2021 Winners
Bishop Miege's Verhulst wins the Female DiRenna Award for the second time
Bishop Miege senior Payton Verhulst was named the recipient of the 2021 Female DiRenna Award making her the 5th two-time winner in the history of the award.
Verhulst averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds while leading the Stags to the KS Class 4A championship in 2021, the 22nd state championship in school history. She repeated as the Eastern Kansas League's Player of the Year and was named the Wichita Eagle Player of the Year.
Verhulst has received several other recognitions during her career including being named a McDonald's All-American, the 2020 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, was a semifinalist for the Jersey Mike's Naismith High School Girls Player of the Year and played for the Under-16 USA Basketball National Team
She will continue her playing career at the University of Louisville
Other finalists included junior Beatrice Culliton of St. Thomas Aquinas, sophomore Grace Slaughter of Grain Valley, senior Kennedy Taylor of Shawnee Mission Northwest and junior Kennedy Townsend of Park Hill.
Lawrence's Mayo and Bishop Miege's Mitchell named co-winners of Male DiRenna Award
Lawrence senior Zeke Mayo (pic on right) and Bishop Miege junior Mark Mitchell, Jr (pic on left) were named co-recipients of the 2021 Male DiRenna Award. This is the third time since the inception of the award in 1954 that co-winners were named.
Mayo is the first recipient from Lawrence High School in the history of the award. He averaged 21 points and 7 rebounds this season while leading his team to the KS Class 6A state semifinals.
He was named the Sunflower Player of the Year and the Lawrence Journal-World Player of the Year. He was also named to the all-state team of the KS Basketball Coaches Association as well as several media outlets.
Mayo will continue his playing career at South Dakota State.
Mitchell, a DiRenna Finalist in 2020 as a sophomore, led his team to KS Class 4 state championship this season while averaging 18 points and 6 rebounds.
He was named the EKL Player of the Year, the Wichita Eagle Player of the Year and the Sports in Kansas Player of the Year. He was also named to the all-state team of the KS Basketball Coaches as well as several media outlets.
Mitchell is one of the top prospects for the class of 2022 with offers from several of the top college programs in the country.
Other finalists include senior Alston Mason of Blue Valley Northwest, senior Jaden Monday of Van Horn and junior Bennett Stirtz of Liberty.