Nation's #2 Girls HOOPS team NABS SEVEN noms for 2022 McDonald’s All-American game

SEVEN DHS Student-Athletes Tabbed for Prestigious National Hoops Honors
Posted on 01/19/2022
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DeSoto High School’s #2 in the Nation Girls Basketball team boasts SEVEN nominees for the 2022 McDonald’s All-American game. The McDonald's All-American game began in 1977 and has been played every year until 2020, when it was canceled due to the pandemic. Players were nominated by either a high school coach, athletic director, principal or member of the McDonald's All-American selection committee.

 

Nearly 800 nominees were announced, with 41 states and the District of Columbia represented. Texas received the most nominations with 83. The top 24 boys and 24 girls selected to play in the McDonald's All-American game will be revealed Tuesday, Jan. 25.

 

The DeSoto Girls Basketball team has started the season on track to defend their State Championship title!  These seven scholar athletes, with an average 3.9 GPA, have taken on challenges in national tournaments, including a disappointing encounter with the #1 team in the nation who handed them their first and to date only loss of the season.  The upcoming ESPN Girls Basketball Invitational scheduled for Jan. 21 and 22 could provide the opportunity to even the score.  DeSoto will play Friday, Jan. 21 at 7pm EST (6 pm Central) in the game airing on ESPN+.

 

All of these stellar student athletes have already been offered opportunities for higher education at Division 1 institutions!


Congratulations and best wishes to:

#5 Sa’Myah Smith- LSU

#14 Amina Muhammad- Texas

#11 Tionna Herron- Kentucky

#20 Ayanna Thompson- Ole Miss

#12 Jiya Perry- SMU

#15 Michayla Gatewood- Kansas State

#4 Ja’Mia Harris- Kansas State

“What an Honor for the city of DeSoto, and DeSoto High School, to have Seven (7) players from this extraordinary team to be nominated for the McDonald’s Girls High School All American game,” enthused DeSoto resident and long-termed member and past president of the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association (NBMOA) Roland Parrish. “I have seen them play several times, including a strong game against an out of state team at Dickie’s arena in Ft. Worth, during the Thanksgiving Holiday Classic. They were very focused, they played smart. They are physical, yet they play team ball.”

“It was approximately 20 plus years ago, I was one of about 44 McDonald’s franchisees from around the US, who introduced the idea, and then we voted to add the Girls All American team to compliment the boy’s team,” Parrish explained.  “The McDonald’s All-American Marching Band was the first, then the boys’ basketball, and then the girls.”

“As a former High School State Champion (800 meters, Indiana High School, and a Division one Scholar Athlete, Purdue University), I know that success in sports takes hard work, and discipline. Early morning workouts, weights, playing thru pain and injuries,” Parrish continued. “When awards like this happen, the athlete can feel inner satisfaction that their efforts were not in vain.  I wish these young ladies nothing but success in their remaining high school careers, their collegiate careers and beyond. This reinforces DeSoto’s nickname: The All-American City.”



About DeSoto Independent School District 

DeSoto ISD is a public independent school district serving more than 7,400 students and 1,000 employees. The district comprises 10 campuses serving students from early childhood through graduation. DeSoto ISD’s mission is to ensure students, without exception, learn and grow at their highest level. The District’s 2021 Be The Future Strategic Plan focuses on equity, access, and excellence in an effort to provide a holistic and well-rounded educational experience to students and families in DeSoto, Glenn Heights, and Ovilla.


For more information about DeSoto ISD, visit www.desotoisd.org.

WFAA COVERAGE:
https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/high-school/hs-basketball/desoto-girls-basketball-lands-7-mcdonalds-high-school-all-american-nominations/287-b186a3aa-0462-4e39-910e-876da7e9485f