Cumberland’s Evan Spencer Named Rhode Island Gatorade Football Player of the Year

In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade
today announced Evan Spencer of Cumberland High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Rhode Island Football
Player of the Year. Spencer is the second Gatorade Rhode Island Football Player of the Year to be chosen from
Cumberland High School.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school
athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Spencer as
Rhode Island’s best high school football player and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs,
coaches and star athletes such as Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fl.), Peyton Manning (1993-94,
Isidore Newman School, La.) and DJ Lagway (2023-24, Willis High School, Texas).
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior quarterback and linebacker passed for 1,117 yards and eight touchdowns this past
season, leading the Clippers (5-5) to the Division I state semifinals. Spencer also rushed for 1,126 yards and 14
touchdowns. He recorded 12 tackles and a forced fumble on defense.
Spencer has volunteered locally with the Adoption RI Duffle Bag Dash, which provides suitcases, duffle bags and
backpacks to children in foster or residential care. He has also donated his time to Reading Week events at
Cumberland elementary schools, exploring books and holding Q&A sessions with students. “Evan was a huge part
of what Cumberland did,” said Keith MacDonald, head coach at Portsmouth High School. “Cumberland goes as
Evan goes and he’s very important to his team.”
Spencer has maintained a 3.39 GPA in the classroom. He remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of
the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and
girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National
Player of the Year in each sport. 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 state winners in each sport.
Spencer joins recent Gatorade Rhode Island Football Players of the Year Myles Craddock (2023-24, Moses Brown
School), Moses Meus (2022-23, Saint Raphael Academy), Marquis Buchanan (2021-22, Classical High School) and
Sam Baddoo (2020-21, Classical High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
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 $5.6
million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student –
athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade,
Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.