MaxPreps 2019-20 Male High School Athlete of the Year: Jalen Suggs

Now you can add more non-Minnesota contemporary stars such as Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray and Lonzo Ball into the mix.

That's because Suggs is the 2019-20 MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year, joining Mahomes (2013-14), Murray (2014-15), Ball (2015-16) along with eight others to be picked as the very best in the country.

A MaxPreps first-team basketball All-American headed to Gonzaga, Suggs led the Red Hawks to a 26-3 record and No. 13 national ranking. This coming after he was named Mr. Minnesota as the best football player in the state during the fall. Those back-to-back seasons aren't easy, but Suggs, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound quarterback in football and shooting guard in basketball, is a rare athlete.
As a secondary sport, Suggs passed for 2,213 yards and 25 touchdowns, rushed for 978 yards and 12 more scores. Defensively, he logged nine interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. He did so for SMB, a cooperative of Minnehaha Academy with St. Paul Academy and Blake, leading the team to the state finals.

With his career path clearly paved toward basketball, he still received seven football scholarship offers, including Ohio State and Georgia.

Straight from the gridiron, Suggs took to the hardwood and averaged 23.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 rebounds and 3.9 steals per game. The Red Hawks were off toward a fourth straight state championship, but like much of America, the coronavirus pandemic cut their season short.

His final prep effort was a 30-point effort in a 94-58 win over Totino-Grace to grab the state's 3A Section 4 title. Since 2016-17, Suggs has led the Red Hawks to a 111-15 record with three straight state 2A titles. He finished with 2,945 career points, 883 rebounds, 735 assists, 509 steals and 103 blocked shots in 154 career games, playing also as an eighth-grader.

Known as a fierce competitor — "the most competitive kid I've ever coached," Minnehaha coach Lance Johnson said — Suggs mellowed down the stretch of his senior year. He told twincities.com that his final game was perhaps his most enjoyable. He knew it was the end.

Johnson told mnbasketballhub.com though his star player was a "man among boys (who) overpowers people right now," Suggs off the court is "a gentleman and very humble. He turned our athletic program around."

MaxPreps national basketball editor Jordan Divens said Suggs made "an impact on the court in so many ways — scoring, rebounds, finding the open man or making steals. He's just so very versatile. He's super athletic but also very strong and smart. He doesn't force things. He makes open shots.

"The blend of everything always makes him the best player on the court."

Nash Hutmacher, Chamberlain (S.D.): A three-time All-State football player headed to Nebraska was also a four-time state wrestling champion who posted a 166-0 career record. He didn't get to defend his state shot put title due to COVID-19.

DJ Uiagalelei, St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.): The national co-Player of the Year in football led the Braves to a state Open Division and national championships by throwing for 4,225 yards, 48 touchdowns against two interceptions. The current Clemson-enrollee also rushed for 412 yards and eight scores.