Florida Signee Ava Brown Named Gatorade National Player of the Year

Top Stories Rhiannon Potkey - June 20, 2023

University of Florida incoming freshman Ava Brown was named the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year. The senior pitcher/first baseman from Lake Creek High School in Montgomery, Texas, was surprised with the trophy on Tuesday by her friends, coaches and teammates at school.

The Gatorade Player of the Year award recognizes athletes for their excellence on the playing field, their commitment in the classroom and their impact in their community. Previous Gatorade National Softball Players of the Year have combined for more than 17 gold medals and five national championships.

Brown beat out nearly half-a-million other players nationwide. She was among a group of state winners that included 30 who have signed to play with NCAA Division I programs and 27 who have a GPA of 4.0 and above. 

Brown, the two-time Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, led the Lake Creek to a 44-1 record and a second straight Conference 5A state championship this past season. The 5-foot-7 right-hander compiled a 27-0 record in the circle with a 0.53 ERA, 292 strikeouts and only 30 walks in 172 innings. At the plate, Brown batted .462 with nine home runs, 17 doubles, 65 RBI and a .888 slugging percentage.

She threw a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts in Lake Creek’s 8-0 win over Canyon High in the state final, and concluded her prep career with an 81-0 record and 830 strikeouts in the circle.

As part of Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, Brown will receive a grant to give to a 501(c)3 youth sports charity, which includes Gatorade’s social impact partners – Athlete Ally, Laureus USA, Move United, Women’s Sports Foundation and Up2Us Sports – supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport.

It’s the second straight year a Florida commit has earned Gatorade National Player of the Year honors. Incoming freshman pitcher Keagan Rothrock was selected last year as a junior at Roncalli High in Indianapolis.

Each year, a selection committee evaluates the nation’s top talent to choose one state winner from each of the 50 states as well as Washington D.C., in 12 different sports: football, girls volleyball, boys
and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. In all, 608 athletes are honored each year. From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports.

GATORADE STATE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

Name	State	High School	College
Mya Holt	Alabama	Wetumpka	Troy
Emily McCutcheon	Alaska	South Anchorage	Western Washington
Kaitlyn Terry	Arizona	Greenway	UCLA
Alyssa Houston	Arkansas	Benton	Stanford
Ryan Maddox	California	Clovis North	Arizona
Hailey Maestretti	Colorado	Lutheran	Utah
Stella Blanchard	Connecticut	Southington	Marist
Kaylan Yoder	Delaware	Delmarva Christian	Liberty
Delaney Mosley	District of Columbia	St. John’s College	Illinois
Katelynn Oxley	Florida	Bartow	Florida
Olivia Duncan	Georgia	Buford	Clemson
Taryn Irimata	Hawaii	Campbell	Nevada
Samantha Hatzenbeller	Idaho	Owyhee	N/A
Sage Mardjetko	Illinois	Lemont	South Carolina
Kaegan Rothrock	Indiana	Roncalli	Florida
Jena Young	Iowa	Winterset	Iowa
Madison Walker	Kanasas	Olathe West	Missouri
Brooke Gray	Kentucky	Ballard	Louisville
Addison Jackson	Louisiana	St. Amant	Boston College
Brooke Gerry	Maine	Windham	Rhode Island
Delaney Reefe	Maryland	Urbana	Maryland
Kelly Colleran	Massachusetts	North Attleborough	Boston University
Reganne Bennett	Michigan	Novi	South Carolina
Jessa Snippes	Minnesota	Rosemount	Minnesota
Jolie Hays	Mississippi	Northwest Rankin	Southern Miss
Taylor Brown	Missouri	Washington	Texas A&M
Ella Farrell	Montana	Glacier	N/A
Maddia Groff	Nebraska	Marian	Southern Illinois
Talia Tretton	Nevada	Douglas	Iowa
Sarah Tayor	New Hampshire	Concord	Stonehill College
Sophia Bordi	New Jersey	Haddon Heights	N/A
Faith Aragon	New Mexico	Carlsbad	UTEP
Stefania Abruscato	New York	Hauppauge	Missouri
Karli Godwin	North Carolina	East Columbus	Oklahoma State
Taylor Christensen	North Dakota	Beulah	South Mountain CC
Brooke Mannon	Ohio	West Jefferson	Arizona
Karissa Fiegener	Oklahoma	Piedmont	Oklahoma Christian
Payton Burnham	Oregon	Sheldon	N/A
Julia Shearer	Pennsylvania	North Penn	Maryland
Alyssa Twomey	Rhode Island	Pilgrim	Providence
Ansley Bennett	South Carolina	Summerville	N/A
Elsa Morrison	Tennessee	Farragut	N/A
Ava Brown	Texas	Lake Creek	Florida
Avery Sapp	Utah	Spanish Fork	Utah Valley
Emily Borrazzo	Vermont	South Burlington	Williams College
Katie Kutz	Virginia	Bishop O’Connell	Oklahoma State
Maddie Milhorn	Washington	Skyview	N/A
Maci Boggess	West Virginia	Winfield	Youngstown State
Karly Meredith	Wisconsin	Kaukauna	N/A
Avery Gray	Wyoming	Campbell County	Montana State