Texas A&M softball incoming freshmen Taylor Brown (Missouri), Sydney Lessentine (New Mexico) and Kate Munnerlyn (California) earned Gatorade Softball Player of the Year in their respective state.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually grants 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.
Brown, a two-time Gatorade Softball Player of the Year winner, led Washington High School to a 38-1-1 record and the 4A state championship this past season. The right-handed pitcher recorded a perfect 24-0 record, to accompany a 0.50 ERA, while recording 263 strikeouts. At the plate, she batted .548, with 16 home runs and 62 RBI. She was named the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Metro Player of the Year.
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Lessentine led Alamogordo High School to a 27-5 record and a Class 5A state championship berth in 2024. The right-handed pitcher and second baseman compiled a 22-2 record, with a 1.89 ERA in 152.0 innings pitched. She struck out 259 batters, walking just 19. Lessentine recorded a .369 batting average at the plate with seven home runs, 49 RBI and a 1.172 OPS. She made the 2024 New Mexico High School Coaches Association Senior All-Star Team.
Munnerlyn, a left-handed pitcher, guided St. Francis to a 28-1 record and the Central Coast Section Open Division Tournament championship in 2024. She too was undefeated in the circle at 15-0, boasting a 0.52 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 107.1 innings pitched. Munnerlyn added six home runs and 35 RBI, while hitting .356 in the batters box.