Katie Lou Samuelson wins Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year

Published Mar. 19, 2015 4:52 p.m. ET

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WNBA star Elena Delle Donne was selected by Gatorade to surprise Mater Dei senior forward Katie Lou Samuelson with the Gatorade National Girl's Basketball Player of the Year Award.

Samuelson, who earlier this month joined Lisa Leslie and Diana Taurasi as the only two-time Gatorade California Girl's Basketball Player of the Year winners, is the second Mater Dei player to win National Award, joining Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis who won in 2010 and 2011.

"I didn't want to mess up the surprise and all," Delle Don said. Samuelson's second award of this kind all but puts a cap on the career of one of the most prolific basketball players California prep history.

Thursday's festivities were a little different from one year ago when Samuelson was sitting in statistics class with former Mater Dei quarterback Chase Forrest, who leaned over and told her congratulations on winning the state player of the year award. At the time, Samuelson had yet to hear she won and was shocked by the news.

She was even more shocked Thursday to see Delle Donne appear, trophy in hand, to present the award to her. The two-time WNBA All-Star and the UConn commit's games are very similar. They're both long -- Delle Donne 6'5" and Samuelson 6'3" -- crafty and have the ability to handle like a guard.

Having watched some film on the Mater Dei star, Delle Donne notices the similarities between the two, including the ball handling.

"That's what makes her unguardable," Delle Donne told FOXSportsWest.com on Thursday. "When you have that size and you have the ability to go inside and outside and be able to finish with both hands, that's something you just can't guard. Obviously, you see that in high school with her averaging about 30 points a game, and I think in college she's just going to be a blast to watch because she's on a team where they're not going to be able to double team her anymore. So she'll really be able to exploit defenses."

Samuelson is also a McDonald's All-American, a Jordan Brand Classic All-American and the 2015 Morgan Wooten Player of the Year. The Gatorade National Player of the Year Award is a special honor to her because it acknowledges the work she does in the classroom, where she holds a 4.26 GPA, and the work she does in the community, where she's done a lot of volunteer work that includes entertaining children with special needs.

"It's just unreal," Samuelson said. "School's very important to me and my family. Growing up it was always school first so this award is very special because of that because it's not just athletics."  

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