CHICAGO (June 3, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite High School athletes, Gatorade today announced Dalton Wentz of Amherst County High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Virginia Baseball Player of the Year. Wentz is the first Gatorade Virginia Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Amherst County High School.

The award, which celebrates the nation’s top High School athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Wentz as Virginia’s best High School Baseball player.

From CEO's and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Gary Sheffield (1985-86, Hillsborough High School, Fla.), Alex Rodriguez (1992-93, Westminster Christian School, Fla.), Clayton Kershaw (2005-06, Highland Park High School, Texas) and Max Clark (2022-23, 2021-22 & 2020-21, Franklin Community High School, Ind.).

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior switch-hitting shortstop and right-handed pitcher led the Lancers to a 14-6 record this past season, batting .538 with an eye-popping on-base percentage of .711, which included 30 walks. Wentz scored 31 runs and finished with an OPS of 1.595.

On the mound, Wentz went 2-1 and did not allow an earned run in 23 innings of work, fanning 51 batters en route to a 0.83 WHIP. Opposing hitters managed only a .106 average against him. A Prep Baseball Report All-American and a participant in the MLB/USA TODAY High School All-American Game, he’s ranked as the nation’s No. 58 prep prospect in the 2024 Major League First Year Player Draft by Baseball America.

Wentz has volunteered locally on behalf of the Community Day of Giving, participating in beautification efforts at Mill Creek Lake and performing improvements to the Dixie Youth Baseball field. He has also donated his time to Trunk or Treat as well as a special education class and the annual field day for elementary schools. Additionally, he’s served as a recreation league basketball coach.

“Dalton Wentz is head and shoulders above the rest,” said Chris Glaize, Head Coach at Brookville High School.

“To most of us, he’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime player. At the plate, this kid hits from both sides, with power. He’s a gap-to-gap guy who sees the ball a long time and rarely gets fooled. I was also extremely impressed with his attention to detail defensively. Not once did he ever take the frustration of an at-bat to the field with him. He always communicated to his teammates to make sure everyone was in the right position and he made every play. On the mound, he was just as dominant with a low- to mid-90s fastball and a slider that was just unfair to high school hitters. He’s as close to a five-tool player as I’ve ever seen.”

In the classroom, Wentz has maintained a 4.41 weighted GPA. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of South Carolina this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in July’s Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft.

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.

Wentz joins recent Gatorade Virginia Baseball Players of the Year Bryce Eldridge (2022-23, James Madison High School), Seth Keller (2021-22, Hanover High School), Griffin O’Ferrall (2020-21, St. Christopher’s School) and Jay Woolfolk (2019-20, Benedictine College Preperatory), among the state’s list of former award winners.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $4.9 million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.

*** To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade. ***