In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Bristol Kersh of Cherokee Bluff High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Georgia Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Kersh as Georgia’s best high school girls soccer player, and she joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Morgan Gautrat (2010-11, Frederica Academy, Ga.), Mallory Swanson (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.), Kennedy Fuller (2022-23 & 2021-22, Southlake Carroll High School, Texas).

The 5-foot-7 sophomore forward and defender scored 45 goals and passed for 15 assists this past season, leading the Bears (14-7) to the Class AAA state semifinals. Kersh missed eight games at the beginning of the season as she helped lead the Cherokee Bluff girls basketball team to the Class 3A state title. A member of the U.S. Soccer Under- 15 Women’s National Team, Kersh is ranked as the No. 9 recruit in the Class of 2027 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. She concluded her sophomore year with 95 goals and 30 assists in 28 games in her prep soccer career.

Kersh has volunteered locally in the special education department at her school and as a youth soccer and basketball coach. She has also donated her time to multiple community service initiatives through her church. “The one word to describe Bristol is ‘dynamic,’” said Molly McCarty, head coach of Jefferson High School. “And I can say that as dynamic as she was to defend and play against, she gave every bit of effort she could possibly give to her team.”

Kersh has maintained a 3.61 weighted GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior 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 across 12 different high school sports – 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.

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 $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.