The Gatorade Player of The Year Award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court. Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners, and educators.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Lady Raider volleyball program boasts the top player in the state. Senior Kaylee Lowther was named the 2023-2024 Gatorade Mississippi Volleyball Player of the Year. This is the tenth time in the last 11 years a Jackson Academy athlete has received a Gatorade Mississippi Player of The Year distinction. Kaylee is also the first Libero to ever win the coveted award in the state of Mississippi. The Lady Raiders have now received the Gatorade State Award for volleyball a staggering six times.
This season, JA also continued its dominant run in the MAIS and took home the fifth straight MAIS State Volleyball Championship as the team finished 35-13. JA has now won nine state titles since volleyball began at Jackson Academy in the 2011-12 school year, and in the current five-year title run, the Lady Raiders have amassed a record of 185-33.
Volleyball Magazine recognized Kaylee as the Mississippi Player of the Year. Kaylee was named a 2023 Maxpreps Preseason 2nd Team All-American, 2023 Maxpreps Best Player in the state, 2023 SBLive Top Libero in the Nation, 2023 All-Star, AVCA Best and Brightest 1st Team, and 2023 & 2021 Under Armour Next Camp. She was also named the Scorebook Live National Libero of the Year, an American Volleyball Coaches Association 1st Team All-American, and a MaxPreps 2nd Team All-American. Kaylee is one of 50 athletes from across the country to receive this AVCA All-American title and the only Mississippian on the 1st team. Kaylee is one of 60 athletes from across the country to be named a 2nd Team MaxPreps All-American. She is the only athlete from Mississippi to be named to that list.
Considered among the top four defenders in the nation, Kaylee finished this season with a new school season record as she logged 719 digs. She also recorded 86 aces, 122 assists, and 605 receptions this year. The MAIS Division I Player of the Year, she concluded her prep volleyball career with 1,642 digs. In the classroom, she has earned a spot on the JA Academy Honor Roll and Honor Roll multiple times and was the 2022 & 2023 AAU Academic All American. She will be continuing her academic and athletic career in volleyball with the University of Southern Mississippi in the fall.
Other Volleyball Recognitions
South All-Region Team by prepvolleyball.com
- Ava Antonaros
- Harper Griffin
- Sophia Sosa
2026 Fall Star by prepvolleyball.com
- Keira Hariel
AVCA Honorable Mention All-American- one of 150 athletes from across the country to be named to the Honorable Mention Team and one of 300 named to an All-American List.
- Harper Griffin
- Ava Antonaros
MaxPreps Freshman All-American Team (15 freshmen in the nation)
- Carson Caraway
Vballrecruiter.com Freshman All-American
- Carson Caraway
Freshman of the Year Finalist by vballrecruiter.com (1 of 9)
- Carson Caraway
Other Athletic Recognitions
Capital Sports Performers of the Week
- Gracelyn Carmichael – December 11
- Ben Jones -Soccer, December 18
- Mike Williams – December 18
- Ella King – January 8
- Mason Williams – January 8
Mississippi Scoreboard PriorityOne Bank Metro Jackson Boys Player of the Week
- Mike Williams – December 15
