The St. Louis American ties its annual bow on the 2024-25 high school sports year with its by Player of the Year awards. Look for several of our honorees on collegiate teams throughout the nation come Fall.
Dierre Hill, Althoff (Football Offense) – The senior running back enjoyed a spectacular season in leading the Crusaders to the IHSA Class 1A state championship. He rushed for more than 400 yards and scored seven touchdowns in the Crusaders’ victory over Lena-Winslow in an Illinois state championship game. As a senior, Hill rushed for 2,588 yards and scored 51 touchdowns. He will play at Oregon next season.
Quincy Byas, DeSmet (Football Defense) – The 6’1” 230-pound defensive end was a dominant force for the Spartans, who won the Class 6 state championship for the third time. He registered 86 tackles and a whopping 19 quarterback sacks during the season, and in the state championship victory over Nixa, had eight tackles and recovered a fumble. The Eastern Michigan recruit finished his career with 48 sacks.
Scottie Adkinson, Webster Groves (Boys Basketball) – The 6’3” sophomore guard capped a dynamic season by leading the Statesmen to the Class 5 state championship. He scored 29 and 30 points, respectively, in the two Final Four games in Columbia. Adkinson averaged 24.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 42% from 3-point range.
Nevaeh Caffey, Incarnate Word (Girls Basketball) – The 5’10” senior guard concluded her stellar career by leading the Red Knights to the Class 6 state championship. The Indiana University recruit averaged 16.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.2 steals while shooting 44% from 3-point range.
Kyndall Spain, Cardinal Ritter (Girls Track and Field) – The senior standout leaves the prep ranks as one of the top hurdlers in St. Louis metro area history. In her final state meet, Spain repeated as the champion in the 100-meter high hurdles and 300-meter low hurdles, winning each event in state record time. Spain is headed to South Carolina in the powerful Southeastern Conference.
Maya Witherspoon, Lafayette (Volleyball) – The 5’11” senior cemented her legacy as a legend in the Lancers historic program, leading them to the Class 5 state championship. In the state title game, she had a team-high 18 kills against Ozark. The Vanderbilt recruit sits atop several categories in the Lafayette volleyball record book, including kills.
Pierre Walton, East St. Louis (Wrestling) – The senior standout captured the IHSA Class 2A state championship at 165 pounds. He became the first Flyers’ wrestler to win an individual state championship since 1943. He defeated Santino Tenuta of Lombard Montini in the state championship match to finish the season with a 42-4 record.
Earl’s World
Oklahoma City was the best team in the NBA from start to finish. The Thunder defeated the visiting Indiana Pacers 103-91 Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. Superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named Finals MVP after posting a team-high 29 points along with 12 assists…The Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton hit his first trio of three-point shots, but an Achillies injury sidelined him for most of the game…A future NBA trivia answer is Ben Mathurin. He stepped up after Haliburton went down and scored a team-high 24 points…Another blockbuster NBA deal went down on Sunday when the Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant to Houston. The Suns will receive guard Jalen Green, guard-forward Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 Draft and five future second-round picks…Standout football prospect Gabe Weaver of MICDS has given a verbal commitment to Minnesota. He is one of the tight end/receivers in the St. Louis metro area…I enjoyed an excellent weekend of high school basketball in Kansas City at the Midwest Showcase, which attracted 165 high school basketball teams, including state championship teams from Vashon, Webster Groves, and Principia. Also included were Chaminade, DeSmet, MICDS, and Westminster and many others…The previous weekend more than 90 high school girls teams participated in the same event…Make sure to listen to my new radio show, “The Earl Austin Experience,” on Saturday mornings from 9-11 a.m. on AM-590, The Lou Information Station. You can also listen on demand on LouInfo.com.