Daimion Collins named Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas

Kentucky Wildcats big man Daimion Collins has been named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Texas. After a dominating season of averaging 30.5 PPG, 13.6 rebounds per game, and an incredible 8.7 blocks per game, Collins took home the honor.

Collins finished his senior season as a consensus top-15 prospect in the class of 2021. Collins was ranked as the No. 1 player coming out of Texas this past season and was seen as the No. 3 power forward in the country, according to 247 Sports.

Here is what Gatorade had to say about Collins’ award win:

A member of the 4-H Club, Collins has volunteered locally with Driven to Change, a non-profit organization that mentors children on leadership, academic and career development. “Daimion Collins is an exceptional shot-blocker who is usually first to the rim on missed shots—displaying length, explosiveness and a quick second jump,” said Paul Biancardi, ESPN National Recruiting Director. “He makes himself an excellent target to finish drop-off passes by rolling to the rim with dependable hands and explosive athleticism.”

Collins has maintained a weighted 3.88 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Kentucky this fall.

Collins joins recent Gatorade Texas Boys Basketball Players of the Year Greg Brown III (2019-20, Vandegrift High School), R.J. Hampton (2018-19, Little Elm High School), Quentin Grimes (2017-18, The Woodlands College Park High School), and Marcus Garrett (2016-17, Skyline High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Through Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Collins has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of their choosing. Collins is also eligible to submit a 30-second video explaining why the organization they chose is deserving of one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $2.7 million across 1,117 organizations.

For the state of Kentucky, Sam Vinson from the Sweet-16 Champs, Highlands, took home the prize.

Other notable winners include Nolan Hickman from Utah (Gonzaga), D.J Wagner from New Jersey, Brandon Miller from Tennessee, and Chris Livingston from Ohio.