Scott Tabbed Florida’s Gatorade Player of the Year
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas women’s basketball signee Taliah Scott has been named the Florida Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, as announced Wednesday. Scott becomes the fifth Arkansas signee in the Mike Neighbors era to be named the Gatorade Player of the Year in their state.
The three criteria for choosing each state’s winner includes athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character. Scott has delivered on and off the court all four years of high school, but especially during her senior year, having averaged 36.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.0 steals per game. Her scoring average led the state of Florida and was fourth in the country.
Scott led St. Johns Country Day to the Class 2A state semifinals, dropping 47 points in that game, including 11 3-pointers. A McDonald’s High School All-American selection and Class 2A Player of the Year, Scott finished her high school career with 2,733 points. Off the basketball court, Scott has maintained a 4.32 GPA and has volunteered more than 100 hours teaching basketball to young girls in summer camps, weekend training sessions and local YMCAs. Additionally, Scott has donated her time to the Ronald McDonald House of Central Florida and as a peer mentor.
As the No. 11 player in the country, according to 2023 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings, Scott was tabbed a Naismith High School Girls All-America Honorable Mention choice. Scott has a number of other high school accolades, such as Florida Time Union All-First Coast Player of the Year, News4Jax Girls Basketball Player of the Year, MaxPreps Junior All-American, among others. She was awarded the 3-Point Shootout Champion at the Curry Camp, UA Elite 24 and SLAM Vol. 4. As a player for Florida Girls Basketball, she was the scoring champion with 660 points (31.4 points per game), marked as the 11th best in the country.
Scott is the first Arkansas signee since current Hog Jersey Wolfenbarger (Arkansas, 2020 and 2021) to be named a state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Other honorees during the Neighbors era include other current Hog in Sasha Goforth (Arkansas, 2019), as well as Destiny Slocum (Idaho, 2015 and 2016) and Chelsea Dungee (Oklahoma, 2014).
The Gatorade Player of the Year program recognizes one winner in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in sports including girls’ basketball, while awarding one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is managed by the Gatorade Player of the Year selection Committee.
Arkansas’s postseason plans will be determined on Selection Sunday, March 12 at 7 p.m.
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