Gillette’s Avery Gray Repeats as Gatorade Wyoming Softball Player of the Year
Campbell County High School’s Avery Gray has been named the Gatorade Wyoming Softball Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. This award is for the 2024 season. Gray is the only recipient of this honor from CCHS in Gillette. The Gatorade Company released the award information on Friday.
AVERY GRAY SELECTED AS THE BEST SOFTBALL PLAYER IN WYOMING
The 5-foot-4 senior pitcher and infielder led the Camels to a 21-10 record and a third-place finish at the 2024 state tournament. In the circle, Gray finished with a 16-3 record, 2.44 ERA, and 188 strikeouts over 106.1 innings pitched. Gray holds both the single-season and career records for strikeouts in Wyoming. Her 197 in 2022 is the state standard for one season. She compiled 714 strikeouts in her prep career. At the plate in the 2024 season, Gray had a batting average of .578. She collected 52 hits and 52 RBIs.
In the classroom, Gray had a 4.0 GPA. She was a member of the National Honor Society. Avery has volunteered locally with the Blessings in a Backpack program. Gray packs bags of food for children in need. She also spent time as a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army and offered her time giving pitching lessons to local youth softball players. Gray has signed her National Letter of Intent to play softball on scholarship at Montana State University-Billings beginning this fall.
Gray's All-Around Game Was Noticed By Opposing Coaches
Wheatland High School softball coach Jodie Fitzwater pointed out how valuable Gray is to the Camels.
“Her contribution as a pitcher is far beyond other pitchers in the state. Offensively, most pitchers do not succeed as much as she does at the plate. She definitely played a significant role in her team’s success this year and will leave large shoes to fill.”
Gray becomes a finalist for the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year Award, which will be announced later this month. She and Brogan Allen (2021-22) of Cheyenne Central are the only two Gatorade Wyoming Softball Player of the Year award winners in state history. No award was given in the first year of high school softball in Wyoming in 2021.
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.
Congratulations to Avery Gray!
*Information from a press release from The Gatorade Company was used in this story.
2024 Wyoming High School Softball State Tournament Day 2
Gallery Credit: David Settle, WyoPreps.com; Courtesy: Carlee Howe
2024 Softball State Tournament Day 1
Gallery Credit: David Settle, WyoPreps.com; Carlee Howe