Presenting the 2023 KC Star Scholar-Athletes, and how we determined this year’s winners

The Kansas City Star’s annual High School Scholar-Athlete awards program, recognizing the achievements of some outstanding young people in partnership with the Kansas City Royals, is one of the coolest things we do.

The caliber of nominees is always staggering. And we don’t take lightly the responsibility of reviewing them.

Today’s presentation of The Star’s 2023 Scholar-Athletes — overall boys winner Carter McIntosh of Blue Springs South and overall girls winner Taylor Cruse of Basehor-Linwood, plus more than 100 honorees from each high school around the metro — culminates a process that included three rounds of intense judging.

As always, each of the 100-plus high schools within The Star’s coverage area was invited to submit up to three nominees apiece. Each nomination included a personalized portfolio of athletic skills, academic and other achievements and faculty endorsements.

This year’s first round of Scholar-Athlete judging was carried out by members of The Star’s newsroom. They whittled the field to one winner per school before handing off these semifinalists to a second group of judges tasked with determining two top 10s: one for the boys, one for the girls.

The portfolios of these top 10s, our 2023 semifinalists, were then placed into the hands of a panel of final judges. Taking part in that capacity this year were Royals infielder Michael Massey, a consortium of players from the Super Bowl-champion Chiefs, Sporting KC’s Kendall McIntosh and Addisyn Merrick, the KC Current defender from Lee’s Summit.

Nominated student-athletes were evaluated 45% for their athletic prowess and accomplishments, 35% on academic achievements, 10% on participation in activities apart from sports and academics (such as community service and student government) and 10% for overall impact on their respective school’s environment. Variances in class size and rank, as well as size and competitiveness of their schools’ respective athletic leagues and conferences, were also carefully considered.

Within today’s pages of The Star and online at Kansascity.com, you’ll learn about our overall winners, plus each school’s winner. You’ll also see who else was nominated from each campus.

The overall male and female winners earn special trophies recognizing their accomplishments and are invited to throw out a first pitch before a Royals game this summer at Kauffman Stadium. All 100-some school winners get tickets to that game — enough for family members, too — as well as special certificates of achievement.

Before you move on and check out this year’s honorees, please join us in congratulating each nominee and thanking those whose time and effort made it possible for The Star to once again honor some of the brightest young women and men that our region has to offer.

They’re embarking on the exciting next stages of their lives, but they won’t soon be forgotten for their indelible impact on ours.