DAPHNE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GATORADE ALABAMA SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO (June 7, 2024) — In its 39

year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced

Victoria Moten of Daphne High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Alabama Softball Player of the Year. Moten is the first

Gatorade Alabama Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Daphne 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 Moten as Alabama’s best high school softball player. From CEOs 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).

The 5-foot-4 junior right-handed pitcher led the Trojans to a 45-6 record and a berth in the Class 7A state championship this

past season. Moten compiled a 35-4 record in the circle with a 0.46 ERA, surrendering just 61 hits in 212.1 innings while

striking out 463 batters. She also batted .407 with 15 home runs, 43 RBI and 29 stolen bases, earning Alabama North-South

All-Star and All-County recognition in 2024.

Moten has volunteered locally with the Special Olympics and with her local Boys and Girls club. She has also served as a member

of Daphne High’s Title IX committee. “When we played them, she dominated,” said Mike Ebert, head coach at Foley High School.

“She hit the farthest home run I’ve ever seen from a high school player in her first at-bat of our game. Her final at-bat, a walk-off,

was the second farthest. She’s an amazing all-around player. She’s got long arms, she’s very athletic and she pitches with great

velocity.”

Moten has maintained a 3.46 weighted GPA in the classroom. She has verbally committed to play softball on scholarship at the

University of Alabama in the fall of 2025.

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.

Moten joins recent Gatorade Alabama Softball Players of the Year Mya Holt (2022-23, Wetumpka High School), Larissa Preuitt

(2021-22, Hartselle High School), Annabelle Widra (2020-21, Spain Park High School) and Shelby Lowe (2019-20, Pickens

Academy), 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.

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