THE COLONY, Texas – Jayda Coleman of The Colony (Texas) High School was named the 2019-20 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year, announced by the The Gatorade Company. In the 35th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Coleman captured 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 and four NPF Championships.
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 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.
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, four USA Softball team members and 15 with GPAs of 4.0 or higher. She 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.
The 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 August. Coleman compiled a .432 batting average and a .510 on-base percentage with 13 steals for Team USA. Through a 15-3-1 start by the Cougars this spring, Coleman batted .717 with 42 runs scored, 41 steals, 29 RBI and 10 triples. She also was 12-0 in the circle with a 0.89 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 55 innings of work before the season was canceled. She concluded her prep softball career with 279 hits, 261 runs scored, 209 stolen bases and a .702 batting average.
A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Coleman volunteers on behalf of PALS, which works with special needs children. She also participates in helping youth competitors train for the Special Olympics in addition to serving as an instructor in the Texas Glory club organization.
Coleman has maintained a weighted 3.63 GPA in the classroom and signed a national letter of intent to play softball at the University of Oklahoma.
Courtesy of The Gatorade Company
