Cowboy Signee Cunningham Earns Naismith Player of the Year Trophy

Five-star Oklahoma State 2020 signee Cade Cunningham was named the High School Player of the Year.

(This article was generated by Oklahoma State Athletics Media Relations)

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State basketball signee Cade Cunningham was named the winner of the 2020 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Player of the Year Trophy.

Awarded annually since 1987, the Naismith High School Player of the Year Trophy is among the most prestigious awards a high school player can win. Cunningham is the first Oklahoma State signee to earn the award, and joins a list of past winners that includes Kobe Bryant (1996), LeBron James (2003), Dwight Howard (2004), Jason Kidd (1992) Alonzo Mourning (1988), and more recently Ben Simmons (2015), Lonzo Ball (2016) and R.J. Barrett (2018).

A 2020 McDonald's All-American, Cunningham is the No. 1 player on the USA TODAY Chosen 25, as well as the 247Sports and Rivals national rankings. He is currently leading the nation’s No. 1 prep team, undefeated Montverde Academy, and is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

The unanimous five-star talent stands to become the highest ranked player to wear an Oklahoma State uniform since recruit rankings began in 2003. He is the eighth five-star recruit to sign with Oklahoma State since 2003 and the first since two-time All-American Marcus Smart in 2012.

Cunningham’s signing has helped vault OSU's 2020 recruiting class to No. 6 by Rivals and No. 8 by ESPN. On top of Cunningham, the class includes fellow Texas Titans teammates Rondel Walker, a national top-100 guard, and power forward Montreal Pena, who is among the top 20 players in the state of Texas.

Oklahoma State will open the 2020 Big 12 Championship against Iowa State on Wednesday night. Tipoff from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri is slated for 6 p.m. on ESPNU.