Article submitted:
CHICAGO (June 9, 2025) — In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Lillie-Faye McWhorter of Woodlawn High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Arkansas Softball Player of the Year.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes McWhorter as Arkansas’ best high school softball player, and she joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such Cat Osterman (2000-01, Cypress Springs High School, Texas), Rachel Garcia (2014-15 & 2012-13, Highland High School, Calif.), Ava Brown (2022-23, Lake Creek High School, Texas) and Addisen Fisher (2023-24, Bend High School, Oregon).
The 5-foot-10 senior right-handed pitcher led the Bears (32-5) to the semifinals of the 2A state tournament this past season. McWhorter went 22-1 in the circle and did not allow an earned run all season while striking out 285 against just 31 walks in 124 innings pitched. She fired five no-hitters and compiled a 0.44 WHIP. She finished with a .483 batting average, 41 RBI and six home runs, recording an OPS of 1.445.
A member of the Future Business Leaders of America, McWhorter has volunteered locally as a youth softball and basketball coach. She has also donated her time to multiple community service initiatives through Beta Club. “She was very dominant in the circle when we faced her—she commanded her pitches well and threw with very good velocity,” said Drake Snyder, head coach at Star City High School. “She was vital to her team’s success, especially when she was in the circle. She kept her team in every ball game just with her pitching.”
McWhorter has maintained a 4.08 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play softball at the University of Arkansas this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – 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.
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 $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 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 Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X (Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
