Orono’s 6-foot senior point guard Pierce Walston has been named the state’s boys high school basketball player of the year by MaxPreps.
An affiliate of CBS Sports, MaxPreps previously recognized Cooper Flagg of Nokomis and Silvano Ismail of Cheverus for the award, in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Leading No. 4 Orono to its second consecutive gold ball this year and individually eclipsing the 1,000-point threshold, Walston averaged 17.8 points, 6.8 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game his senior season.
In the tournament, Walston played his best basketball, posting 29 points, five assists and four steals against rival Old Town in the regional finals, and 16 points, seven assists and three steals against undefeated Oceanside in the state finals.
Walston was not listed as a finalist for the Maine Mr. Basketball award last week, so he was glad to hear that he was acknowledged by MaxPreps for his accomplishments this year.
“It was a huge honor to get,” Walston said. “Not being a finalist made me more hungry as an individual. [As a team], it had been the same story all year — Orono’s not gonna get through Ellsworth, Orono’s not gonna get through Old Town, and no matter who makes it, nobody’s beating Oceanside. We really accepted that challenge, and took it personally in a way.”
Pierce Walston also helped lead Orono to a football state championship in November, scoring three touchdowns in the Red Riots’ upset victory over undefeated Old Orchard Beach in the 8-man small title game, en route to Orono’s first gold football in 29 years.
After graduation, Walston plans on joining the Air National Guard for a year, before going back to school. He plans on playing basketball at the NCAA Division III level.
