CHICAGO (June 1, 2011) — In its 26th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Matt Olson of Parkview High School as its 2010-11 Gatorade Georgia Baseball Player of the Year. Olson is the second Gatorade Georgia Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Parkview High School.
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 Olson as Georgia’s best high school baseball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award announced in June, Olson joins an elite alumni association of past state baseball award winners, including Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Roy Halladay (1994-95, Arvada West HS, Colo.), David Price (2003-04, Blackman HS, Tenn.), Chipper Jones (1989-90, Bolles School, Fla.), Derek Lee (1992-93, El Camino HS, Calif.) and John Lester (2001-02, Bellarmine Prep, Wash.).
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior first baseman and right-handed pitcher led the Panthers (28-9) to the Class AAAAA state championship this past season. Olson batted .460 with 17 home runs, 55 RBIs and a 1.060 slugging percentage. On the mound, he posted a 7-2 record with a 2.99 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 60 innings. A 2011 Under Armour All-American selection, Olson smacked a series-clinching three-run home run in both the state semifinals over Colquitt County and the state final against Hillgrove.
Olson has maintained a 93.7 average in the classroom. A member of his school’s Beta Club, he has volunteered on behalf of the Special Olympics and as a mentor to intellectually challenged students.
“Matt Olson is a big-time player,” said John Poitevint, head coach of rival Dacula High. “He has an explosive bat and can hit the ball out of any park. He’d rather take a walk than chase bad pitches and in my experience, the good hitters are the ones who believe their teammates will pick them up. It’s obvious that Olson has been coached to believe that.”
Olson will begin his senior year of high school this fall.
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 ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, 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.
Olson joins recent Gatorade Georgia Baseball Players of the Year Kaleb Cowart (2009-10, Cook), Zach Wheeler (2008-09; East Paulding), Ethan Martin (2007-08, Stephens County), and Josh Smoker (2006-07, Calhoun), among the state’s list of former award winners.
To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
