ATLANTA (March 17, 2026) – The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today that Kate Harpring of the Marist School in Atlanta has been named the winner of the 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Girls’ High School Player of the Year Trophy and for the second consecutive season, Aundre Cummings from Ontario Christian School (Ontario, Calif.) has won the 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Girls’ High School Coach of the Year.
“Kate and Aundre have separated themselves this season through excellence, leadership, and an unmistakable impact on winning,” said Eric Oberman, president of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “Kate authored one of the most memorable individual seasons in girls’ high school basketball, and Aundre guided his team through the kind of schedule that tests every part of a program. We are proud to honor them as our national girls award winners and celebrate the standard they have set for the game.”
Harpring finished her high school career by leading Marist to her second state championship, scoring 40 points and adding 16 rebounds in the title game. With that performance, she finished her high school career with 3,435 points, breaking the state record of 3,399 held by Athens Academy’s Jill Razor since 1997.
“I’m honored to be among these finalists and incredibly grateful for this award,” Harpring said. “Thank you to my coaches and teammates, without them I could not have achieved this. Winning the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy is a dream come true.”
The University of North Carolina signee led her team to a 29-2 record and a No. 1 ranking all season. The daughter of former NBA and Georgia Tech player Matt Harpring, she is considered the No. 1 senior in the nation. Harpring is the first winner from Georgia to win the award since Raven Johnson (Westlake High School) in 2021. Others include Diamond DeShields (Norcross High School, 2013), Maya Moore (Collins Hill High School, 2006 & 2007), and Kiesha Brown (Woodward Academy, 1996).
Past notable girls winners include Diana Taurasi (2000, Don Lugo High School, Chino, Calif.), Candace Parker (2003 and 2004, Naperville Central High School, Naperville, Ill.), Paige Bueckers (2020, Hopkins High School, Minnetonka, Minn.), and JuJu Watkins (2023, Sierra Canyon High School, Los Angeles, Calif.). The 2025 award winner was Aaliyah Chavez of Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas.
“Kate is a once-in-a-generation player, but what makes her the Naismith Player of the Year isn’t just the 40-point games or the scoring records—it’s her heart,” said Kim Hixon, the Marist School’s Head Girls’ Basketball Coach. “Even with the national spotlight on her, she remained completely focused on her teammates and bringing a state title back to Marist. She has set a standard for excellence and toughness that will be remembered here for a long time. We couldn’t be more proud to see her recognized as the best in the country.”
Cummings is the first back-to-back winner of the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Girls High School Coach of the Year award. He is also only the second girls’ coach to win the award multiple times, after Sue Phillips of Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, Calif., won in 2018 and 2024. The only other high school coach to win the award in consecutive seasons was boys coach Luke Barnwell from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., in 2021 and 2022.
In his second season as Ontario Christian’s head coach, Cummings led the Knights to a 34-2 record and the program’s first CIF State Open Division championship. Ontario Christian reached the school’s first state final and defeated Archbishop Mitty 56-49 for the title after entering the championship matchup ranked No. 1 nationally by MaxPreps and ESPNW.
Cummings guided the Knights through one of the nation’s toughest schedules, collecting wins over six Top 25 teams and three eventual state champions. The teams’ 34 victories tie the Inland Empire record for most wins in a girls’ season, matching marks set by Riverside Poly in 1982 (34–0) and Paloma Valley in 2020 (34–3).
This is the first time in the award’s 19-year history that the winner has come from the same state in three consecutive seasons. It is also the eighth time the Girls Coach of the Year has come from a California school, the most of any state.
“Being named the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Coach of the Year is an incredible honor,” Cummings said. “This award is dear and truly means a lot to all coaches, and I humbly appreciate the recognition. Coaching is about selflessness, putting your players above yourself, and contributing to the game in a way that helps your team reach its full potential. True leadership begins with the example you set, and that example should always be grounded in genuine love and purpose.”
The Naismith Awards first presented the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Player of the Year Trophy in 1987. The Naismith Awards National High School Voting Academy, a group of basketball journalists from around the country, selects the winners. The committee bases its selections on outstanding on-court performances during the 2025-26 high school basketball season.
Harpring will be awarded the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Trophy, produced and provided by Herff Jones, a leading provider of graduation and educational products and services designed to inspire achievement and create memorable experiences for students. Herff Jones will donate a replica trophy to the Marist School.
Cummings’ Coach of the Year trophy is produced by Awards Atlanta, a leading company that offers awards and gifts to celebrate achievements and create special memories for teams and individuals. The Atlanta Tipoff Club will donate a replica to Ontario Christian.
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Media Contact:
Jordan De La Cruz
Atlanta Tipoff Club
jordan.delacruz@naismithtrophy.com
(770) 617-2222
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
Founded during the 1956-57 season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, the most prestigious national honors in all of college and high school basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the Naismith Awards family, annually recognizes the most outstanding men’s and women’s college and high school basketball players and coaches. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the men’s and women’s college basketball defensive players of the year, as well as lifetime achievement awards to basketball officials and outstanding contributors to the game. UCLA’s Lew Alcindor received the first Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy in 1969, while the late Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) was the inaugural women’s recipient in 1983. Corporate partners of the Naismith Awards include AXIA Time, Jersey Mike’s, MOLECULE, and Werner Ladder.