability on both sides of the ball helped fuel a second consecutive perfect season and state title run for the Huskies. Taylor-Jenkins hauled in 32 touchdown receptions, snagged 14 interceptions and capped her career by earning a spot in the NFL FLAG Showcase at the Pro Bowl.
Daisy Throckmorton,
McClatchy (Sacramento, Calif.)The MaxPreps California Player of the Year guided McClatchy to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship and saved one of her best performances for the title game. Throckmorton completed 33 of 37 passes for 441 yards and five touchdowns without throwing an interception against West Park. For the season, she accounted for 7,934 passing yards and 112 touchdown passes while adding 1,149 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. She finished her career fifth on the all-time passing yards list with 16,559 passing yards and seventh all-time with 230 touchdown passes. Throckmorton signed with Cal Poly in April.
