RAMSEY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED GATORADE NEW JERSEY BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR CHICAGO (June 3, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced William Kirk of Ramsey High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade New Jersey Baseball Player of the Year.
Kirk is the first Gatorade New Jersey Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Ramsey 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 Kirk as New Jersey’s best high school baseball 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 Gary Sheffield (1985-86, Hillsborough High School, Fla.), Alex Rodriguez (1992-93, Westminster Christian School, Fla.), Clayton Kershaw (2005-06, Highland Park High School, Texas) and Max Clark (2022-23, 2021-22 & 2020-21, Franklin Community High School, Ind.).
At the time of his selection, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior left-handed pitcher and outfielder had led the Rams (196-1) to the Group 2 Section 1 quarterfinals this season. Kirk went 5-0 on the mound with a 0.22 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 32 innings through 26 games. He compiled a 0.40 WHIP and opposing batters hit just .132 against him. At the plate, he batted .481 with nine home runs and 38 RBI, drawing 18 walks while fanning just three times. His on-base percentage was .588 and his OPS was 1.602 entering the sectional round of eight.
Kirk has volunteered extensively in association with his church community and has donated his time as a coach and mentor for youth baseball programs. He has also fundraised on behalf of the Tommy Strong Foundation and participated in an initiative to collect baseball gear donated to youth baseball programs in the Dominican Republic.
“He’s the ultimate two-way player who can dominate a game on the mound, in the batter’s box and in the field,” said Nick Urbanovich of Westwood Regional High School. “William is a once-in-a-lifetime player at the high school level and has been dominant on the mound for the past three seasons. He has tremendous upside: a fastball in the low 90s, consistent control of his offspeed pitches and a clean delivery. I’ve seen him drive balls all over the field at the plate. We rarely pitch to him and he’s the only hitter we’ve consistently intentionally walked. There is no scouting report on William because he is that good.”
Kirk has maintained a 3.49 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of Virginia this fall but is projected as an early round selection in July’s Major League Baseball First Year Player 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.
Kirk joins recent Gatorade New Jersey Baseball Players of the Year Steven Echavarria (2022-23, Millburn High School), Caden Dana (2021-22, Don Bosco Prep), Chase Petty (2020-21, Mainland Regional High School) and Kyle Teel (2019-20, Mahwah 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 studentathletes, 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. #
GatoradePOYQuestions@Fleishman.com
https://dl4qb5s621vef.cloudfront.net/poy/2024/pressreleases/2024_BB_WKirk.pdf