New York has a strong tradition of producing top high school athletes across a variety of sports.
Many of the state's best have gone on to professional careers or shined on the Olympic stage.
MaxPreps is looking back at the best the state has produced this century, beginning with the graduating class of 2001. Selections were based primarily off high school resumes.
1. Tina Charles, Christ the King (Middle Village) 2006
Sport: Basketball
Resume: Part of one of the greatest high school teams of all time, Charles
played on a Royals squad that won 57 straight, including a undefeated
2006 season in which they were ranked No. 1 by USA Today. She added two national titles at UConn titles before being selected No. 1 in the 2010 WNBA Draft. She is
the second all-time leading scorer in league history with 7,961 points.
Class: 2012
Sport: Basketball
Resume: A
2,000-point scorer in high school, she averaged 26.4 points and 14.2
rebounds per game as a senior while earning every major national honor,
including MaxPreps National Player of the Year. A three-time POY in college with four NCAA titles, she is a multi-time MVP as a
pro and a lock for the Hall of Fame when her playing days are over.
Class: 2021 Sports: Cross country, track and field
Resume: She was named a Gatorade National Athlete of the Year four times — three in cross country and once in track and field. Tuohy was a three-time Nike Cross National champion in high school and broke national records in the mile, 3000 meters indoor, 3200 meters and 5000 meters indoor. She also won four NCAA championships in track and field and cross country combined.
Class: 2005
Sports: Basketball, football
Resume: Led his school to the state football championship as the team's quarterback and was the No. 1 basketball recruit in the state in 2005. He spent four seasons on the Duke basketball team and then spent one season playing quarterback at Syracuse.
Class: 2004 Sport: Basketball
Resume: The
6-foot guard was selected directly out of high school with the No. 13
pick in the 2004 NBA Draft before bouncing around to eight different NBA
franchises in 10 seasons. Telfair earned USA Mr. Basketball honors in
2004 after averaging 33.2 points per contest during his senior campaign.
The flashy point guard led Lincoln to three consecutive PSAL Class A
titles from 2002 through 2004 and was a two-time Parade All-American.
Class: 2009 Sport: Baseball
Resume: Though only 5-foot-8, Stroman proved doubters wrong with his live arm and fastball that hit 92 miles per hour as a senior. He went 8-1 with a 1.85 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 64.1 innings while grabbing a host of postseason honors. Stroman was drafted 18th in 2009 by the Washington Nationals but chose to play for Duke where he set the school mark in strikeouts and was even a position player. In his 11th season, he is a two-time All-Star and was the 2017 World Baseball Classic MVP.
Resume:
The MaxPreps National Athlete of the Year as a senior, Girard led Glens
Falls to state titles on the gridiron and hardwood while shattering Lance Stephenson's scoring mark (4,763 points). He played basketball collegiately at Syracuse and Clemson.
Class: 2009 Sport: Basketball
Resume: Broke the state career scoring record as a senior (2,946 points), surpassing Telfair. Stevenson also became the first to play on four consecutive New York PSAL Class AA champions. As a senior he averaged 28.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Played two seasons at Cincinnati before a 12-year NBA career.
Class: 2021 Sport: Basketball
Resume: A McDonald's All-American she led the Koalas to a 14-0 mark and Section 1
title in a pandemic-shortened season. Citron averaged 26.5 points per game, helping Ursuline compile a 38-game win streak dating to the prior season. The USA Basketball gold medalist finished her career
with 2,243 points and
1,192 rebounds. She played four years at Notre Dame and was the third overall pick in this year's draft by the Washington Mystics.
Class: 2017 Sport: track and field
Resume: Watson won the New Balance Nationals 800-meter race in 2:05.7 as a senior. She later bested that time by five seconds with her 2:00.78, ranking as the third-fastest in high school history at the time. She won multiple state titles before running at Texas A&M, where she won the NCAA Division I title in the 800 as a freshman.
