CHICAGO (February 13, 2026) — In its 41st year celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Cameron Collier of Midtown High School is the 2025-26 Gatorade Georgia Boys Cross Country 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 Collier as Georgia’s best high school boys cross country athlete, and he joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Lukas Verzbicas (2009-10 & 2010-11, Carl Sandburg High School, IL) Edward Cheserek (2012-13, Saint Benedict's Preparatory School, NJ) and Charlie Vause (2024-25, Rio Rancho High School, NM).
The 5-foot-10, 130-pound senior won the GHSA Class 4A state meet this past season, breaking the tape with a time of 16:07.8. Collier clocked a personal-best 14:54.1 at the Alexander/Asics Invitational and also took 15th at the Canadian U18 National Championships. He raced to victories in 2025 at the Wingfoot Classic, the AT&T Starr’s Mill Meet and the Atlanta Public Schools City Championship.
Collier has volunteered locally mentoring youth athletes at track and field camps. He has also donated his time as both a regional officer and webmaster for Midtown High School’s chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America. “Going from 41st to first in year-over-year placement at the state meet and experiencing similar progress at other key races, Cameron Collier’s senior-year development is the type of improvement most distance runners can only dream of,” said Rich Gonzalez of PrepCalTrack.
Collier has maintained an A average in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to run at Villanova University 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.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
