Sidwell Friends senior is the fifth Quaker in the last five years to win the award.

Autumn Fleary ’26 has been named the 2025-26 Gatorade District of Columbia Girls Basketball Player of the Year.  

The award, the top individual honor in high school sports, is presented annually to top athletes in multiple sports in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states. It celebrates athletic accomplishment, academic achievement, and contribution to the community.

Fleary averaged 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game for the Quakers, who finished the season with a 21-7 record. The team captured the ISL (Independent School League) Conference Tournament Championship for the third consecutive year, defeating Bullis 59-55. Fleary and the Quakers made it to the finals of the DCSAA Championship game, losing narrowly to St. Johns in a hard-fought game. 

After transferring to Sidwell Friends as a junior, Fleary was selected to the Washington Post First Team All-Met Team and helped lead the Quakers to a DCSAA State Championship and ISL League Championship in 2025. 

Fleary is the sixth Sidwell Friends girls’ basketball player to win the Gatorade DC Player of the Year honor, joining Jordyn Jackson (2024-25), Jaydn Donovan (2022-23), Kiki Rice (2021-22), Taylor Hilton (2008-09) and Paula McNamee (1992-93). Acaden Lewis won the 2023-24 boys basketball award. Across all sports, 29 Sidwell Friends athletes have won the award since 1987.

Fleary will continue her playing career at Duke in the fall.