CHICAGO (March 26, 2020) — In its 35th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, today announced Jeremy Roach of Paul VI Catholic High School as its 2019-20 Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Roach is the second Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Paul VI Catholic High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Roach as Virginia’s best high school boys basketball player.

Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award, Roach joins an elite alumni association of past state boys basketball award winners, including Karl-Anthony Towns (2012-13 & 2013-14, St. Joseph High School, N.J.), Dwight Howard (2003-04, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, Ga.), Chris Bosh (2001-02, Lincoln High School, Texas), Paul Pierce (1994-95, Inglewood High School, Calif.), Chauncey Billups (1993-94 & 1994-95, George Washington High School, Colo.) and Jason Kidd (1991-92, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, Calif.).

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior guard led the Panthers to a 27-8 record and a berth in the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament at the time of his selection. Roach averaged 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals through 35 games. A McDonald’s All-American Game selection, he missed his entire junior year with a knee injury. He is ranked as the nation’s No. 23 recruit in the Class of 2020 by Rivals.com.

Roach has volunteered locally as a youth basketball coach. He's the first Paul VI recipient of this award since V.J. King, who took home the honor in 2015-16 before going on to play his College Basketball in the ACC at Louisville.

"Jeremy is one of the toughest guys to guard in high school basketball,” said Mike Jones, head coach of DeMatha High. “It’s so impressive how he has come back from his torn ACL and looks faster and more explosive. It is amazing.”

In the classroom, Roach has maintained a 3.06 GPA. He has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball on scholarship at Duke University this fall.

Roach joins Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Players of the Year Cole Anthony (2018-19, Oak Hill Academy), Keldon Johnson (2017-18, Oak Hill Academy), Matt Coleman (2016-17, Oak Hill Academy), V.J. King (2015-16, Paul VI Catholic High School), and Dwayne Bacon (2014-15, Oak Hill Academy) among the state’s list of former award winners.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school 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 work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

The 2019-2020 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year announcement has been temporarily postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. To ensure the safety of everyone involved, The Gatorade Company will follow the guidance of experts and health officials as it determines the appropriate time to announce this year’s winner.

As a part of Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Roach also has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of his choosing. He is also eligible to submit an essay to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.

Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.

*** To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit www.Gatorade.com/POY, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade. ***