Tate Taylor Q&A: Gatorade National Track and Field Player of the Year talks records, turning pro, and future plans

Texas high school star and U.S. high school sprint record holder reflects on breaking 9.92 in the 100, going pro vs. college, and managing life in the national spotlight

Tate Taylor poses with the 2025 Gatorade National Track and Field Player of the Year Award during a personalized photoshoot at San Antonio's John M. Harlan High School after he was surprised with the award on Thursday, July 26, 2025. / Joe Greer

Harlan junior Tate Taylor made national headlines last week when he was named the 2025 Gatorade National Track and Field Player of the Year.

Already one of the most electric and accomplished prep sprinters in U.S. history, Taylor shattered the national high school record in the 100 meters this spring with a time of 9.92 seconds - becoming the first high school athlete to ever rank in the all-time U.S. top three in both the 100 and 200. The honor capped off a season in which Taylor not only rewrote record books, but elevated himself into a different stratosphere of national track and field.

The moment the award was revealed came as a surprise - a "entirely too early" meeting at the track with his coach that turned into a celebration with family, teammates and more coaches. After taking it all in, Taylor sat down with us to reflect on the honor, talk through his goals, and share whether speed like his translates into daily life.

Q&A with Tate Taylor: 2025 Gatorade National Track and Field Player of the Year

Q: When you realized you’d actually won Gatorade National Track and Field Player of the Year, what went through your head?

“At first I thought I had just won the state Player of the Year. So I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ But then they told me it was the National Player of the Year and then I saw all of my family and friends behind them. It was very exciting.”

Q: When did it actually hit you what this meant?

“I’m soaking it all in right now. I’m sure that when I get home and I kind of relax a little bit, I’ll truly sit down and look back on it and be like, man, I really did it.”

Q: Mere mortals will never know, so tell us: what does it feel like to run that fast?

“It’s cool. It’s fun, I’ll say that. I really like sprinting. I like moving at a very fast pace. So just to do that for a living and to find something that I think is for me is truly a blessing.”

Q: So does being that fast make you want to run everywhere you go?

“No. As much as it is ironic, sprinting is fun but I actually don’t like to walk or run places.”

Q: You had a feeling something was coming?

“I knew my mom was pretty excited whenever she rushed into my room and told me coach wants to meet me at the school entirely too early in the morning. She was excited, and I already had an idea what it was for.”

“I knew it was for Gatorade, but I didn’t know it was for National Track and Field Player of the Year. So it was a blessing. It was a big surprise for me. It was fun though. So to answer your question: they were very excited. They may have been honestly more excited than I was.”

Q: We have seen examples of high school sprinters before you going straight to the pros. For you, what is the importance of college versus turning pro?

“They’re both very important to me. Going to college would be a great experience, but me and my coach have not necessarily decided yet, but we are thinking on the lines of that if we continue on the same path we are on now, then going pro would be the more reasonable option.”

Q: What’s it like to be in a position where you have that kind of choice at your age?

“It’s very cool, right. I’m very blessed that God has given me even the opportunity to consider both options. It kind of builds my mindset that we are good. We’re kind of at the top, but we’re not there yet. So we have to continue to keep working, because there’s a lot of options for me. But in the instant, those options, anything can happen. God forbid, any instant those options could get taken away. So in order for those options to stay there, we continue to work hard.”

Q: You’ve already shattered records. Where do you go from here? What level can you reach?

“That’s a good question. We’ll see. You know, whatever records I can break, whatever people I can beat, however many records I can get, we gonna continue working, trust the process and trust God, and we’ll see, man. Eventually, it’ll come.”

Q: When did you first realize you were fast fast?

"It was really eighth grade … transitioning into my freshman year that summer. That’s when I first started running summer track. And whenever I kind of did it full-time I wasn’t really doing many other sports. I started to realize that this is something I could be great in, so that’s something I pursued.”

Q: Has it always been track for you, or were there other sports you loved first?

“I love basketball. I love to play basketball. But I put the hooper life behind me and decided to stick to the big red oval for life.”

Q: You’ve handled a lot of attention and notoriety at a young age. How are you managing the spotlight?

“I think having that experience now is good for me. Considering that I have years and years of preparation … I know I’m young, but I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason, right? It’s on God’s timing and I truly think that God allowed all of this to happen at the right time. And I’m ready for it.”

“As opposed to the pressure - there’s really no pressure. I’m not necessarily worried or afraid of anything, to be honest. I just have to continue to trust what I do, stick to what I believe in and let God write the path.”

San Antonio's Tate Taylor - after a record-breaking junior season - has been named 2025 Gatorade National Track and Field Player of the Year. He poses with the award on the track and John M. Harlan High School on July 26, 2025 in a personalized photoshoot provided by Gatorade after its surprise announcement. / Joe Greer

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