CHICAGO (March 13, 2026) — In its 41st year celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Easton McCollough of Farmington High School is the 2025-26 Gatorade Arkansas Girls Basketball 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 McCollough as Arkansas’ best high school girls basketball player, and she joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Candace Parker (2002-03 & 2003-04, Naperville Central High School, IL) Paige Bueckers (2020-21, Hopkins High School, MN) and Aaliyah Chavez (2024-25, Monterey High School, TX).
The 5-foot-10 sophomore guard had led the Cardinals (29-2) to two straight 5A state championships, receiving MVP in both games. . McCollough averaged 33.1 points, 7.2 assists, 5 rebounds and 3.1 steals through 31 games, shooting 87.9 percent from the free throw line. A gifted deep ball shooter, she hit 44.6% from beyond the arc entering the title game and set a state record for 3-pointers made in a state tournament game with 12 during a 54- point performance in the first round.
McCollough has volunteered locally reading to elementary school students and helping them with their homework. She has also donated her time as a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army during the holidays. “Not only her scoring ability, but her passing is what impressed me the most about Easton,” said Eric Teague, head coach at Bryant High School. “She is one of the smoothest players I have ever seen on offense and never seems to be in a hurry.”
McCollough has maintained a 3.92 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.
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.