The Case for National Gatorade Player of the Year - Pt. 1

Post season awards will be handed out.  All Conference, All State, and one of the most prestigious awards in volleyball is the Gatorade Player of the Year.  Each state will have their own Gatorade Player of the Year, but who is in the mix for National Gatorade Player of the Year.  Players are chosen based on athletic excellence, academic achievements, and character.   All of these athletes are among the best on the court, but they are also making an impact in their communities.     Past Winners:   2021 - Averi Carlson - Lovejoy (TX) - Baylor   2020 - Ally Batenhorst - Seven Lakes (TX) - Nebraska   2019 - Jess Mruzik - Marist (MI) - Michigan    Other winners include national champions and olympians like Mikaela Foecke (West Point, IA - Nebraska), April Ross (Newport Beach, CA - USC), and Kerri Walsh (San Jose, CA - Stanford). Being Gatorade Player of the Year.  The title of state Gatorade POY is quite an accomplishment, and to be named National Gatorade Player of the Year is a crown that is not taken lightly.  Who is in the mix for prestigious crown.    [player_tooltip player_id='66319' first='Harper' last='Murray'] - Skyline (MI) - Legacy   Committed to Nebraska   Murray is the top prospect in the Class of 2023, she's part of the top recruiting class heading to Nebraska. She is on track to have over 2500 kills in her high school career for Skyline High School out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Murray has been part of the USA Youth pipeline where she has had two stints on the USAV Youth National team. When it comes to the club world, Murray has been part of one of the top clubs in the country with Legacy out of Detroit. She jumped on to the radar on a shortened season in 2020 when her team steamrolled through the most elite tournament in the country, winning the NIT Triple Crown in Kansas City. This past club season, her Legacy squad. This past summer, Murray was named MVP of the 17 and Under Open Division where they took hope the top prize. Murray checks all of the boxes with her performance on the high school, international, and club courts. She has a bright career ahead at Nebraska and wearing the USA jersey.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1508216364506484737?s=20&t=eW2F6o1GDs-XoLjnjBXicQ </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='85895' first='Chloe' last='Chicoine'] - McCutcheon (IN) - Circle City   Committed to Purdue   Chicoine is another one who checks all of the boxes, the star out of Lafayette, Indiana has been a winner on every team she has played on. There is something about Chicoine that you can't quite put on paper, she plays with a hunger and intensity that cannot be trained or taught. An electric athlete, she is one where people gather around her court at club tournaments to see the 5'10 outside hitter hammer away and play with a ferocious intensity. She's won a state title for McCutcheon High School in Indiana in 2021 while they have been one of the top teams in the country the past two seasons. She's collected over 2,000 kills and over 1,000 digs in her career. On the international floors Chicoine has been a key athlete to the success of the USAV U21 team, winning “Best Spiker” while being a big part of the team's Gold Medal run. At Circle City out of Indianapolis, Chicoine has won numerous national qualifiers and has dominated the 17s level the past two seasons. She will stay close to home and play for Purdue in West Lafayette.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1549179374703968258?s=20&t=eW2F6o1GDs-XoLjnjBXicQ </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='195471' first='Bergen' last='Reilly'] - Sioux Falls O'Gorman (SD) - Kairos   Committed to Nebraska   Reilly has been rising to the list of top players in the country this past year where she has already established her name among elite setters in the USAV pipeline. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native was on the 2021 U18 FIVB bronze medal team, 2022 U19 Pan Am Gold team where she was named MVP and Best Setter, and even got called up to play on the Womens National Team this fall. For her high school team she has won multiple state titles as a setter/attacker and has established herself as one of the top players to ever come out of South Dakota. She has also been an integral part of Kairos Volleyball Club out of Sioux Falls where they are now one of the top clubs out of the Midwest.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1578540611971387393?s=20&t=41IL64Dvc3KEuS0I3G39Cw </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='161445' first='Julia' last='Blyashov'] - Cathedral Catholic (CA) - Wave   Committed to Stanford   Stanford has a long line of not only Gatorade Player of the Year athletes in their state, but also National Gatorade POY honors.  Elia Rubin was the winner in California last year and is now starring for the Cardinal as a freshman.  Blyashov is heading to Stanford next year, but has racked up plenty of awards and team success in her high school career.  She teamed up with the likes of Reilly, Chicoine, and Murray on the Youth National teams the past two seasons.  As for the high school season?  Cathedral Catholic is one of the top teams in the entire country, playing against the top programs in the country.     [player_tooltip player_id='120008' first='Brooklyn' last='DeLeye'] - Washburn Rural (KS) - Shockwave   Committed to Kentucky   DeLeye might be a little bit under the radar, but she is quietly one of the top players in the country. Washburn Rural out of the Topeka, Kansas area is a Kansas high school powerhouse. They are also one of the top programs in the country. They were the Kansas 6A state champions in volleyball and DeLeye also won a state title in basketball. DeLeye is the reigning Kansas State Gatorade Player of the Year in a state that is loaded with talent. Her skill set is unique where she can do it all in the front and backrow. She is part of a really talented Class of 2023 recruiting class heading to Kentucky.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/BreitNelson/status/1588959705149628416?s=20&t=41IL64Dvc3KEuS0I3G39Cw </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='82282' first='Saige' last='Damrow'] - Howards Grove (WI) - FC Elite   Committed to Wisconsin   Damrow committed to Wisconsin as an 8th grader and started her high school career with plenty of expectations.  She has done all of that and then some, winning her fourth high school state title for Howards Grove High School.  This past season she racked up over 300 kills, averaging over four kills per game while nursing a knee injury and tallied over 1000 digs in her career.  She is the most complete player in Wisconsin where she has been a winner no matter what jersey she is wearing.  On the club courts, she is the libero for FC Elite which has gone to new heights as a club with Damrow as their libero for the 18 Elite team.  She was key in their run to the 18 Open Gold bracket in 2021 and was named All Tournament Team in the 18 Open Division when FC Elite finished third overall.

Post season awards will be handed out. All Conference, All State, and one of the most prestigious awards in volleyball is the Gatorade Player of the Year. Each state will have their own Gatorade Player of the Year, but who is in the mix for National Gatorade Player of the Year. Players are chosen based on athletic excellence, academic achievements, and character. All of these athletes are among the best on the court, but they are also making an impact in their communities.