Cooper Flagg, Sadie Engelhardt Named Gatorade Best Players of the Year at ESPY Awards

Cooper Flagg and Sadie Engelhardt surely have their eyes set on becoming future stars in the ACC, but they were first honored for being the best high school athletes in the country.

Flagg and Engelhardt were named the 2023-24 Gatorade Best Male and Best Female Players of the Year during Thursday's ESPYs. They were presented the honor live on stage by former Gatorade Best Female Players of the Year Candace Parker and Paige Bueckers.

Parker, Bueckers, Jayson Tatum, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Karl-Anthony Towns are just some of the notable names who have won the coveted award in the past.

Those are all household names, and Flagg may be well on his way to becoming one as well.

He was the No. 1 overall men's basketball recruit in the class of 2024, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and led his Montverde Eagles to a 34-0 record and the Chipotle Nationals title. He is also no stranger to being awarded by Gatorade, as he also took home the 2021-22 Gatorade Maine Player of the Year.

The McDonald's All-American and 2024 Naismith Award National High School Player of the Year is heading to Duke for the upcoming season as part of a loaded class that was best in the country in 247Sports' composite rankings.

Flagg averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 55.1 percent from the field this past season as someone who can impact the game in a number of ways.

And his game is expected to translate to the college level and beyond, as Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman already listed Flagg as the No. 1 overall player on his 2025 NBA draft big board before the forward has even played a single game for the Blue Devils.

"The 2024 draft cycle didn't have an obvious No. 1 prospect," Wasserman wrote. "2025's will. Cooper Flagg has evolved into one of the most hyped prospects of the decade with a skill level that's starting to catch his special athleticism, passing IQ and defensive instincts."

Flagg may end up being ACC rivals with Engelhardt, who is verbally committed to join NC State's track and field team starting in the fall of 2025.

Engelhardt was recognized Thursday after a brilliant individual season that saw her finish as the national leader in four events and set the national high school record in the mile at the HOKA Festival of Miles with a blistering time of 4:28.46 seconds.

She also competed at an elite level against professionals during the Portland Track Festival and posted a time of 4:08.86 in the 1500-meter run. It was the fifth-best time in U.S. girls prep history and was enough to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

As if that wasn't enough, the three-time Gatorade Girls Track & Field Player of the Year in California broke the state's record with a time of 4:32.06 in the 1600 and posted the best time for a prep girl in the nation for 2024 with a 2:03.46 in the 800 during the Azusa Pacific Meet of Champions.

The record-setting Engelhardt and the potential No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft in Flagg were dominant throughout the past high school season and were recognized accordingly Thursday.