Gatorade® National Baseball Player Of The Year: Clint Frazier

LOGANVILLE, Ga., June 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 28^th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Clint Frazier of Loganville High School (Loganville, Ga.) as its 2012-13 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. Frazier was surprised with the news by eight-time MLB All-Star and current baseball analyst, John Smoltz.

"It was an honor to surprise Clint with the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award and welcome him into one of the most prestigious legacy programs in high school sports," said Smoltz, a key member of the 1995 Atlanta Braves World Series championship team. "Gatorade has been on the sidelines fueling athletic performance for years, so to be recognized by a brand that understands the game and truly helps athletes perform is a huge honor for these kids."

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Frazier as the nation's best high school baseball player.  A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Frazier from nearly 470,000 baseball players nationwide. Frazier is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 6-foot, 180-pound senior centerfielder batted .485 with 17 home runs, 56 runs scored, 45 RBI and a 1.134 slugging percentage, leading the Red Devils (26-6) to the Class AAAAA quarterfinals this past season. A 2012 Aflac All-American and a 2012 Under Armour All-American, Frazier is the top-ranked player in the nation by Perfect Game USA and MaxPreps.com.

Frazier has maintained a 3.03 cumulative GPA in the classroom. He has donated two weeks of his time annually as a counselor and instructor at an intensive summer youth baseball camp in the area. He has also volunteered on behalf of Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego as a goodwill ambassador to patients.

"I think Frazier is the best high school prospect in the country," said Jim Callis, Executive Editor at Baseball America. "He refuses to get cheated at the plate. He barrels balls. He's had a great year and he's a very deserving winner."

Frazier has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on an athletic scholarship at the University of Georgia this fall and is projected as an early round selection in this week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

"Without question, Clint is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school baseball player based on his statistics on the field and the impact his accomplishments have had on Loganville's success," said Gatorade Vice President, Global & Sports Marketing Andrea Fairchild.  "But he is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young athletes of what a leader and a student-athlete should be.  He represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

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 high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Former notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:

• Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning
• WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie
• NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith
• Two-time beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh
• Three-time 200-meter World Champion Allyson Felix

For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future announcement dates, visit the Gatorade Player of the Year Web site at http://www.gatorade.com/poy, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

SOURCE The Gatorade Company