CHICAGO — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade announced earlier this week that Audrey Lowry of Tri-West High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year. Lowry is the first Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Tri-West High School.
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.
At the time of her selection, the 5-foot-7 left-handed pitcher had led the Bruins (28-6) to the semi-state championship this season and a berth in the Class 3A state title game, scheduled for today. Lowry posted a 21-3 record with a 0.470 ERA and 306 strikeouts against just 10 walks in 163.2 innings. Opposing batters hit .118 against her as she fired 12 shutouts and three no-hitters. At the plate, she batted .551 with 41 RBI, posting an OPS of 1.382. Ranked as the No. 3 pitcher in her class by Softball America, she was also named one of Sports Illustrated’s Top 20 High School Pitchers in 2023.
A peer facilitator who spends time daily with life-skills students at Tri-West High School, she has volunteered locally on behalf of her church as well as Riley Children’s Health hospital. In addition to coaching youth players at camps and clinics, she also participates in her school’s Bruin Buddie initiative, through which she mentors elementary school students. “Audrey Lowry is completely dominant in the circle,” said Dan Taylor, head coach at Southmont High School. “Audrey’s high velocity, incredible command and deadly riseball and change-up make her nearly impossible to hit. She’s a fierce competitor who has led her team to three straight state title games, but she’s also considered by opposing coaches and players to be one of the most humble and likable players. Audrey is the best high school player I’ve seen in 35 years of coaching.”
Lowry has maintained a weighted 3.54 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball on scholarship at the University of Oklahoma this fall.
Lowry joins recent Gatorade Indiana Softball Players of the Year Keagan Rothrock (2022-23, 2021-22, & 2020-21 Roncalli High School) and Erin Coffel (2019-20, Bremen 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.
