Payton Verhulst

Payton Verhulst Louisville Women's Basketball

Position:
Guard
Height:
6-1
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
De Soto, Kan.
High School:
Bishop Miege

Courier Journal (March 3, 2022) - How the competitive and confident Payton Verhulst found her role for Louisville

Freshman Year (2021-22):

Named to ACC All-Freshman Team
Ranks in top 10 among ACC freshmen in points and assists per game
Shot a perfect 3-3 from the field, including 1-1 from deep, and added one steal in the Sweet 16 win of the NCAA tournament vs. Tennessee on 3/26
Set career-highs with 13 points and three threes, shooting 2-2 from the line in the win over Duke on 1/30
Scored 10 points, going 2-4 from behind the arc, with seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in a career-high 23
minutes in the win over Pittsburgh on 1/6
Tied a career-high 12 points, hitting 4 of her 7 attempts while adding two rebounds in the win over Boston College on 12/30
Established new career-highs with 12 points and 7 rebounds vs. EKU on 12/16
Made her first career three pointer and finished with five points in win at Colorado State
Scored seven points on 2-2 shooting, 3-4 from FT line, while adding five rebounds and four assists vs. Bellarmine
Scored two points on 1-1 shooting in collegiate debut vs. Arizona on 11/12
Named to preseason ACC Newcomer Watch List

USA Basketball (2021):

Helped USA Basketball Women's U19 World Cup Team win gold with a 70-52 win over Australia in the championship game at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, contributed three points, six rebounds and two assists in the 70-52 win over Australia in the final
Represented Louisville alongside Elizabeth Dixon, Mykasa Robinson and Kianna Smith at the 2021 Red Bull USA Basketball 3x3 Nationals in Springfield, Mass., finished with a 3-2 overall record and reached the semifinals

High School:

Five-star prospect and is ranked as high as No. 8 overall by PASS and No. 9 by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report
espnW Hoop Gurlz ranked her No. 12 overall and as the fourth best guard. Prospect Nation listed her as the 10^th best player and fifth best guard
Named USA Today National Female Athlete of the Year, was one of three finalists for the award, which was unveiled during the USA Today High School Sports Awards Show. The show was hosted by Michael Strahan, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and host of Good Morning America, and Rob Gronkowski, the four-time Super Bowl Champion
Named Kansas' Girls Basketball Player of the Year and overall Female Athlete of the Year
A three-time Eastern Kansas League MVP, three-time first-team All-State Top 5 by The Capital-Journal and Gatorade Kansas Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Named a 2021 McDonald's All-American and to Jordan Brand Classic
Named a 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith National High School Second Team All-American, which places her among the top 10 high school players in the country
Named 2021 Kansas Player of the Year by MaxPreps.com
As a senior, Verhulst led Bishop Miege to a 23-1 record and a Kansas Class 4-A state championship, while averaging 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 steals, 3.6 assists, and 3.5 blocks a game
Named the 2020 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and a Naismith Trophy All-American
First Team All-state following her freshman, sophomore, junior and senior campaigns
As a junior, she started every game and averaged 17.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game while leading Bishop Miege to a 21-2 overall record
During her freshman and sophomore seasons, she helped lead Bishop Miege to a combined 48-1 record, winning the state title as a sophomore and reaching the state title game as a freshman. She averaged 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.0 blocks as a sophomore, and 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks as a freshman
Named 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship MVP after leading the team to a 6-0 record and a gold medal in Puerto Aysen, Chile. She started all six games and averaged 14.5 points and 2.8 rebounds
Also participated in the 2019 USA Basketball 3x3 U18 National Championship at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Her Blue Star 30 Stars team finished in fourth place with a 5-2 record
Took part in trials for the 2018 USA U17 World Cup Team

Personal:

Born on June 1, 2003
Daughter of Robin and David, has five brothers and sisters - Quinton, Dalton, Ashton, Kirston, Addiston
Majoring in Education/Special Education
Mother (Robin) played basketball at Duke, father (David) played basketball at Rockhurst, brother Quinton played basketball at St. Mary's, brother Dalton played basketball at Friends University (Kan.), sister Ashton is currently playing basketball at UCF