The Gatorade Player of the Year award is one of the most prestigious honors in high school basketball.
The award, which was established in 1985, is given to one player in every U.S. state to recognize them “for their success on the court, in the classroom and in the community,” Gatorade writes in its award press releases.
In New England’s history of the award, boys winners have included Marcus Camby (Connecticut, 1993), Joe Mazzulla (Rhode Island, 2005 and 2006), Michael Carter-Williams (Rhode Island, 2010 and 2011), Andre Drummond (Connecticut, 2011), Terance Mann (New Hampshire, 2015), and more recently, Cooper Flagg (Maine, 2022) and AJ Dybantsa (Massachusetts, 2023).
This season, the competition was fierce in New England. Here are the winners in the region’s six states, which were announced on Thursday.
Connecticut: Abdou Toure, Notre Dame (West Haven)
Class of 2026, 6-6 wing
Hometown: New Haven, Conn.
Toure carried the momentum from his big 2024 summer – when he suited up for Guinea at the U17 World Cup and tied the event’s single-game scoring record with 50 points – into another strong winter with Notre Dame. The wing averaged more than 25 points per game as he led the Green Knights to a second consecutive CIAC Division 1 championship, which he clinched with a 27-point, 20-rebound performance. Toure is ranked as the No. 26 recruit nationally in the 2026 class by both 24/7 Sports and Rivals.
Maine: Jamier Rose, Noble High School
Class of 2025, 5-10 guard
Hometown: Berwick, Maine
Rose was named Maine’s Mr. Basketball this season after averaging 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 5.1 steals per game. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior guard led Noble to an 18-3 record and a berth in Maine’s Class A regional final.
RELATED: Here are New England's girls Gatorade Player of the Year winners
Massachusetts: Jaylen Harrell, CATS Academy
Class of 2025, 6-6 wing
Hometown: Boston, Mass.
Harrell becomes the first back-to-back winner of the award in Massachusetts since 2009 and 2010, when former St. Mark’s star Nate Lubick did so. Harrell, who is committed to play at Providence, averaged 22.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game as he led CATS to a 28-7 record and runner-up finish in NEPSAC Class AA.
New Hampshire: Ebuka Okorie, Brewster Academy
Class of 2025, 6-2 guard
Hometown: Nashua, N.H.
Okorie transferred to Brewster prior to this season and made a major impact for the Bobcats, averaging 13.1 points per game, 54.5 percent shooting from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range. The Stanford commit has helped lead Brewster to a 27-4 record this season and a berth in the Chipotle High School Basketball Nationals, which takes place in April.
Rhode Island: Liam Simpson, La Salle Academy
Class of 2025, 6-6 forward
Hometown: Providence, R.I.
Simpson led La Salle to a 27-2 record and the Division 1 state championship this season as he averaged 12.1 points, 15.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists while shooting 62.8 percent from the floor through 27 games. He won MVP in the state final after a 21-point, 18-rebound performance.
Vermont: Rex Hauser, St. Johnsbury Academy
Class of 2025, 6-6 wing
Hometown: Waterford, Vt.
Hauser averaged 23.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game while shooting 53.2 percent from the floor as he led the Hilltoppers to a 16-6 record and a berth in the Division 1 state semifinals. The three-year captain is committed to play baseball at Maine.
