The award recognizes outstanding athletic excellence as well as academic achievement and exemplary character both on and off the court. All state players of the year are also finalists for the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year Award, to be announced in March.
Carmody is a four-year member of Mars Area High School Boys Varsity Basketball Team. This season, he helped lead the Fightin’ Planets to a 21-4 record and the team’s first-ever WPIAL title.
A two-time First Team All-State honoree, Carmody was also named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fab Five and was selected for the USA Today All-USA Pennsylvania Second Team. He was named as 2016-2017 Butler Eagle Boys Basketball Player of the Year, and shared the 2015-2016 title.
At Mars Area High School, Carmody maintains a 4.05 GPA; is a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Honor Society; and participates in the school’s Child Development program. In the community, he has volunteered at a local retirement home as well as for youth basketball camps and Autism Speaks.
Carmody has signed a letter of intent to continue his sports career with the Fighting Irish Men’s Basketball Team at the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind.), where he intends to major in business and finance.
As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Carmody will select a youth sports organization to receive $1,000 Gatorade Play It Forward grant to donate to a sports-based organization of his choosing; and, he may enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant.
For more information, visit http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/ or www.facebook.com/Hudl/.