Jackie Young had a record-breaking senior season at Princeton (Indiana). Now it's time to haul in the hardware.
Young, a 5-foot-11 senior guard and Notre Dame signee, was named the Naismith girls' basketball national player of the year on Thursday, the same day she was named the Indiana Gatorade player of the year. She will play in the McDonald's All American Games later this month.
Young became Indiana's all-time leading scorer as a senior, first topping Shanna Zolman for the girls' mark and then surpassing the legendary Damon Bailey for the all-time record. Young finished her career with 3,268 points.
Young follows in the footsteps of Skylar Diggins, the 2009 Naismith player of the year who also hailed from Indiana and went on to star at Notre Dame. Other notable recipients of the annual award include Katie Lou Samuelson (2015), Breanna Stewart (2012), Elena Delle Donne (2008), Maya Moore (2006-07) and Candace Parker (2003-04).
In addition to Young, the 2016 finalists were Crystal Dangerfield (Connecticut), Lauren Cox (Baylor), Erin Boley (Notre Dame) and Joyner Holmes (Texas). Dangerfield was named the Morgan Wootten player of the year on Wednesday. The Gatorade national player of the year will be announced next week.