Future Sooner Gets National Gatorade Player of the Year Award
Oklahoma signee Jayda Coleman was named Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year on Wednesday.
Coleman was surprised by her family, coaches and teammates at softball practice.
Coleman, from The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas, won the prestigious award for her accomplishments on and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Softball Players of the Year, who have combined for four national championships, four NPF titles — and 10 of whom have become coaches.
“Jayda has been the top recruit by numerous softball services for years,” OU coach Patty Gasso said. “Not only is she a phenomenal softball player but she's a tremendous athlete who also plays volleyball and runs track. To me, she is absolutely a complete player. She's an exciting player to watch, just her base running alone makes defenses very uncomfortable.”
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character 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.
“Jayda Coleman is a polished, cerebral player who is so smooth and poised that she makes everything look easy,” Brentt Eads, President/Executive Editor of Extra Inning Softball, said in a press release. “From hitting over .700 to making diving stops and throws from her knees to stealing bases at will, she plays with grace and style, but she’s a fiery competitor with a powerful will to win.
“She always seems to be two steps ahead of the play and has great instincts and instantaneous decision-making abilities. She’s one of the smartest and most intuitive softball players I’ve ever seen. I believe she’s a once-in-a-generation-type talent.”
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.
“She gives you the ‘wow’ factor and it’s in all things that she does,” said Gasso, who owns four national championships. “She’s a lefty shortstop who comes up with plays that make you ask, ‘How did she do that?’ She also has great speed. At the plate, she’s got power and a clutch ability to always come through. Jayda is a program changer.”
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 along with 75 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched before the season was cancelled. A three-time MaxPreps First Team All-American, she concluded her prep softball career with 279 hits, 261 runs scored, 209 stolen bases and a .702 batting average.
Coleman 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.
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 3.63 weighted GPA in the classroom. She has signed a national letter of intent to play softball on scholarship at the University of Oklahoma.
“With many spring sport seasons canceled to address the coronavirus pandemic, we feel it is more important than ever to honor and celebrate phenomenal student-athletes like Jayda Coleman,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O’Brien. “Jayda is not only among the best high school softball players in the country, but she also shines in the classroom and her community, embodying everything we look for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient.”
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