Georgia has a strong tradition of producing top high school athletes across a variety of sports.Many of the state's finest went on to professional careers and some are on the path to hall of fame status.
MaxPreps is looking back at the best Georgia has produced this century, beginning with the graduating class of 2001. Selections were based primarily off high school resumes.
1. Maya Moore, Collins Hill (Suwanee)
Class: 2007
Sport: Basketball
Resume: A four-year starter, she was 125-3 in her prep career with three state titles. The 2007 MaxPreps National Player of the Year finished her prep career 2,664 points before heading to UConn and running off a 90-game win streak. She has a career record of 497-78, two NCAA titles and four more in the WNBA.
Class: 2018
Sport: Football
Resume: The No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft set the Georgia record for
career passing yards and touchdowns in high school. Lawrence won 41
straight games and two state titles with the Hurricanes while passing
for at least 3,000 yards all four years. In his final two years of high
school he threw 92 touchdowns against just 10 picks. Lawrence won a
national title at Clemson before joining Jacksonville.
3. Tyreek Hill, Coffee (Douglas)
Class: 2012
Sports: Football, track
Resume: Not just a football talent, he excelled in track and field during his high school career. He was the Track and Field News High School Athlete of the Year after setting state records in the 100 meters (10.19 seconds) and 200 meters (20.14). Hill has earned eight Pro Bowl trips in nine NFL seasons and gained 11,098 receiving yards.
4. Travis Hunter, Collins Hill (Suwanee)
Class: 2022
Sport: Football
Resume: Hunter dominated on both sides of the ball on his way to the Heisman
Trophy at Colorado, skills he perfected at Collins Hill. During four
high school seasons he caught 272 passes for 3,963 yards and 48
touchdowns while picking off 19 passes. In 2020, Hunter was named
MaxPreps National Junior the of Year after picking off eight passes
while hauling in 24 touchdowns offensively.
5. Dwight Howard, Southwest Atlanta Christian (Atlanta)
Class: 2004
Sport: Basketball
Resume: One of the top players in the nation as a senior, he led the Warriors to a state championship and earned multiple national accolades. He ranks 11th in NBA history in career rebounds with 14,627.
6. Calvin Johnson, Sandy Creek (Tyrone)
Class: 2004
Sports: Football, baseball
Resume: A two-sport phenom, he planned to play both football and baseball at Georgia Tech but decided to focus on the gridiron and became Megatron. Despite playing just nine seasons in the NFL, Johnson accumulated 11,619 career receiving yards and broke a NFL record with 1,964 yards in a single season. He has been named to the college and pro halls of fame.
Class: 2006 Sport: Baseball
Resume: Put up serious numbers as a senior, batting .462 with 40 RBI and 14 home runs as well as going 12-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 108 Ks as Lee County was runner-up in the AAAA state finals. Went to Florida State before being drafted fifth overall in the 2008 by the Giants. He helped San Francisco to World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014 before stepping away in 2021. He is now the president of operations for the Giants.
Class: 2014 Sport: Football
Resume: Ranks second in Georgia for career passing yards (13,077) and passing
touchdowns (155). His 17,124 yards of total offense and 218 total
touchdowns rank first all-time in state history. He was the
MaxPreps National Junior of the Year after throwing for 4,024 yards and 50
touchdowns.
Class: 2014 Sports: Football, track and field
Resume: The four-star football recruit also was a state title-winning track standout. He won the Class AAAA shot put as a senior and competed in a myriad of events. On the gridiron, he ran for more than 2,600 years and 41 touchdowns in his senior season and compiled nearly 7,000 yards on the ground in his prep career. He stayed home and played for Georgia before being drafted in 2018 by the Cleveland Browns. He has come back from two separate knee injuries and rushed for 6,843 yards in seven seasons.
10. Derrick Favors, South Atlanta (Atlanta)Class: 2009 Sport: Basketball
Resume: In
a dominant state championship game performance during his senior year,
Favors racked up 38 points and 21 rebounds. He averaged 28.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.0
blocks and 3.0 steals per contest during his final year in 2008-09 and won
MVP honors of both the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand
Classic. The 12-year NBA veteran won MaxPreps National Player of the
Year honors in 2009.
