Natrona’s Kaylee Johnson 3-Peats As WY Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year

Kevin Koile, wyopreps.com, March 13, 2014

In its 29th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, announced Kaylee Johnson of Natrona County High School as its 2013-14 Gatorade Wyoming Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Johnson is the second Gatorade Wyoming Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Natrona 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 Johnson as Wyoming’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, Johnson joins an elite alumni association of past state girls basketball award winners, including Candace Parker (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 6-foot-2 senior forward and guard led the Fillies to an 18-4 record and a berth in the Class 4A state tournament, scheduled to begin March 13th.

Johnson averaged 16.7 points, 14.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 4.3 blocks while shooting 56 percent from the floor through 22 games.

The 2011-12 and 2012-13 Gatorade Wyoming Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Johnson led all of Class 4A in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocked shots.

Johnson has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom.

A member of the National Honor Society, she has volunteered locally on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Salvation Army and Kids Against Hunger in addition to assisting the elderly at an area retirement home.

“Kaylee Johnson is a very selfless teammate,” said Natrona County head coach Douglas Diehl. “She is also very coachable and an extremely competitive kid. She just keeps developing her game, as she demonstrated this year by leading the state in assists.”

Johnson has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on an athletic scholarship at Stanford University 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 the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, 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.

Three time winner Johnson joins Gatorade Wyoming Girls Basketball Players of the Year Jordan Kelley (2010-11 & 2009-10, Campbell County High School), Jordan Kent (2008-09, Campbell County), Kristen Scheffler (2007-08, Lovell), and Hillary Carlson (2006–07, Cheyenne Central) among the state’s list of former award winners.