Memphis basketball signee James Wiseman to be special guest and walk red carpet at ESPY Awards

Memphis basketball center James Wiseman will walk the red carpet and be featured as a special guest Wednesday night at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, along with the 11 other finalists for the Gatorade National Boys and Girls Athlete of the Year Awards.

The finalists were honored at the 17th annual Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year awards Tuesday night, which was co-hosted by Peyton Manning and ESPN's Sage Steele. Sprinter Allyson Felix, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley and Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns were also in attendance. 

Bobby Witt Jr., who was the No. 2 overall pick in this year's MLB draft, was named Gatorade Boys National Athlete of the Year. He was the highest-ever draft selection of a Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year. 

Kelley Lynch, the who went 17-0 with a 0.27 ERA and a .436 batting average, won the Gatorade National Girls Athlete of the Year. 

Wiseman, the Gatorade Boys Basketball National Player of the Year, averaged 25.8 points, 14.8 rebounds and 5.5 blocks during the regular season and led the East to the Class AAA state championship game.

The 2019 ESPY Awards will be held in Los Angeles' Microsoft Theater on Wednesday  at 7 p.m. and will be hosted by comedian Tracy Morgan. Coverage will be on ESPN with the Red Carpet Show starting at 6 p.m. and the awards show starting at 7 p.m.

 Reach Khari Thompson at KAThompson@gannett.com and on Twitter @_KhariThompson