Southeastern’s Makalusky named Gatorade Indiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year

The REPORTER

In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade announced Maya Makalusky of Hamilton Southeastern High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Indiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year on Thursday.

Makalusky is the second Gatorade Indiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Hamilton Southeastern High School, joining Sydney Parrish, who won the award in 2018-19.

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 Makalusky as Indiana’s best high school girls basketball player, and she joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Candace Parker (2002-03 & 2003-04, Naperville Central High School, Ill.), Paige Bueckers (2019-20, Hopkins High School, Minn.) and Joyce Edwards (2023-24, Camden High School, S.C.).

The 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard averaged 22.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this past season, leading the Royals (27-1) to the Class 4A semi-state championship game. Makalusky also contributed 1.8 steals and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 40.1 percent from 3-point range and 80.3 percent from the free throw line. A two-time First Team All-State selection by the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association, she’s ranked as the nation’s No. 35 recruit in the Class of 2025 by ESPN. She concluded her prep basketball career with 1,933 points.

Makalusky has volunteered locally supporting intellectually and physically challenged youth with Best Buddies as well as her school’s Unified basketball and track teams. She has also donated her time as an assistant with HSE’s exceptional learners program. “Maya is an incredible shooter,” said Kelsey Steele, head coach of Westfield High School. “She has expanded her game to being able to finish through contact this season. She has impacted her team’s success tremendously.”

Makalusky has maintained a 3.72 grade-point average in the classroom. She has signed a written letter of intent to play basketball at Indiana 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.

Makalusky joins recent Gatorade Indiana Girls Basketball Players of the Year Jaylah Lampley (2023-24, Lawrence Central High School), Laila Hull (2022-23, Zionsville Community High School), Ashlynn Shade (2021-22, Noblesville High School) and Jessica Carrothers (2020-21, Crown Point 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.