Press release
Jared Kelley Named 2019-20 Gatorade® National Baseball Player Of The Year
Bryce Harper Surprises Winner with Honor REFUGIO, Texas, May 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 35th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school
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[{"type":"text","content":"Bryce Harper Surprises Winner with Honor\n\n\nREFUGIO, Texas, May 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 35th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Jared Kelley of Refugio High School in Refugio, Texas is the 2019-20 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. Kelley won the prestigious award for his accomplishments on and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year winners who have combined for four MLB MVP awards, 40 All-Star appearances and 27 became MLB first round draft picks.\nDue to the ongoing situation with the coronavirus pandemic, Gatorade coordinated a virtual surprise, including a video call by the Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper to break the exciting news to Kelley.\nThe award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Kelley as the nation's best high school baseball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Kelley from nearly half a million high school baseball players nationwide. \nCompetition for the national award was fierce. Kelley topped the list of 51 state winners in baseball who collectively boast an incredible list of accomplishments, including eight student-athletes projected as an early round selection in June's Major League Baseball draft, five 2019 First Team All-State selections and seven with GPAs higher than a 4.0.\nKelley is now a finalist for the most prestigious award in high school sports, the Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, which is announced in July.\n\"Jared Kelley owns what is easily the most big-league ready prep arm in the Class of 2020,\" says Carlos Collazzo, national writer for Baseball America. \"He's got the best fastball in the high school class, a pitch that routinely brushes the upper-90s. A consistently plus changeup and a solid breaking ball make him an intimidating physical presence. Perhaps what separates him even more than his velo is the ease with which he throws everything along with his ability to dependably locate his entire arsenal. That's rare for a prep pitcher, and exceedingly so for a pitcher with stuff like his.\"\nThe 6-foot-3, 22...