CHICAGO (March 20, 2025)— In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Koa Peat of Perry High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Peat is the second Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Perry High School.

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 Peat as Arizona'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.).

The state’s two-time returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound senior forward led the Pumas to a 26-2 record and a third-straight Open State Tournament championship this past season. Peat averaged 18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals per game and, playing with a broken hand, he compiled 20 points, nine boards and two blocks in Perry’s 63-44 win over Sunnyslope High School in the state final. A 2025 McDonald’s All-American Game selection, Peat is a member of the Team USA’s Nike Hoop Summit squad. Ranked as the nation’s No. 6 recruit in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports, he concluded his prep basketball career with 2,153 points.

Peat has volunteered locally with the Komatke Branch of the Boys and Girls Club on the Gila River Indian Community reservation. He has also sponsored multiple families during Christmas tree and toy drives and has donated his time as a youth basketball and football coach. “Koa continues to grow and evolve as a player, which is actually pretty scary because he is already extremely talented,” said Mike Grouthaus, head coach of Basha High School. “He is a complete game-changer on the court.”

Peat has maintained a weighted 3.69 GPA in the classroom. He remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

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.

Three-time winner Peat joins recent Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Players of the Year Dylan Anderson (2021-22 & 2020-21, Perry 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.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student - athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X (Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.