Fair Haven's Ramey earns Gatorade Player of the Year

CHICAGO — On Wednesday, Fair Haven senior guard Sawyer Ramey was named the 2022-2023 Vermont boys basketball Gatorade Player of the Year.

Ramey is the first Gatorade Vermont Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Fair Haven Union High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Ramey as Vermont’s best high school boys basketball player.

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior guard led the Slaters to a 22-1 record and the Vermont Division II state tournament semifinals, where Fair Haven suffered its lone defeat.

Ramey averaged 16.4 points, 7.3 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 steals per game entering the final four and was a nominee for the Vermont Coaches Association Player of the Year.

He concluded his prep career with more than 1,200 points and 500 assists, hitting the 1,000-point plateau and 500-assist plateau in his senior season.

During Ramey’s four-year varsity career with the Slaters, Fair Haven won a state championship in 2020 and was a state semifinalist two other times.

Ramey has volunteered locally on behalf of Fair Haven Concerned, a non-profit providing food, shelter and heating assistance to families in need. He is also a member of Fair Haven’s Athletic Leadership Council and the National Honor Society.

“Sawyer is the consummate point guard,” said Fair Haven Union High School coach Bob Prenevost, who is Ramey’s grandfather, in a Gatorade press release. “He’s a proven and capable scorer, but he’s at his best facilitating for others. When challenges arise, he’s the guy his teammates look to for leadership and direction.”

Ramey has maintained a 3.93 weighted GPA in the classroom. He remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.

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 state winners in each sport.

Ramey joins recent Gatorade Vermont Boys Basketball Players of the Year Jonah Cattaneo (2021-22, Montpelier High School), Michel Ndayishimiye (2020-21, Rice Memorial High School), Logan Wendell (2019-20, St. Johnsbury Academy), and Jamison Evans (2018-19, Rutland High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport.

To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.

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