CHICAGO (June 9, 2025) — In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Lilly 'Goose' Goodwin of Desert Mountain High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Arizona Softball 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 Goodwin as Arizona's best high school softball player, and she joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such Cat Osterman (2000-01, Cypress Springs High School, Texas), Rachel Garcia (2014-15 & 2012-13, Highland High School, Calif.), Ava Brown (2022-23, Lake Creek High School, Texas) and Addisen Fisher (2023-24, Bend High School, Oregon).

The state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-8 junior left-handed pitcher and first baseman led the Wolves to a 30-1-1 record and a third straight Conference 5A state championship this past season. Goodwin compiled a 20-0 record with a 0.36 earned run average in the circle, striking out 319 batters in 134.2 innings pitched to record a 0.48 WHIP.

A member of the 18-and-under USA Junior Women’s National Team, she batted .552 with six home runs, 45 RBI and an .897 slugging percentage. A member of her school’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Goodwin has volunteered locally with Desert Mountain’s Ambassador’s Club and in association with the National Honor Society. She has also donated her time as a youth pitching coach. “Goose is incredible,” said Patrick Carroll, head coach of Arizona College Preparatory School. “Desert Mountain would not be where they are without her. She is the most impactful player in the state, especially with her pitching. If you moved her to any other team, that team is in the running for a state championship. That’s how good she is.”

Goodwin has maintained a 4.66 weighted GPA in the classroom. She has made a verbal commitment to receive athletic aid to play softball at Northwestern University beginning in the fall of 2026.

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.

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 Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X (Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.