VOLCANO VISTA’S KENYON AGUINO NAMED GATORADE NEW MEXICO BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Kenyon Aguino of Volcano Vista High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade New Mexico Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Aguino is the second Gatorade New Mexico Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Volcano Vista High School.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the court, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Aguino as New Mexico’s best high school boys basketball player, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Karl-Anthony Towns (2012-13 & 2013-14, St. Joseph High School, N.J.), Jayson Tatum (2013-14, 2014-15 & 2015-16, Chaminade College Preparatory School, Mo.) and Cooper Flagg (2023-24, Montverde Academy, Fl.).
The 6-foot-7, 215 pound senior forward led the Hawks (29-2) to a fourth straight Class 5A state title this past season, averaging 20.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists and 1.5 blocks. Now a three-time Gatorade State Player of the Year, Aguino is ranked as the state’s No. 1 recruit in his class by PrepHoops. New Mexico’s returning Mr. Basketball and a 2025 Nike TOC All-Tournament team honoree, he concluded his prep basketball career with 2,154 points.
A member of the Ohkay Owingeh Native American Tribe, Aguino, along with his teammates, regularly volunteers by helping school custodians clean up after the 2,000 member student body eats lunch. He has also donated his time to the Volcano Vista Youth Basketball Camp and the Rio Grande Down Syndrome Network Buddy Walk. He is a member of Volcano Vista’s Hawk Pride initiative, which supports a variety of student and community activities. “Kenyon is once again the most dominant and complete high school basketball player in the state of New Mexico this year,” said Wally Salata, head coach of Rio Rancho High School. “What makes him better this year is he can handle the ball anywhere on the court and can shoot the perimeter jump shot. He is very unselfish and a great leader for his team. He is worthy of winning his third award, something no other New Mexico player has done before.”
Aguino has maintained a weighted 4.36 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play basketball at the University of Montana this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. 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 state winners in each sport.
Three-time winner Aguino joins recent Gatorade New Mexico Boys Basketball Players of the Year Ja’Kwon Hill (2021-22, Volcano Vista High School) and William “Deuce” Benjamin (2020-21, Las Cruces High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
