Katie Lou Samuelson could be the next great player to make her way to Storrs. The high school standout is considered the best player in the country, and like those that came before her and went on to great things at UConn -- Breanna Stewart, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Maya Moore, for example -- Samuelson has been named the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Some of her accomplishments -- both on and off the court, via the press release:
- Has led her team to a 29-2 record and a berth in the quarterfinals of the Open Division state tournament
- Averaging 30.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game
- Leading scorer for the USA Basketball Women’s U17 National Team that won the FIBA World Championship in 2014
- Selected as 2015 Morgan Wootten Player of the Year and to play in both the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic
- Maintains a 4.26 weighted GPA in the classroom
- Volunteers as a coach and counselor for the Kiernan/Mater Dei Camp of Champions and participates in community service initiatives such as the Santa Ana YMCA’s Tie Blanket Project
Samuelson also won the Naismith Award last week, which honors the country's best player.
Looking ahead, UConn's 2015-2016 class includes Samuelson, Napheesa Collier and De’Janae Boykin, who are all top-10 players. There's also Georgetown transfer (and 2013-14 Big East freshman of the year) Natalie Butler.
