New USA TODAY High School Sports Awards program to launch this summer

The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards, presented by U.S. Polo Assn., will announce the nation’s top athletes in 25 sports during a new awards show this summer.

The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards program operates as a multimonth high school student athlete recognition program in 53 regions and all 50 states. Top athletes in each area will be recognized in most state-sanctioned sports, as well as honors for coach of the year, team of the year, and male and female athletes of the year. The regional honorees and winners will be revealed the last week of June and state winners will be announced July 15.

The athlete designated as the statewide winner in the sports recognized nationally will go on to receive recognition in the inaugural USA TODAY High School Sports Awards show. The on-demand show debuts at 7 p.m. CT Aug. 5 on the USA TODAY, USA TODAY News and USA TODAY Sportswire channels, available on Amazon Fire TV, the Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus and most Smart TVs. It will be available on Amazon Prime Video Direct and the show website (https://sportsawards .usatoday.com/).

Viewers also will see elite high school athletes, coaches and teams that were named the state winners in sports including baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, soccer and more. Winners among the honorees from each state will be selected as the nation’s top male and female athletes in each sport. The national broadcast will showcase stories and highlights of their stellar performances from the past year.

Athletes who are selected as winners for each state will be invited to register for the national show. They will receive a special gift box that includes special commemorative items.