Taylor Clark is a finalist for the 2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award.
A senior at Lake High School, Clark has fought through health issues in recent years and is now back on the court, playing a pivotal role on the Lady Hornets basketball team.
Following a standout freshman campaign that included hitting a buzzer-beater in the MHSAA 2A state playoffs, Clark came across the first of several speed bumps as a sophomore when she was diagnosed with a spontaneous cerebrospinal leak and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
While she was too sick to play for most of her sophomore year, Clark cheered on her teammates from the sideline as Lake went on to win a state championship in 2023.
A year later, Clark faced another obstacle with a hernia requiring emergency surgery midseason. Her resilience showed true as she recovered and made her way back to the court by the time the Lady Hornets competed in and won a second consecutive championship in 2024.
Clark, who is also a member of the Lake High School softball team, has proven her resilience both on and off the athletic grounds. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA despite frequent absences for medical appointments and is widely considered a role model in the Lake community.
Clark’s determination to succeed amid health battles is what led the Atlanta Tipoff Club to choose her as one of 10 finalists for its yearly award that recognizes one male and one female student-athlete who have consistently gone above and beyond through the basketball season and have demonstrated courage in their approach to their team, school, and community.
“The courage and leadership demonstrated by these young athletes remind us of the transformative power of sports,” Atlanta Tipoff Club President Eric Oberman said. “We are proud to honor Taylor as a finalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award. She exemplifies resilience at their school and through a video tribute shared across the Naismith Awards and Jersey Mike’s websites and social media accounts.”
The Atlanta Tipoff Club will name its male and female winners of the Naismith Courage Awards on Feb. 20. The winners will each receive $2,000 and see an additional $2,000 donated by Jersey Mike’s to their high school basketball programs in their honor.
