CHICAGO (January 9, 2025) — In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Abigail Li of Alpharetta High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Georgia Volleyball Player of the Year. Li is the first Gatorade Georgia Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Alpharetta High School.
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 court, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Li as Georgia’s best high school volleyball player, and she joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as April Ross (1999-00, Newport Harbor High School, Ca.), Kerri Walsh Jennings (1995-96, Archbishop Mitty High School, Ca.) and Ayden Ames (2023-24, Prosper High School, Texas).
The 6-foot-1 senior setter led the Raiders (36-0) to the Class 6A state championship and a No. 6 national ranking in the MaxPreps Top 100 this past season. Li amassed 937 assists, averaging 10 per set, along with 195 digs, 80 kills, 53 aces and 46 blocks. She was also named 6A-Region 7 Player of the Year and earned 6A All-State honors.
Li has volunteered locally for the New Prospects Elementary School Mentoring Program, an organization she co- founded, which works with elementary school students who need extra help. In addition, she’s served as a coach with the Junior Alpharetta Raiders middle school volleyball program. “Li has this intimidating factor about her game, and she’s either going to put a ball down your throat, serve a huge ball at you so you shank it or make you guess where she’s setting the ball,” said Allatoona High School head coach Joseph Soley. “She has a very high IQ on the court and controls the offense at a high-level pace.”
Li has maintained a B average in the classroom. She has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play volleyball at Georgia Tech this fall.
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.
Li joins recent Gatorade Georgia Volleyball Players of the Year Grace Agolli (2023-24, Pace Academy), Ashley Sturzoiu (2022-23, Buford High School), Cheridyn Leverette (2021-22, Eagle's Landing Christian Academy) and Ngozi Iloh (2020-21, McIntosh 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 $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.
