Being Player of the Year for is a particularly special accomplishment: an accolade that senior Katie Diao is not unfamiliar to. Diao was recognized as a freshman for her immense impact, winning RM’s Freshman of the Year. In her sophomore year, she won MOCO Player of the Year. Then again in her junior year, she won the East Division Player of the Year. Now, she has successfully added the Tide’s official Female Athlete of the Year award under her belt.
A four-year varsity player, Diao has made an impact from the moment she stepped on the court as a freshman. Throughout her four years, her name has become ubiquitous with RM’s girls basketball, as a point-scorer, leader and teammate.
A standout player since her freshman year, she distinguished herself from the crowd almost immediately. Describing her first varsity high school game, “I mean, she was immediately the best player on the court,” said Coach Oakes. Her efforts and strengths culminated her junior year, when she announced her commitment to play Division I basketball at Yale University, competing in the Ivy League athletic conference.
At the end of her senior year, Diao has thoroughly cemented herself in RM history. She is the winningest player in RM Girl’s Basketball history, collecting the most number of wins as a starter than any other player. She stopped just shy of breaking the all-time points record, by about nine points. It is hard to find an honor Diao has not achieved, even being recognized in her nomination to the 2025-2026 girls basketball All-Metropolitan Second Team.
To Diao, this accomplishment is more than another accolade to add to her repertoire. “It’s really special. It demonstrates to me that all the hard work I put in are recognized by the school and my peers, which is really important to me” said Diao.
To Coach Oakes, the story of Diao as a player is told in both her stats and her as a player. “She averages ten rebounds a game…which is remarkable for a point guard and not really something you see” said Coach Oakes. Diao was indeed a remarkable player overall: she averaged nearly twenty points, ten rebounds and nearly ten assists per game, stats you rarely see in any other player in the county.
Perhaps the most significant capstone on her high school career, Diao led her team to the Maryland 4A State Championship for the first time in over 30 years. While the Rockets ultimately fell short, “advancing to state finals, that was one of the biggest moments of my basketball career” said Diao.
Throughout her time at RM, Diao has made an impact on not just the stats sheet or awards list, but also her coaches and teammates. “Describing Katie in one word… as a player she is efficient… and as a person she is unselfish” said Coach Oakes. Her teammates corroborate this; “Katie is totally unselfish, and just like, a great teammate, no matter what” said senior Charlotte Farnsworth, a fellow graduating senior on the basketball team.
Transitioning to college basketball is not easy, but it is without a doubt that Diao will shine at Yale. “If I could go back and tell myself to just be yourself and enjoy the moment. Whatever you put forward is enough” said Diao, “Enjoy the moment and just let go, because everything works out.”
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