The 2020 Lexington Herald-Leader All-State Girls’ Basketball Team is here

Kentucky’s best girls’ high school basketball team remains up for debate, but a survey of coaches has arrived at who this season’s best players were as we announce our 2019-20 Herald-Leader All-State Girls’ Basketball Team and Player of the Year.

Ryle’s Maddie Scherr, an Oregon commit, ran away with Player of the Year honors by garnering 42 first-place votes among 68 ballots from coaches who participated in the poll. Every high school varsity girls’ coach in Kentucky was emailed the Herald-Leader’s All-State ballot, which asked them to name their picks for the state’s 10 best players.

Scherr endured some injuries during her senior year, coming off a state championship with Ryle as a junior. She still earned back-to-back Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year honors and, despite missing some games, the 5-foot-11 guard helped the Raiders repeat as 9th Region champions while averaging 14.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Ryle won its opening round game in the 2020 Mingua Beef Jerky/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 without her as she recovered from a sprained ankle suffered in its regional title game. The Sweet 16 was suspended indefinitely amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Scherr will be a favorite to earn Miss Basketball honors next month. The Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation, in conjunction with the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches, surveyed media and its members for the award. Scherr was among 19 regional players of the year nominated. That ceremony has also been indefinitely postponed.

Christian Academy-Louisville’s Shelby Calhoun, a Virginia Tech commit, came in second in the Herald-Leader All-State balloting, followed closely by Mercy’s Taziah Jenks, Sacred Heart’s Erin Toller and South Laurel’s Ally Collett.

Rounding out the First Team were Clark County’s Kennedy Igo; Meade County’s Kendall Wingler, the state’s leading scorer; Elizabethtown’s Whitney Hay; Franklin County’s Brooklynn Miles; and Wayne County’s Macey Blevins. Miles and Blevins are the only juniors on the First Team.

Scherr, Igo and Collett also each made last season’s Herald-Leader All-State First Team, in which Scherr finished second to Boyd County’s Savannah Wheeler for Player of the Year honors.

Below are the Herald-Leader All-State Teams based on coaches selections in a statewide survey conducted by the Lexington Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com. Players are listed in order of point totals based on coaches’ votes.

FIRST TEAM

SECOND TEAM

THIRD TEAM

HONORABLE MENTION

Olivia Federle, Collins; Destinee Marshall, Sacred Heart; Lauren Lee, Casey Co.; Lexy Lynch, Owsley Co.; Brie Crittendon, Ryle; Alyssa Elswick, Shelby Valley; Amiyah Jenkins, Anderson Co.; Sidney Argo, Fleming Co.; Hailee Mullins, Hazard; Jerrica Thacker, Jenkins; Julia Parker, Ashland; Lucy Patterson, Warren East; Paige Vanzant, Logan Co.; Amelia Hodges, Bethlehem; Ella Thompson, Bethlehem; Ellie Heid, Portland; Marissa Austin, Webster Co.; Destin Armour, Muhlenberg Co.; Gena Cravens, Casey Co.; Zoe Strings, Paris.

Methodology: Our annual All-State survey was emailed to all 271 KHSAA girls’ basketball coaches in Kentucky, using their email registered with the KHSAA. Multiple attempts were made to encourage every school to participate. Coaches were asked to select their top 10 players and points were assigned based on a player’s position on the ballot (10 points for No. 1, nine points for No. 2, eight points for No. 3, etc.), and tabulated across all ballots received. The top 50 players receiving votes made our All-State list.

A total of 68 teams participated in the All-State ballot. They are listed here: Adair Co.; Allen Co.-Scottsville; Anderson Co.; Ashland Blazer; Barren Co.; Bath Co.; Bell Co.; Bethlehem; Buckhorn; Bullitt Central; Bullitt East; Butler; Calloway Co.; Christian Co.; Clark Co.; Cooper; Covington Latin; East Ridge; Elizabethtown; Fleming Co.; Franklin Co.; Great Crossing; Hancock Co.; Harlan Co.; Hazard; Hopkins Co. Central; Jenkins; Knott Central; Lawrence Co.; Leslie Co.; Logan Co.; Madison Southern; Madisonville; Martin Co.; Mason Co.; Mercy Academy; Nelson Co.; Nicholas Co.; North Laurel; Notre Dame; Oldham Co.; Owensboro Catholic; Owsley Co.; Paris; Paul Laurence Dunbar; Pendleton Co.; Portland Christian; Prestonsburg; Rockcastle Co.; Rowan Co.; Ryle; Sacred Heart; Sayre; Scott Co.; Shelby Co.; Shelby Valley; Simon Kenton; South Laurel; South Warren; Southwestern; St. Francis; Warren East; Wayne Co.; West Carter; Western Hills; Whitley Co.; Wolfe Co.; Woodford Co.

This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 7:59 AM.

Jared Peck

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-488-2883

Jared Peck, the Herald-Leader’s Digital Sports Writer, covers high school athletics and has been with the company as a writer and editor for more than 20 years. Support my work with a digital subscription