Florida-Bound Pitcher Ava Brown Named 2022-23 Gatorade Best Female Player of the Year

The following release is from Gatorade…

Tuesday night at the Gatorade Player of the Year Awards held in Los Angeles, Ava Brown was named the 2022-23 Gatorade Best Female Player of the Year and Max Clark was named the 2022-23 Gatorade Best Male Player of the Year.

Brown, who went undefeated in her prep career, is the second softball athlete to take home the honor in the award’s 20-year history, and Clark, who has a robust community and academic resume, etches his name on the trophy following his third overall selection in the 2023 MLB Draft.

“Winning the Gatorade Best Player of the Year award is so special,” Brown said after being awarded the national honor, “because it’s a testament to not only my work on the field, but also what I’ve done in the classroom and in my community. Seeing my name on the trophy alongside a list of so many legends means everything to me.”

The Gatorade Player of the Year Awards celebrates the next generation of great athletes for their incredible accomplishments on and off the playing field.

Each year, Gatorade brings together its 12 National Players of the Year, the best of the best in high school sports, to recognize their accomplishments and celebrate their bright futures alongside professional athletes and industry tastemakers.

This year, the 12 National Players of the Year were joined by noted pro and Olympic athletes including:

• Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics forward and 2015-16 Gatorade Best Male Player of the Year
• Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Olympic champion, world-record holder and 2016-17 & 2015-16 Gatorade Best Female Player of the Year
• Sam Mewis, Kansas City Current midfielder and two-time Massachusetts Girls Soccer Player of the Year (2010-2011 & 2009-10)
• Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks forward and 2007-08 Gatorade National Player of the Year
• K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver
• April Ross, Three-time Olympic medalist and 1999-00 Gatorade National Girls Volleyball Player of the Year

Because the Gatorade Player of the Year program recognizes excellence on and off the field of play, awards were also presented in categories across academics, athletics and community impact.

Selected from all of the state Player of the Year winners, Alexa Pino (2022-23 Gatorade Connecticut Girls Soccer Player of the Year) won the Highlight of the Year award.

Myah Selland (2016-17 Gatorade South Dakota Girls Basketball Player of the Year) took home the Community Grant Award for her commitment to sportsmanship, character and community, while Edric Zhang (2022-23 Gatorade Virginia Boys Soccer Player of the Year) was awarded the Academic Achievement Awards for his efforts in the classroom.

“Each year, we’re thrilled to bring the 12 Gatorade National Players of the Year to Los Angeles for a truly special, one-of-a-kind experience to celebrate their amazing accomplishments on and off the field,” said Gatorade Portfolio president and general manager Michael Del Pozzo.

“The star-studded event is a glimpse into their undoubtably successful careers and futures as they join previous winners of the prestigious Gatorade Player of the Year award.”

The Player of the Year Awards are the culmination of an unparalleled three-day journey for the Gatorade National Players of the Year, who get to experience Los Angeles like a professional athlete with 5-star accommodations, educational opportunities, a trip to the ESPYs and more.

As part of the experience, Gatorade and its national winners stopped by First Break Academy, an award-winning community tennis program empowering Los Angeles youth to excel in tennis, academics and life, to play tennis and answer questions on what it takes to reach the next level.

Gatorade’s Head of Athlete Intelligence and Community Impact Tommy Adams also presented a check on behalf of Gatorade to cover the organization’s travel, rental and tournament fees to provide athletes with an equitable and safe place to play.

Additionally, all Gatorade State Players of the Year have the opportunity to give back, each awarding a $1,000 grant to a local or national organization of their choosing that helps young athletes realize the benefits of playing sports.

Gatorade also awards one spotlight grant of $10,000 for each of the 12 sports recognized by the program. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $4.4 million across more than 1,800 organizations.

Gatorade also gave an additional $25,000 grant to the second-annual Gatorade Community Grant Award winner, presented at the Gatorade Player of the Year Awards.

2022-23 GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

Ava Brown:

Texas’ returning Gatorade Player of the Year, Brown led the Lake Creek Lions to a 44-1 record and second straight Conference 5A state championship this past season, ranked the nation’s No. 3 recruit in the Class of 2023 by Extra Inning Softball. At the plate, the 2022 MaxPreps First Team All-American batted .462 with nine home runs, 17 doubles, 65 RBI and a .888 slugging percentage. Below are additional facts about Brown:

• Extra Inning Softball 2023 Player of the Year
• Struck out 292 batters while walking just 30 in 172 innings.
• Concluded her prep softball career with a 81-0 record and 830 strikeouts in the circle.
• Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) High ranked #1 in nation
• Volunteered with her local chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and as a youth softball coach.
• Brown has maintained a 3.55 GPA in the classroom.
• Signed a national letter of intent to play softball on scholarship at the University of Florida this fall.

Max Clark:

Indiana’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, Clark batted .646 with six home runs, 33 RBI and 45 runs scored this past season, leading the Grizzly Cubs (14-14-1) to the Class 4A sectional semifinals. Clark is the nation’s No. 1 draft prospect in the Class of 2023 as rated by Prep Baseball Report.

• In addition to an .808 on-base percentage and a 1.215 slugging percentage, stole 35 bases and made just two errors in the outfield this spring.
• A basketball and football standout and member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, for which he has served as president, Clark has volunteered locally on behalf of his church youth group and has donated his time as a youth baseball coach.
• Launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised over $13,000 in honor of University of Illinois baseball recruit Ryan Jefferson, who took his own life in 2021
• Maintained a 3.97 GPA in the classroom.
• Signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at Vanderbilt University this fall but was recently selected third overall in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.

Bios of Other Honorees:

Edric Zhang

Committed to attend Princeton University after finishing high school with a 4.66 weighted GPA in the classroom. Zhang is also a National Honors Society member, a research intern at the Virginia Tech College of Engineering and was selected to participate in NASA-sponsored Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars Summer Camp at the NASA Langley Research Center.

Myah Selland

Co-founded Her Turn in 2022, a non-profit organization designed to create more equitable sporting opportunities for girls and young women in the Brookings, South Dakota community. Her Turn provides scholarships for recipients to attend an overnight, SDSU sport camp at no cost, in addition to equipment and transportation.

Alexa Pino 

Pino’s winning clip showcased her executing a rainbow to move past a defender before scoring a goal from the top of the 18-yard box, helping her team to a 2-1 victory in the conference semi-final. The sophomore forward went on to lead the St. Joseph Cadets to the Class L state championship.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year Awards and Gatorade Player of the Year program, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.