CHICAGO (January 9, 2026) — In its 41st year celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Lolufe Adedeji of Edmond Memorial High School is the 2025-26 Gatorade Oklahoma Volleyball Player of the Year.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their excellence in sport, academics and community. The award recognizes Adedeji as Oklahoma’s best high school volleyball player, and she joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Kerri Walsh Jennings (1995-96, Archbishop Mitty High School, CA), April Ross (1999-00, Newport Harbor High School, CA) and Campbell Flynn (2024-25, Mercy High School, MI).
The 6-foot-4 senior middle blocker led the Bulldogs to a 35-5 record and the Class 6A state championship this past season. Adedeji recorded 327 kills and 114 blocks, including a 12-kill, nine-block effort in Memorial’s 3-1 win over Broken Arrow High School in the state final to earn tournament MVP honors. She is a member of the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program.
Adedeji has volunteered locally as a youth minister, and she has donated her time to multiple community service initiatives through her church. “Lolufe Adedeji is a once-in-a-generation kind of player,” said Ian Bullen, head coach of Broken Arrow High School. “She is so strong on both offense and defense, and she is a nightmare to try to slow down. She was a big reason we could not stop Edmond Memorial in the state final.”
Adedeji has maintained a weighted 3.71 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play volleyball at Texas A&M University this fall. T
he Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one state winner from each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., in 12 different sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. In total, 610 high school athletes are honored each year. From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports. 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 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 $6.4 million in grants to winners across more than 2,200 organizations.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X (Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
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