CHICAGO (June 7, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Abbey Lane of Woodgrove High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Virginia Softball Player of the Year. Lane is the first Gatorade Virginia Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Woodgrove 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 Lane as Virginia’s best High School softball 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 Amanda Freed (1997-98, Pacifica High School, Calif.), Cat Osterman (2000-01, Cypress Springs High School, Texas), Rachel Garcia (2014-15 & 2012-13, Highland High School, Calif.) and Ava Brown (2022-23 & 2021-22, Lake Creek High School, Texas).

At the time of her selection, the 5-foot-7 senior right-handed pitcher had led the Wolverines to a 24-0 record and a berth in the Class 4 State Tournament semifinals. Lane compiled a 22-0 record with a 0.00 earned run average through 24 games to go with 265 strikeouts in 129 innings pitched.

The Region 4C Player of the Year had allowed just 27 hits and three walks. Entering the Final Four, she owned a .446 batting average with six home runs, 32 RBI and a .811 slugging percentage.

A member of her school’s Varsity Club, Lane helped coordinate and organize events at Woodgrove athletic contests, including basketball halftime shows. She has volunteered locally as an assistant to an occupational therapist at a senior center and as a youth softball coach.

“Abbey is a phenomenal all-around softball player,” said Dani Cook, Head Coach of Broad Run High School. “In the circle, she’s dominant. She has a remarkable rise ball that (prep players) struggle to handle. She is also a force to be reckoned with in the batter’s box.”

In the classroom, Lane has maintained a weighted 4.01 GPA. She has signed a national letter of intent to play softball on scholarship at George Mason University 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.

Lane joins recent Gatorade Virginia Softball Players of the Year Katie Kutz (2022-23 & 2021-22, Bishop O'Connell High School) and Emerson Aiken (2020-21 & 2019-20, Glen Allen High School), 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. ***