Samoan/Alaskan native Alissa Pili has been named in Max Preps ‘Top 20 High School athletes of the past two decades’.
MaxPreps is celebrating 20 years as America’s source for high school sports this month and In recognition of 20 years of high school sports coverage, they have been looking back at some of the greatest teams, stories and single-season teams of the past 20 years.
They also shared a breakdown of the 20 greatest high school athletes since 2002 which included instantly recognisable names like NBA star Lebron James and Olympian track athlete Allyson Felix.
One of two females to win a pair of MaxPreps Athlete of the Year honors, Pili won 13 state championships during her four years at Dimond. She won four state titles in volleyball, two state championships in basketball, four shot put crowns, two discus titles and one state title in wrestling.
A two-time MaxPreps basketball All-America selection, Pili holds the state Class 4A basketball scoring record with 2,614 career points and also broke the school record in shot put with a throw of 42 feet, 9.25 inches. She was also dominant in volleyball as a senior, recording 463 kills in 102 sets with 73 aces.
Alissa in her former USC college basketball colours
Earlier this year Alissa was also chosen to feature in Champion’s ‘Get it Girl’ campaign featuring hip hop artist Saweetie and 11 other women collegiate athletes in honour of Womens History Month in March.
As part of the campaign, each woman selected also receive a two-year Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) investment as official brand ambassadors and access to mentors, helping develop their professional career interests within the areas of sports, entertainment, media, and marketing.
MaxPreps Sports Female High School Athlete of the Year!
Meet the young Samoan / Alaskan native athlete who joins Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin as the only two-time winner of the MaxPreps Female High School Athlete of the Year!
She joins an elite group of previous athletes of the year including 5 time Olympic Swimming gold medalist Missy Franklin, All American distance runner Jordan Hasay and current WNBA stars Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis!
MaxPrep wrote:
13 Alaska state titles are impressive. Four volleyball titles. Two basketball championships. Four shot put crowns. Two discus medals. One wrestling victory.
“Ever since I was little, I wanted to compete,” she said. “I hate losing. I’d play against the boys, who were bigger, stronger and faster, and that only pushed me to go harder.”
A two-time MaxPreps basketball All-American, she also holds the state Class 4A basketball scoring record with 2,614 points. In this year’s postseason run, Pili dropped 40 points in the 62-57 title win over Bartlett, while adding 22 and 18 in the 46-36 semifinal win over Soldotna, 33 and 19 in a 66-43 quarterfinal win over Ketchikan.
Basketball is where she really excels and she was named by ESPN as one of 6 Basketball prospects who lit up the July recruiting trail in 2016 and then followed up with a full standalone feature on Alissa here
ESPN said “If you are looking for a no-nonsense power player who simply gets the job done, may we suggest a trip to Alaska? We hear it’s nice this time of year. Pili, a sophomore-to-be at Dimond (Anchorage) who played for Alaska Lady Hoops at the End of the Oregon Trail in early July, is versatile in addition to reliable. The mobile 6-foot power forward can defend numerous positions. On offense, she brings superb footwork to the paint and consistently delivers in traffic.”
We caught up with Alissa who is of Samoan descent and asked her the essentials.
