Leading your team to a state championship is always a big deal.

When it's the first in more than 100 years? That's an absolutely epic accomplishment.

It was a legendary 2024-25 season for Windsor High School junior Madden Smiley, who led the Wizards to their first boys basketball state championship since 1924.

While there were several other deserving athletes, Smiley's elite ability and elevated play in key moments made him our pick as The Coloradoan's Boys Athlete of the Year in the Fort Collins area.

He's joined by Heritage Christian/Fort Collins three-sport star Levi Hermsen, who won the fan vote as the Blue Federal Credit Union Male Athlete of the Year.

Windsor's Madden Smiley leaps into his teammates' arms as the time expires following the Colorado Class 5A boys basketball state title game against Green Mountain on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at the Denver Coliseum in Denver, Colo.

There was simply no denying Smiley this past season.

He was Colorado's Class 5A Player of the Year, averaging 20.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Those stats don't even paint the full picture.

Smiley was the ringleader for a balanced Windsor squad that had to replace every key big man from a runner-up squad in the 2023-24 season. He absorbed much of the offensive responsibility while staying locked in to the team's impenetrable defensive mindset.

And when the Wizards need him most, he came up clutch in the postseason.

Smiley had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists in the 5A championship game vs. Green Mountain after dropping 25 points, 6 rebounds and seven assists vs. Dakota Ridge in a quarterfinal thriller. He made four 3-pointers in each game, showcasing an improved shooting stroke and a free-flowing flair for the big moment.

In between, he helped the Wizards get some semifinal revenge on Mesa Ridge, the two-time defending state champs who had knocked out Windsor each of the previous two seasons.

During the regular season, Smiley was the Northern Conference Player of the Year and reached 1,000 career points with a career-high 38 points against Poudre.

The 6-foot-4 wing checked just about every box this year, cementing him as a sought-after recruit with several Division I college basketball offers.

Smiley also made it back-to-back Windsor winners, with two-sport Wizards' standout Mikey Munn earning Coloradoan Athlete of the Year honors for the 2023-24 school season.

Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Windsor basketball star Madden Smiley is the Coloradoan's Boys Athlete of the Year