Miller Place's Jillian Scully has been a revelation all year long. She has dominated the competition and stood on top of the mountain time and time again. Now she has the hardware to prove it. Scully was named the 2024-2025 Gatorade New York Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
Gatorade announced Scully as the winner in their 40th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes. Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, that is more than just an on the field award. The honor celebrates the nation's best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Scully recently set a state record in the discus at the Section XI State Qualifier meet and her effort of 184 feet, 2 inches ranked #1 nationally among prep girls competitors this spring. The throw also tied for 8th place in U.S. prep history. Scully earned All-American honors at Nike Outdoor Nationals as she placed third in the discus. She posted a personal-best throw of 46-6.25 in the shot put at the Section XI County 4B Championships, which ranked 36th nationally, and also won the discus and shot put at the Class B state meet.
Off the athletic field she has worked extensively with the Thomas Scully Foundation, named after her older brother who died from cancer in 2016 at the age of 12. The foundation provides support to families with sick children and raises funds to benefit pediatric cancer research and treatment. She has also volunteered locally with the Natural Helpers Club, a peer mentorship program for at-risk students.
Scully will take her B average to compete at Louisiana State University this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports - 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.
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 $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.