By Ron Brocato

Considered by college coaches as the No. 1 high school wide receiver in the nation in the Class of 2027, Brother Martin's Easton Royal was awarded the coveted James J. Corbett Award as Louisiana's top male amateur athlete by the Alstate Sugar Bowl at its annual awards banquet on June 24.

Royal, who excelled in football and track and field during his 2025-26 season, was the top award receiver at the banquet, held in the Caesars Superdome. He was also the recipient of the Outstanding Male Athlete for New Orleans, and Athlete of the Month for September, 2025, and May, 2026.

Royal had a sensational junior season as he earned first team all-state honors after recording 59 pass receptions for 1,219 yards and 20 total touchdowns, which included rushing plays. He opened the 2026 season by leading the Crusaders to four consecutive victories to earn his first Player of the Month honor.

His biggest game came on Sept. 12 when he had nine receptions for 254 yards and a touchdown against St. Paul's in Covington.

But Royal saved his marquee performance for the spring when he won the Class 5A state track meet's 100-meter dash with a time of 10.17 seconds to break the meet's composite record that had stood unchallenged since 1980.

The 5-11, 205-pound speedstar followed that performance by also winning the 200-meter dash and anchoring the Crusaders' victorious 4x100-meter relay.

Royal is the first high school male athlete to win the Corbett Award since 2017-28 when Lafayette High's Armand Duplantis was honored in 2017-18. He has since broken the world pole vault record multiple times.

Since its inception in 1967, Corbett Award winners have included 20 NFL players, 10 Major League baseball players, four ND NBA players (including two Hall of Famers), 12 Olympians (including eight Gold Medal winners), five WNBA players, and two PGA Tour stars.