VOLCANO VISTA’S DAVID LUNN NAMED GATORADE NEW MEXICO BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Gatorade today announced David Lunn of Volcano Vista High School is the 2025-26 Gatorade New Mexico Boys Basketball 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 Lunn as New Mexico’s best high school boys basketball player, and he joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Jayson Tatum (2015-16, Chaminade College Preparatory School, MO), Cooper Flagg (2023-24, Montverde Academy, FL) and Cameron Boozer (2022-23 & 2024-25, Christopher Columbus High School, FL).
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior guard led the Hawks to a 26-5 record and their state record fifth consecutive Class 5A championship this past season. Lunn averaged 20.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and scored a team-high 23 points in the state final on 8-of-10 shooting. The MVP of the 2025-26 Marv Sanders Memorial Invitational Tournament and a 2024-25 First Team All-Metro selection by the Albuquerque Journal, he’s ranked as the state’s No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2027 by PrepHoops.
A member of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church and a practiced alto saxophonist, Lunn has volunteered locally with the Rights of Passage mentorship group and has also donated his time packing gift bags of provisions for children in Albuquerque facing food insecurity, in addition to participating in the Rio Grande Down Syndrome Network buddy walk. “Lunn is a tough player,” said Forrest Becker, head coach of Piedra Vista High School. “He’s very physical, has good touch in the paint and has expanded his game to be a threat from outside. His overall athleticism is unmatched in New Mexico and he has put in time to expand his game and make him a threat in other areas as well. He has the discipline to play hard at both ends of the court and he has a major impact on the game defensively as well.”
Lunn has maintained a 3.54 weighted GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school this fall.
The 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.
