CHICAGO (June 2, 2023) — In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Taylor Rabe of Greenville High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade South Carolina Baseball Player of the Year. Rabe is the first Gatorade South Carolina Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Greenville 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 Rabe as South Carolina’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, Rabe 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-5, 200-pound senior right-handed pitcher and infielder compiled an 8-0 record on the mound with a 1.19 earned run average this past season, leading the Red Raiders to a 21-7 record and the Class 4A Upper State Bracket 2 championship series. Rabe struck out 101 batters while allowing just 28 hits and walking 14 in 53 innings pitched. The South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association’s State Player of the Year, Rabe broke his nose during a practice during the playoffs and missed Greenville’s final two games, both losses. At the plate, he batted .364 with six home runs, 28 RBI and a .727 slugging percentage.

Rabe has volunteered locally as part of an elementary school literacy program, and he has donated his time as a youth baseball coach. “Taylor was amazing this season; he was almost unhittable on the mound,” said Matt Baker, head coach of Greenwood High School. “He is dominant with a ‘plus’ fastball and great secondary stuff. He fills up the zone and never stops coming after you.”

Rabe has maintained a weighted 4.51 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of Mississippi this fall.

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.

Rabe joins recent Gatorade South Carolina Baseball Players of the Year Tristan Smith (2021-22, Boiling Springs High School), Will Taylor (2020-21, Dutch Fork High School), Caden Grice (2019-20, Riverside High School), and Trotter Harlan (2018-19, Hillcrest 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.