CHICAGO (June 2, 2023) — In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Roch Cholowsky of Hamilton High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Arizona Baseball Player of the Year. Cholowsky is the fifth Gatorade Arizona Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Hamilton 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 Cholowsky as Arizona’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, Cholowsky 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-2, 195-pound senior shortstop and right-handed pitcher led the Huskies to a 26-5 record and the Conference 6A state championship this past season. Cholowsky posted a .466 batting average with 11 home runs, 25 extra-base hits and 45 runs scored. The Conference 6A Player of the Year, he produced 35 RBI while compiling a .577 on-base percentage and a .970 slugging percentage. Ranked as the nation’s No. 16 recruit in the Class of 2023 by Perfect Game, he committed just two errors in the field all season.

Cholowsky has volunteered locally as a youth baseball coach. “Roch’s baseball skill set speaks for itself, but I was most impressed with his competitiveness and his will to help his team win,” said Josh Garcia, head coach of Brophy College Preparatory. “A lot of times you’ll run into some talented players that want to have good numbers for themselves and increase their stock as a player. Coaching against Roch, I felt he would do anything it takes to help Hamilton win.”

Cholowsky has maintained a 3.45 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of California, Los Angeles this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in July’s Major League Baseball 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.

Cholowsky joins recent Gatorade Arizona Baseball Players of the Year Logan Saloman (2021-22, Hamilton High School), Wes Kath (2020-21, Desert Mountain High School), Brock Selvidge (2019-20, Hamilton High School), and Ronan Kopp (2018-19, Scottsdale Christian Academy), 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.

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 Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.