ST. FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED GATORADE CALIFORNIA SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR

 (June 20, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Charlotte Kohler of St. Francis High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade California Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Kohler is the first Gatorade California Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from St. Francis High School.

The award, which celebrates the nation's top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Kohler as California's best high school girls soccer player. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Aly Wagner (1997-98, Presentation High School, Calif.), Mallory Swanson (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.) and Kennedy Fuller (2022-23 & 2021-22, Southlake Carroll High School, Texas).

The state's returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-4 senior midfielder led the Lancers to a 20-2-2 record and the Central Coast Section Division 1 tournament championship this past season. Kohler scored 16 goals and passed for 18 assists. A two-time West Coast Athletic League Midfielder of the Year, she earned a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile last fall as a member of the U.S. Soccer Under-19 Women's National Team.

Kohler has volunteered locally as part of multiple community service initiatives through her school's BRIC Club. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer coach and camp counselor. "Charlotte has shown her elite quality in every competition she's participated in," said Carlos Barboza, head coach of St. Francis High School. "Her stats improved every year. But that's not what impressed me the most this year. What stands out to me is her day -to-day mentality, focus and dedication to the sport."

Kohler has maintained a weighted 4.28 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a national letter of intent to play soccer on scholarship at Stanford University 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 the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport. Two-time winner Kohler joins recent Gatorade California Girls Soccer Players of the Year Elise Evans (2021-22, Woodside High School), Alyssa Thompson (2020-21, Harvard-Westlake School) and Grace Watkins (2019-20, Mira Costa High School), among the state's list of former award winners.

As part of Gatorade's commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $4.9 million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.