Gatorade Player of the Year Press Release

CHICAGO (February 13, 2026) — In its 41st year celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced senior Brady Monahan of Jesuit High School is the 2025-26 Gatorade Louisiana Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their excellence in sport, academics and community. The award recognizes Monahan as Louisiana’s best high school boys cross country athlete, and he joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Lukas Verzbicas (2009-10 & 2010-11, Carl Sandburg High School, IL) Edward Cheserek (2012-13, Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School, NJ) and Charlie Vause (2024-25, Rio Rancho High School, NM).

The 5-foot-10, 132-pound senior won the LHSAA Division 1 state meet this past season with a time of 14:59.7, breaking the tape six seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor and leading the Bluejays to their fifth consecutive team title. A three-time All-State honoree, Monahan also earned Nike Cross South Third Team All-Region recognition by taking 16th at that event. He closed the year by placing 33rd at the national New Balance RunningLane Championships.

A member of both the National Honor Society and the Philatelic Society, Monahan has volunteered locally as a counselor at Camp Able NOLA, which celebrates the neurodiverse. He has also donated his time at the Harry Tompson Center, helping provide hygiene, hospitality and housing services to those in need. “Brady Monahan made certain to keep Jesuit’s glistening postseason tradition alive, personally securing the school its fifth straight individual championship and sparking the Bluejays to a fifth consecutive team championship,” said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack. “He also extended to five years Jesuit’s active streak of Gatorade Player of the Year honorees produced by the program.”

Monahan has maintained a 3.98 GPA in the classroom. Beginning this fall, he will attend Loyola University New Orleans, but will not run competitively. 

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one state winner from each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., in 12 different sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. In total, 610 high school athletes are honored each year. From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports. 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 winners in each sport.

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 $6.4 million in grants to winners across more than 2,200 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.

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