| Grundy enjoys his one-hitter against North Sanpete with catcher Joe Via. |
Out of every male high school baseball player in every classification in the state, one athlete is chosen as Utah’s most elite by Gatorade and Coach and Athletic Director magazine.
This year, the honor was bestowed to a local player in Carbon High’s Troy Grundy.
According to Gatorade representatives, selection for the Gatorade Player of the Year is based not only on a student’s athletic performance, but also on their academic achievements and their character.
One athlete from each state is chosen for the Gatorade player of the year award in football, volleyball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball and boys and girls track and field.
The award has been given to athletes across the nation for the last 20 years and many consider it to be the most esteemed high school athletic award in the nation.
Some past Gatorade players of the year include Peyton Manning, Marion Jones, Vince Carter, Alex Rodriguez and Lisa Leslie.
Carbon coach Lane Herrick, who will be bidding farewell to Grundy after four years as a player, said the award has never been given to a Carbon athlete.
“It’s a very prestigious deal. Definitely something has been given to Carbon athletes,” he said. “Troy is a good kid. I enjoyed coaching him and he did a lot for our program.”
Grundy said he received the news of the award while returning home from an Iowa Showcase where he displayed his pitching ability to several professional scouts.
Scouts were also tailing Grundy at the state baseball tournament when he helped guide Carbon to a third place finish.
This week, Grundy will be enjoying the graduation festivities with his friends before tuning into the draft on June 7.
He said he would like to go directly into the major leagues but will head to College of Southern Idaho and play a season depending on how the cards fall.
“I just want to thank the community and my family and friends for being there for me and supporting me and I hope things work out,” he commented.
Local Grundy fans can still watch the hurler this summer in his last season of American Legion ball.
Ticket prices to see Grundy will only go up from here.