Maya Moore, Paige Bueckers, Juju Watkins and Breanna Stewart are a few of the high
school basketball stars to win MaxPreps National Player of the Year
since 2006 when the honor was first awarded.
Aaliyah Chavez of
Monterey (Lubbock, Texas) was named the 2024-25 winner earlier this month, becoming the third Texan to win high school basketball's highest honor.
Of the 19 players on this list, seven were No. 1 overall picks, including Paige Bueckers who was taken Monday with the first choice by the Dallas Wings.
Below, we look back at
what every former National Player of the Year accomplished in high
school, college, as a professional and where they are now.
High school: Scored 3,161 career points for the Rams, averaging 37.9 points per game as a senior. St. Mary's went 54-11 in her junior and senior years, winning a Division III title in 2004-05.
College: Injuries plagued her at USC, missing three seasons before debuting in 2009-10. She played a full season in 2010-11, but only nine games the next year.
Professional: Drafted in 2012 by the Minnesota Lynx, but was released before the season started. Played in both Greece and then in the WNBA in 2015 with the Chicago Sky.
Now: Working in sports management.
2007 — Maya Moore, Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.)
High school: A four-year starter, she was 125-3 in her prep career with three state titles. She finished with 2,664 points.
College: She won two NCAA titles at UConn and was the two-time Naismith College Player of the Year. She was 150-4 at UConn and scored 3,036 points.
Professional: Four-time WNBA champion, played seven seasons with the Minnesota Lynx after being first overall pick in 2011. Earned WNBA MVP honors in 2014. Inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025. She is one of 11 to win an Olympic gold, a NCAA title, a FIBA World Cup gold and WNBA championship.
Now: Continues her social justice work with her organization, Win With Justice.
2008 — Nneka Ogwumike, Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas)
High school: Led the Bobcats to a 5A title in her senior season. Averaged 16.8 points per game as Cy-Fair went 39-2.
College: Reached four Finals Fours at Stanford and left the Cardinal as the program's second-leading scorer.
Professional: Drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2012. Won a title in 2016, the same year she earned league MVP honors.
Now: Still playing in the WNBA with the Seattle Storm.
2009 — Skylar Diggins, South Bend Washington (South Bend, Ind.)
High school: Indiana Miss Basketball and a McDonald's All American, she helped the Panthers to a 2007 state title and finished her career with 2,790 points.
College: Led Notre Dame to three Final Four appearances and two straight title game berths. Compiled more than 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 steals.
Professional: A six-time WNBA All-Star, she's played 12 seasons in the league after being drafted in 2013 by the Tulsa Shock, now the Dallas Wings. She has averaged more than 16 points per game for her career.
Now: Signed a two-year deal in 2024 with the Seattle Storm.
2010 — Chiney Ogwumike, Cy-Fair
High school: She was on the 5A title team with older sister Nneka. She added another in her senior season and was a McDonald's All American
College: Joined her sister at Stanford and left as the Pac-12 Conference's all-time scoring leader for men or women.
Professional: Drafted by the Connecticut Sun in 2014, she spent nine years in the league and was a two-time All Star.
Now: Working in media as as basketball analyst at ESPN.
2011 — Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
High school: Holds the school record for points with 2,744 and led the Monarchs to two titles.
College: Three-peated at UConn in her sophomore through senior seasons, finishing with with 2,178 points.
Professional: Drafted in 2015 by the Seattle Storm, she won a WNBA title in 2018. She played five seasons in the WNBA.
Now: She recently signed to play with the Australian Ballarat Miners.
2012 — Breanna Stewart, Cicero-North Syracuse (Cicero, N.Y.)
High school: Averaged 26.4 points and 14.2 rebounds in her senior season while earning every major national honor.
College: College National Player of the Year honors three times while at Connecticut, she also is an Olympic gold medalist.
Professional: Drafted No. 1 in 2016 by Seattle, she is a three-time WNBA champion and two-time league MVP. Stewart recently signed with the New York Liberty last year.
Now: One of the most accomplished players in history is the co-founder of the Unrivaled league with Napheesa Collier.
2013 — Diamond DeShields, Norcross (Ga.)
High school: Led the Blue Devils to three state titles while averaging 26 points per game as a senior.
College: Played at North Carolina and Tennessee. A first team All-ACC in 2014 and first team All-SEC in 2017.
