Ava Brown, Max Clark Named 2023 Gatorade Best Players of the Year

The 2022-23 Gatorade Players of the Year were revealed on Tuesday night, crowning the best high school sports athletes in the country.

Ava Brown was named the Gatorade Best Female Player of the Year, making her just the second softball athlete to earn the honor in the 20-year history of the award. Star baseball player Max Clark was honored as the Best Male Player of the Year.

Brown went undefeated on the mound during her high school career with an 81-0 record and 830 strikeouts, and this year she led the Lake Creek Lions to a 44-1 record and second straight Conference 5A state championship. The Florida-bound star also excelled at the plate, batting .462 with nine home runs, 17 doubles, 65 RBI and a .888 slugging percentage this season.

Clark, who was selected third overall in the 2023 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers earlier this month, was a three-sport athlete at Franklin High School in Indiana as a standout basketball and football player. However, he did his best work on the baseball field, batting .646 with six home runs, 33 RBI and 45 runs scored to help lead the Grizzly Cubs to the Class 4A sectional semifinals.

During the ceremony on Tuesday, Clark and Brown were joined by former Gatorade Players of the Year Jayson Tatum, who stars for the Boston Celtics, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who is an Olympic track & field champion and world record holder. Los Angeles Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf, Kansas City Current midfielder Sam Mewis and three-time Olympic volleyball medalist April Ross were also a part of the festivities.