John Glenn High School student-athlete named Gatorade Ohio Baseball Player of the Year
In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade has announced Colt Emerson of John Glenn High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Ohio Baseball Player of the Year.
Emerson is the first Gatorade Ohio Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from John Glenn 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 Emerson as Ohio’s best high school baseball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award to be announced in June, Emerson joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Jackson Holliday (2021-22, Stillwater High School, Okla.), Bobby Witt Jr. (2018-19, Colleybille Heritage High School, Texas), Clayton Kershaw (2005-06, Highland Park High School, Texas) and Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo High School, Mich.).
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior shortstop posted a .446 batting average with eight home runs and 39 runs scored this past season, leading the Little Muskies (8-16) to the Division II sectional semifinals. Emerson also banged out 12 doubles, drew 21 walks and stole 26 bases while posting a .594 on-base percentage and a 1.013 slugging percentage.
A member of the USA Baseball Under-18 National Team that won a gold medal at the 2022 World Baseball Championships, he was also a 2023 Perfect Game First Team Preseason All-American selection.
A member of the John Glenn High School yearbook staff, Emerson has volunteered locally as a Big Brothers Big Sisters lunch buddy, and he has donated his time with the Miracle League, a baseball community for children with intellectual and physical challenges.
“Colt is everything that’s advertised,” said Nathan Prati, head coach of Coshocton High School. “Offensively he doesn’t give you many options. Defensively he made three plays on balls in the hole that in our league go for hits 10 out of 10 times. And he made them all with ease.”
Emerson has maintained a 3.62 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball on scholarship at Auburn University this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in July’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 leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
Emerson joins recent Gatorade Ohio Baseball Players of the Year Jacob Miller (2021-22, Liberty Union High School), Josh Laisure (2020-21, Olentangy Orange High School), Kade Kern (2019-20, Archbold High School) and Mack Anglin (2018-19, Highland High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.
For nearly 40 years, Gatorade has honored high school athletes at the top of their game as teammates, supporting their communities and achieving academic success. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes and community leaders, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport.
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 Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.