Gatorade® National Baseball Player Of The Year: Kyle Muller

DALLAS, June 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 31st year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Kyle Muller of Jesuit College Preparatory School (Dallas, Tx.) as its 2015-16 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. Muller was surprised with the news at school by Texas Ranger and former World Series MVP Cole Hamels.

"It was exciting for me to be able to surprise Kyle with the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award, especially because he is such a deserving student-athlete," said Hamels. "Kyle is a well-rounded individual who has already accomplished so much on and off the field, so it's an honor for me to welcome him into the prestigious Gatorade Player of the Year family."

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 Muller as the nation's best high school baseball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Muller from nearly 470,000 high school baseball players nationwide. He 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-7, 245-pound left-handed pitcher and outfielder led the Rangers to a 34-8-2 record and the Class 6A Region 2 title. Muller owns an 8-0 record on the mound with a 0.46 ERA and 133 strikeouts, surrendering just 26 hits and issuing only 15 walks in 76 innings. The southpaw has hurled five shutouts and fired two no-hitters to post a WHIP of 0.54 entering the 6A state semifinals, scheduled for June 10.

Also an elite hitting prospect, Muller batted .396 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI through 44 games, slugging at an .849 clip and swiping 20 bases in 21 attempts. A 2015 Under Armour All-American, he set a national high school record by striking out 33 consecutive hitters in March. Muller has allowed only four extra-base hits through 11 starts.

Muller has maintained an 86.4 average in the classroom. A member of his school's Big Brother program, he has volunteered locally as part of an elementary school literacy-outreach initiative and participated in a school-sponsored, community-building service mission.

"Lefthander Kyle Muller is one of the most improved players in the nation this spring," said Baseball America High School Writer Hudson Belinsky. "He worked his tail off and added 25 pounds of muscle to his wide-shouldered, 6-foot-7 frame. He could be an early MLB Draft pick this week. Muller has a low-to-mid-90s fastball and quality offspeed pitches, as well as command of his entire arsenal. He is also an accomplished prospect as a hitter, owning exceptional right-handed power."

Muller has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of Texas this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in this month's Major League Baseball draft.

"Without question, Kyle 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 Jesuit's success," said Gatorade Chief Marketing Officer Morgan Flatley. "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:

• Two-time Super Bowl Champion Peyton Manning
• 2015 NBA first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns
• Three-time WNBA champion Maya Moore
• Four-time track & field gold medalist Allyson Felix
• Silver Medalist and Pro Beach Volleyball Player April Ross
• Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw

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 website at http://www.gatorade.com/poy, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

SOURCE The Gatorade Company