News release
CHICAGO — In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Karly Meredith of Kaukauna High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Player of the Year.
Meredith is the fourth Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Kaukauna High School.
The 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 Meredith as Wisconsin’s best high school softball player.
She now is a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award to be announced in June.
At the time of her selection, the 5-foot-7 sophomore right-handed pitcher had led the Galloping Ghosts to a 27-0 record, 78 consecutive wins and a berth in the Division 1 state quarterfinals, scheduled for June 8. Meredith compiled a 23-0 record in the circle with a 0.33 earned run average through 27 games.
Entering the postseason round of eight, she’d struck out 239 batters while allowing just 41 hits in 127.1 innings. At the plate, she batted .527 with five home runs, 44 doubles and a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Meredith has volunteered locally as a youth softball pitching coach, and she has donated her time to multiple community service initiatives through her church.
“Karly is one of the best pitchers I’ve seen in 25 years of coaching both Wisconsin high school and travel softball throughout the country,” said Chad Mix, head coach of rival Kimberly High School. “Her velocity is world class. Her placement and movement are exceptional. She is simply dominating the hitters—even the very best hitters in the state.”
Meredith has maintained a 3.96 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.
The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
Meredith joins recent Gatorade Wisconsin Softball Players of the Year Paytn Monticelli (2021-22 & 2020-21, Cedarburg High School), Maddie Gardner (2019-20, Sun Prairie High School), and Syd Supple (2018-19, Oshkosh North High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport.
To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.
For nearly 40 years, Gatorade has honored high school athletes at the top of their game as teammates, supporting their communities and achieving academic success.
From CEOs and coaches to star athletes and community leaders, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate studentathletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.
