CHICAGO (March 20, 2025) — In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Caleb Wilson of Holy Innocents' Episcopal School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Georgia Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Wilson is the first Gatorade Georgia Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Holy Innocents' Episcopal 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 Wilson as Georgia’s best high school boys basketball player and he’s also been selected as a finalist for the distinguished Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March. With his selection, Wilson 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 6-foot-10, 205-pound senior forward led the Golden Bears to a 27-4 record and the Private School State Tournament championship this past season. Wilson averaged 21.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.9 steals per game. A McDonald’s All-American Game selection, he was a Naismith Trophy Award semifinalist and is ranked as the nation’s No. 5 recruit in the Class of 2025 by Rivals.com. He concluded his prep basketball career with 1,836 points and 1,168 rebounds.
A member of the Black Student Union at Holy Innocents’, Wilson has volunteered locally with Trees Atlanta, which works to mitigate Atlanta’s tree loss and as a youth basketball coach. “Caleb’s dedication, hard work and passion are unmatched,” said Mario Mays, head coach of Holy Innocents' Episcopal School. “He has a great basketball IQ. He understands the game at a high level and makes smart decisions on the court.”
Wilson has maintained a 3.80 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play basketball at the University of North Carolina 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.
Wilson joins recent Gatorade Georgia Boys Basketball Players of the Year Airious 'Ace' Bailey (2023-24, McEachern High School), Isaiah Collier (2022-23, Wheeler High School), Bruce Thornton (2021-22, Milton High School) and Jabari Smith (2020-21, Sandy 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.
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.
