Valor Christian’s Cole Scherer named boys basketball Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado

Gatorade today announced Cole Scherer of Valor Christian High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Colorado Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Scherer won the award last season, as well.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the court, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Scherer as Colorado’s best high school boys basketball player, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Karl-Anthony Towns (2012-13 & 2013-14, St. Joseph High School, N.J.), Jayson Tatum (2013-14, 2014-15 & 2015-16, Chaminade College Preparatory School, Mo.) and Cooper Flagg (2023-24, Montverde Academy, Fl.).

At the time of his selection, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior guard had led the Eagles to a 23-4 record and a berth in the Class 6A title game. Scherer averaged 26.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2.6 steals and shot 47 percent from beyond the arc through 26 games. The returning Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year, he was also named the Colorado High School Athletic Association 6A Player of the Year in 2023-24. He scored 39 in the state semifinals and entered the championship game with 2,004 career points.

A member of the National Honor Society, Scherer has volunteered locally with the Boys and Girls of Metro Denver. He has also completed service missions in Israel, Uganda and Mexico. “Cole Scherer is dominating,” said Jon Rakiecki, head coach at Windsor High School. “We did a pretty good job on him, but then the next night he went for 48 points against Mountain Vista High School.”

Scherer has maintained a 3.91 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play basketball at Eastern Washington University this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – 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.

Two-time winner Scherer joins recent Gatorade Colorado Boys Basketball Players of the Year D’Aundre Samuels (2022-23, Denver East High School), Jordan Reed (2021-22, Manual High School) and Julian Hammond III (2020-21, Cherry Creek High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.