Sam Lecholat – Gatorade Player of the Year
SHERIDAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED
GATORADE® WYOMING BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
In its 35th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, today announced
Sam Lecholat of Sheridan High School
as its
2019-20 Gatorade Wyoming Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Lecholat is the second Gatorade Wyoming Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Sheridan 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 field, distinguishes Lecholat as Wyoming’s best high school boys basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award, Lecholat joins an elite alumni association of past state boys basketball award winners, including Karl-Anthony Towns (2012-13 & 2013-14, St. Joseph High School, N.J.), Dwight Howard (2003-04, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, Ga.), Chris Bosh (2001-02, Lincoln High School, Texas), Paul Pierce (1994-95, Inglewood High School, Calif.), Chauncey Billups (1993-94 & 1994-95, George Washington High School, Colo.) and Jason Kidd (1991-92, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, Calif.).
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound junior forward led the Broncs to a 15-8 record and a berth in the Class 4A state tournament quarterfinals at the time of his selection. Lecholat averaged 18.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks though 23 games. A First Team All-State selection as a sophomore, he led Class 4A in rebounding and was fourth in scoring this regular season.
Lecholat has volunteered locally on community beautification projects and with the Salvation Army. “Sam has played in the biggest games and at the biggest times, he’s delivered,” said Lex Cornia, head coach of Evanston High. “The fact he’s a dual threat inside and outside makes him a difficult player to go against.”
Lecholat has maintained a 3.86 GPA in the classroom. He has made a verbal commitment to play basketball on scholarship at Montana State University beginning in the fall of 2021.
Lecholat joins Gatorade Wyoming Boys Basketball Players of the Year Erik Oliver (2018-19, Cheyenne East High School), Trey Hladky (2017-18 & 2016-17, Campbell County High School), Hoyt Nicholas (2015-16, Worland High School), and Jalen Krening (2014-15, Rawlins High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.
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 Player of the Year Selection Committee, 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.
The 2019-2020 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year announcement has been temporarily postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. To ensure the safety of everyone involved, The Gatorade Company will follow the guidance of experts and health officials as it determines the appropriate time to announce this year’s winner.
As a part of Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Lecholat also has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of his choosing. He is also eligible to submit an essay to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.
Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit www.Gatorade.com/POY, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.
