As we say goodbye to the decade that still has no name, MaxPreps identifies the top 10 athletes from 2000-2009. Keep in mind, the choices represent athletes who made their mark on the high school level. What they accomplished in the following years is noteworthy, but for purposes of this list it is irrelevant. That is why players such as Olympic champion wrestler Henry Cejudo, who only competed for two years in Arizona, are not on this list.
Here are the top 10 with their school, sports and position (when relevant).
1. Kenzie Fowler, Oro Valley Canyon del Oro, softball, P: Softball is all about pitching, and nobody dominated that position like Fowler. In her career, she won 105 games and tossed 30 no-hitters, helping CDO win three state titles from 2007-2009 (the Dorados were runners-up in 2006). Last season, she posted 25 wins, three of them perfect games, and batted .466 with 45 RBI, earning Gatorade National Player of the Year honors for a second straight season – the only player ever to earn that distinction. Fowler now plays for the University of Arizona, a longtime national power.
2. Kendra Strohm, Tucson Salpointe, tennis: Strohm became the first girls player in Arizona history to win four straight state titles, but the gaudier stat is this: She lost just one set her entire high school career in the state’s biggest class (5A or 5A-I). No other player on this list can boast such dominance over the competition.
3. Anthony Robles, Mesa, wrestling: Despite being born with one leg, Robles won two state championships in his final two years after finishing sixth as a sophomore. Robles went 49-0 in each of his last two seasons, helping Mesa to the team championship in his senior year before heading off to Arizona State.
4. Ryno Bethel, Willcox, baseball, P: His 59 career varsity wins are an Arizona record at any class, as are his 17 wins posted in back-to-back seasons and his 575 career strikeouts. Willcox also won three state championships from 1999-2001 as Bethel posted an astounding 34-game winning streak.
5. Jacquelyn Johnson, Yuma, track: She won 14 state championships in her career and was a three-time champ in the hurdles and triple jump. She also set state records in the 100 meter hurdles (13.6) and the high jump (5A record, 6 feet).
6. Nicole Powell, Phoenix Mountain Pointe, basketball, C/F: The greatest girls basketball player in Arizona history had a career that started in the 1990s, but spilled into this decade. She scored 2,478 career points and had 1,760 career rebounds, averaging 21.1 points and 15.5 rebounds as a senior, when she was named a Parade Magazine First Team All-American. Powell was successful at whatever she tried, and she tried a lot. She won the state discus title in 2000, and was also an Arizona 5A doubles runner-up in tennis that same year. She also won state badminton singles titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999. The only thing that eluded her? A state basketball title. Powell finished as a runner-up three times, losing to a Chandler High team loaded with Division I prospects each time.
7. Marcus Thomas, Tolleson, football, RB: Thomas set the state’s single-season rushing record with 3,573 and 47 touchdowns in his senior year, including 426 yards and seven TDs vs. Phoenix Moon Valley. The 3,573 career yards are 612 more than the next-closest career rusher. He also had 2,087 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns in his junior season.
8. Jerryd Bayless, Phoenix St. Mary’s, basketball, G: Bayless made The Arizona Republic’s All-Arizona team all four years for the Knights and was named its big school player of the year in each of his last two seasons. He holds the 5A record for average points over a career with 28.8. His teams finished as state runners-up twice, losing both times to Mesa Mountain View’s three-peat state champs. He currently plays for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.
9. Bre Ladd, Oro Valley Canyon del Oro, volleyball, MB: The only Arizona player ever to earn Gatorade National Player of the Year honors, Ladd posted 971 career kills, 146 aces and 146 blocks.
10. Kyle Caldwell, Scottsdale Saguaro, football, DE: The three-time all-state player put up sick numbers in his senior year. Saguaro officially lists him with 131 tackles, 34 tackles for loss, 30 (yes, 30) sacks, 29 quarterback hurries, four caused fumbles and three fumble recoveries. There was no doubting Caldwell's enormous impact on a game. Unfortunately for Caldwell, a severe knee injury cut his promising career short at Arizona State.
Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 18 years. He currently serves as the Phoenix correspondent for CBSSports.com, covering the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns and other pro and college teams in Arizona. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at
