Pace sophomore pitcher Hannah DeMarcus wins Florida high school softball Gatorade Player of the Year

DeMarcus is now the second Pace player to win the prestigious award, joining Jayden Heavener who took home the award in 2024.

Pace's Hannah DeMarcus (33) throws a pitch during the Pace softball team's Region 1-6A championship game win over Navarre on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at Pace High School. / Ben Grieco/bgrieco@gannett.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Florida high school spring seasons have concluded and Gatorade has announced the winnings of the softball player of the year award.

Pace sophomore pitcher Hannah DeMarcus took home the prestigious award, where she is the second consecutive player from the school to win the award, joining Jayden Heavener who is now pitching at LSU won the award in 2024.

DeMarcus posted a 23-3 record with a 0.32 earned run average this past season, leading the Patriots (24-4) to the Class 6A state championship game. DeMarcus struck out 418 batters in 175 innings pitched, allowing just 40 hits and 33 walks. In her first year with the varsity, she recorded nine no-hitters, including two perfect games, and struck out at least 10 batters in all 26 of her starts, with a high of 24 in a nine-inning no-hitter against Jay High back on April 21. DeMarcus also set a school record for most strikeouts in a single-season passing Heavener who had 322 strikeouts in 2024.

“She doesn’t try to strike anybody out,” Pace head softball coach Lexi Alexander told Prep Softball. “If she throws a ball, she knows she can come right back with a strike and ends up striking out a lot of people. She gets a lot of whiffs, so her ball obviously must be moving pretty good if people are whiffing a lot on her. She never really seems bothered by anything, and that’s tough for a 16-year-old girl to just have that composure and be able to do what she does.” Alexander added.

Not only has DeMarcus been a sensational player on the softball field, but she is also excelling in the classroom, where she enters her junior year of high school maintaining a 4.19 grade point average (GPA).

DeMarcus also led the Lady Patriots to their fifth consecutive appearance in the Final Four, as well as their third consecutive trip to the state championship game, losing a heartbreaker to Doral Academy, 1-0 back on May 24.

DeMarcus also took home the Prep Softball National Player of the Year last month and finished second in the Florida Dairy Farmers Player of the Year, behind Doral Academy's Megan Villazon who drove in the go-ahead run in the state championship game.

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