Grandview’s Sienna Betts named Gatorade Colorado girls basketball player of the year

Grandview’s Sienna Betts was named the 2022-23 Gatorade Colorado Girls Basketball Player of the Year, the organization announced Wednesday. Betts is the third Gatorade Colorado Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Grandview, joining her sister, Lauren, who won the last two years.

At the time of her selection, the 6-foot-4 sophomore forward had led the Wolves to a 16-9 record and a berth in the Class 6A state quarterfinals. Betts averaged 21.8 points, 16.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals and 3.5 blocks per game through 25 games. Ranked as the nation’s No. 5 recruit in the Class of 2025 by ESPN and No. 1 in Colorado by PrepGirlsHoops.com, Betts was the lone player in her class to be a finalist at tryouts for the USA Basketball Under-17 Team. A two-time First Team All-State selection, she’d posted a double-double in 23 consecutive games entering the state postseason round of eight, including five games with at least 20 rebounds.

Betts has volunteered locally by assembling hygiene kits for the homeless. She has also donated her time at the Ronald McDonald House-Denver and as a youth basketball coach. Betts has maintained a weighted 4.38 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.

“We play in an incredibly tough league with several elite players and Sienna is as tough of a matchup as anybody we’ve faced all season,” said Jeff Dosado, head coach of Bishop Alemany High School. “She is a relentless rebounder and is a strong all-around player that we really had to respect, no matter where she was on the court.”

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Betts as Colorado’s best high school girls basketball player. Betts joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Kiki Rice (2021-22, Sidwell Friends School, Washington, D.C.), Paige Bueckers (2019-20, Hopkins High School, Minn.), Nneka Ogwumike (2007-08, CyFair High School, Texas), and Candace Parker (2003-04 & 2002-03, Naperville Central High School, Ill.).

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 leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

Betts joins recent Gatorade Colorado Girls Basketball Players of the Year Lauren Betts (2021-22 & 2020-21, Grandview High School), Jana Van Gytenbeek (2019-20, Cherry Creek High School), and Francesca Belibi (2018-19, Regis Jesuit High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.