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CHICAGO (May 30, 2017) — In its 32nd year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, today announced Matt Tabor of Milton Academy as its 2016-17 Gatorade Massachusetts Baseball Player of the Year. Tabor is the first Gatorade Massachusetts Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Milton Academy. 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 Tabor as Massachusetts’s best high school baseball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year, Tabor joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo High School, Mich.), Jon Lester (2001-02, Bellarmine Preparatory School, Wash.), David Price (2003-04, Blackman High School, Tenn.), Clayton Kershaw (2005-06, Highland Park High School, Texas), Rick Porcello (2006-2007, Seaton Hall Preparatory School, N.J.) and Kris Bryant (2009-10, Bonanza High School, Nev.). The 6-foot-1, 165-pound senior right-handed pitcher had posted a 4-0 record with a 0.60 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 35 innings, leading the Mustangs to an 7-8 record at the time of his selection. Ranked as the state’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2017 by Perfect Game, Tabor fired a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts against Buckingham Browne & Nichols School earlier this month. Tabor has served as a residence hall leader in his campus dormitory and as president of his school’s conservative club. “Matt Tabor’s will to win and work ethic set him apart from most people,” said Milton Academy head coach Matt Petherick. “He constantly works at his craft and is diligent in his preparation, in addition to having immense talent. He is the consummate teammate and leader and an all-around terrific young man.” Tabor has maintained a B average in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at Elon University this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in June’s Major League Baseball draft. 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 Player of the Year Selection Committee, 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. Tabor joins recent Gatorade Massachusetts Baseball Players of the Year Anthony Videtto (2015-16, Silver Lake Regional High School), Joe Walsh (2014-15, Plymouth North High School), Joe Freiday (2013-14, Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School), Ben Bowden (2012-13, Lynn English High School), Rhett Wiseman (2011-12, Buckingham Browne & Nichols), John Gorman (2010–11, Catholic Memorial School), Kevin Ziomek (2009-10, Amherst Regional High School), Kyle McKenzie (2008–09, Thayer Academy), Scott Weismann (2007-08, Acton-Boxborough High School), and Jack McGeary (2006-07, Roxbury Latin School) among the state’s list of former award winners. As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Matt will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. 12 spotlight grants – one for each sport – will be announced throughout the year. To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow the conversation on Twitter #GatoradePOY. 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 www.gatorade.com/poy. |