Professional: Third overall pick by the Chicago Sky in 2018, DeShields won a WNBA title in 2021. She is averaging 11.6 points in her six seasons.
Now: Earlier this year, she signed a one-year deal with the Connecticut Sun.
2014 — A'ja Wilson, Heathwood Hall Episcopal (Columbia, S.C.)
High school: Averaged nearly 25 points per game and led the school to a 2014 state title.
College: Played four seasons at South Carolina, finishing her career as the school's all-time leading scorer.
Professional: The first overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces, she has won two titles and three league MVPs. Wilson was the 2024 scoring champion.
Now: Designed her own shoe with Nike, the A'One.
2015 — Ali Patberg, Columbus North (Columbus, Ind.)
High school: Led her team to a Class 4A title as a senior and ended with 2,026 career points.
College: Played at Notre Dame and Indiana, scoring 1,752 career points.
Professional: Selected by the Indiana Fever in the 2022 Draft, she was cut a short time later.
Now: Serving as an assistant coach at Indiana.
2016 — Sabrina Ionescu, Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.)
High school: A four-year starter, she helped the Matadors to the Open Division title game as a senior. Averaged 25.3 points, 8.8 assists and 7.6 rebounds in her senior campaign, leaving Miramonte with 2,606 points.
College: The 2020 AP Player of the Year, she was a three-time Pac-12 Player of the Year at Oregon. She averaged 18 points per game in her Ducks career and is considered one of the school's greatest athletes.
Professional: The first overall pick in the 2020 draft by the New York Liberty, she won a WNBA title in 2024. She is a three-time All-Star.
Now: Still playing, she has made an impact with her philanthropic work as well as her best-selling Nike shoes, the Sabrina 1 and most recently the Sabrina 2.
2017 — Megan Walker, Monacan (Richmond, Va.)
High school: Won three straight state titles with the Chiefs and went 104-7 in her prep career.
College: Earned first team All-America honors in 2020 at UConn.
Professional: Drafted ninth overall by the New York Liberty in the 2020 WNBA Draft and played her rookie season in the WNBA Bubble. Played two more seasons, one each with Phoenix and then Atlanta.
Now: Playing in Russia for BC UMMC Ekaterinburg.
2018 — Christyn Williams, Central Arkansas Christian (North Little Rock, Ark.)
High school: Capped her career with a Class 4A title and 117-24 overall record. She was the McDonald's All American Game MVP and averaged nearly 27 points as a senior.
College: Played for Geno Auriemma at UConn, earning AAC Freshman of the Year honors. Averaged 14.0 points in four seasons.
Professional: Drafted in 2022 by the Washington Mystics as the 14th overall pick, she was injured in practice and didn't play in 2022 or 2023 when she was signed by the Phoenix Mercury.
Now: Recently signed a training-camp contract with the Minnesota Lynx.
2019 — Azzi Fudd, St. John's (Washington, D.C.)
High school: Earning top MaxPreps honors as a sophomore, she lost time to injuries and the COVID pandemic as a junior and senior.
College: This year's NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Fudd only played in 17 games in 2022-23 and 2023-24 due to knee injuries.
2020 — Paige Bueckers, Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.)
High school: She was on her way to an unbeaten championship season when the pandemic canceled her senior year. She averaged 21.4 points, 9.4 assists, 5.4 steals and 5.0 rebounds for the nation's No. 4 team.
College: Capped her UConn career with an NCAA championship, leading the Huskies to a dominating win over South Carolina.
Professional: The No. 1 pick in this year's WNBA Draft by the Dallas
2021 — Raven Johnson, Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.)
High school: Won four straight state titles with the Lions and was twice named Miss Georgia Basketball.
College: A two-time NCAA champion with South Carolina, Johnson is averaging 5.6 points per game in three seasons.
2022 and 2023 — Juju Watkins, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
High school: Led the Trailblazers to an Open Division title as a junior and became the first repeat National Player of the Year winner in her senior season. Averaged 28 points as a senior and scored a school-record 60 in a game.
College: After earning multiple freshman honors at USC, she was the 2024-25 National Player of the Year by many outlets. She tore her ACL in the NCAA tournament and her status for next season remains uncertain.
High school: A standout in Tennessee before transferring to Montverde Academy for her senior season, she led the Eagles to a Chipotle Nationals title.
College: The Big Ten Freshman of the Year, she averaged 16.0 points per game for the 26-7 Buckeyes.
