Gatorade announced the recipients of its prestigious Player of the Year award—naming a trio of high school athletes recognized with the win.
Soccer player Charlotte Kohler was among the trio awarded the honor for her home state of California.
Also in the announcement are Sammy Smith from Idaho and Jaden Thomas from Texas.
Kohler, a senior from St. Francis High School in Mountain View, CA, is the first athlete from the school to be named the Gatorade Player of the Year.
A midfielder on the Lancers, Kohler helped her team set their 20-2-2 record this past season.
Kohler scored 16 goals and passed for 18 assists.
St. Francis High School head coach Carlos Barboza praises Kohler for her focus and “dedication to the sport.”
The soccer star is also awarded as the two-time West Coast Athletic League Midfielder of the Year. Also on her resume is a bronze medal from the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile last fall as a member of the U.S. Soccer Under-19 Women’s National Team.
The Gatorade Player of the Year award is awarded to top high school athletes in each of the 50 states and in the District of Columbia. One National Player of the Year in each sport is also named.
The award celebrates the athlete for their sports performance, as well as for their academics, and community outreach.
Kohler holds a 4.28 GPA and has signed a letter to reveal her commitment to playing soccer at Stanford University on scholarship this fall.
She gives back to other athletes, serving as a youth soccer coach and camp counselor.
Also joining Kohler as a 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year award is another soccer star, Sammy Smith. Smith scored 11 goals and passed 11 assists on her team, the Boise High School Braves to the Class 5A state championship. She earned a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile as a member of the U.S. Soccer Under-19 Women’s National Team. Smith was also named 2020-21 Gatorade Girls Cross Country Player of the Year for Idaho.
The midfielder and forward maintained a weighted 4.39 GPA, is a national champion Nordic and cross-country skier, and is a co-founder of Go Big Inc., which provides mentorship for at-risk youth.
Thomas is the third athlete to be named in the Gatorade Player of the Year trio. The Hockaday School Daisies (15-2) player scored 39 goals and passed 10 assists this past season to the Southwest Preparatory Conference Class 4A Tournament championship game.
This soccer star scored at least one goal in all 17 games with 13 multi-goal games and eight hat tricks. She ended her prep soccer career with 64 goals and 22 assists.
Thomas has a 3.75 GPA and volunteers with Feeding the Need and is a member of the Hockaday’s Black Student Union.