Press release
Jayda Coleman Named 2019-20 Gatorade® National Softball Player of the Year
THE COLONY, Texas, June 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 35th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today
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[{"type":"text","content":"THE COLONY, Texas, June 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 35th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Jayda Coleman of The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas is the 2019-20 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year. Coleman won the prestigious award for her accomplishments on and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year winners who have combined for four National Championships, four NPF Championships and 10 have become coaches.\nColeman was surprised by her family, coaches and teammates at softball practice. \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 Coleman as the nation's best high school softball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Coleman from nearly 400,000 other student-athletes who play softball nationwide.\nCompetition for the national award was fierce. Coleman topped the list of 51 state winners in softball who collectively boast an incredible list of accomplishments, including 13 best-in-state players by MaxPreps.com, 4 USA Softball team members, 5 SEC school committees and 15 with GPAs of 4.0 or higher.\nColeman is now a finalist for the most prestigious award in high school sports, the Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, which is announced in July.\n\"Jayda Coleman is a polished, cerebral player who is so smooth and poised that she makes everything look easy,\" says Brentt Eads, President/Executive Editor of Extra Inning Softball. \"From hitting over .700 to making diving stops and throws from her knees to stealing bases at will, she plays with grace and style, but she's a fiery competitor with a powerful will to win. She always seems to be two steps ahead of the play and has great instincts and instantaneous decision-making abilities. She's one of the smartest and most intuitive softball players I've ever seen. I believe she's a once-in-a-generation-type talent.\"\nThe 5-foot-10 senior shortstop and left-handed pitcher was one of only two high-school athletes on the 2019 USA Softball Junior Women's National Team that won the U19 World Championships in Augus...