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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois women’s basketball signee Destiny Jackson has been named the Illinois Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year, the organization announced on Thursday.
A 5-foot-6 guard from Chicago, Jackson played for Whitney Young Magnet High School, averaging 21.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 steals per game as a senior during the 2024-25 season. Jackson is the 10th Gatorade Player of the Year to come through the Fighting Illini program and the fourth from the state of Illinois.
Leading her team to a 25-9 record and the Class 4A sectional championship game, Jackson is a three-time First Team All-State selection and a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee. She is ranked as the nation’s No. 25 recruit in the Class of 2025 by espnW and concludes her prep basketball career with 2,204 points.
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 Jackson as Illinois’ 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, Illinois).
Jackson has volunteered locally at sports camps for at-risk youth and has donated her time to multiple community service initiatives through her church youth group. She has maintained a 3.08 GPA in the classroom and will join Illinois 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.
Gatorade Players of the Year at Illinois
Kim McClelland – Missouri (1987) – Letterwinner in 1989
Tonya Booker – Ohio (1990) – Letterwinner 1991-94
Sally Albers – Minnesota (1995) – Letterwinner 1996-98
Tauja Catchings – Illinois (1996) – Letterwinner 1997-2000
Dawn Vana – Illinois (1998) – Letterwinner 1999-2002
Anne O’Neil – Iowa (2000) – Letterwinner in 2001
Aminata Yanni – Illinois (2000) – Letterwinner 2001-04
Jenna Smith – Minnesota (2006) – Letterwinner 2007-10
Cierra Rice – Michigan (2015) – Letterwinner 2016-20
Destiny Jackson – Illinois (2025) – Signee
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