CHICAGO (June 3, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Conrad Cason of Greater Atlanta Christian School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Georgia Baseball Player of the Year. Cason is the first Gatorade Georgia Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Greater Atlanta Christian School.
The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Cason as Georgia’s best high school baseball player. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Gary Sheffield (1985-86, Hillsborough High School, Fla.), Alex Rodriguez (1992-93, Westminster Christian School, Fla.), Clayton Kershaw (2005-06, Highland Park High School, Texas) and Max Clark (2022-23, 2021-22 & 2020-21, Franklin Community High School, Ind.).
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior right-handed pitcher and shortstop compiled a 7-1 record on the mound with a 0.48 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 43.2 innings of work this past season, leading the Spartans to a 30-5 record and the second round of the Class AAAAAAA quarterfinals. Cason held opposing hitters to a .085 average. Ranked No. 1 in the state in the Class of 2024 by Perfect Game in addition to being a 2023 Perfect Game All-American Game invitee, he also batted .364 with three home runs, 28 RBI, 32 runs, 25 walks, 16 stolen bases and a .519 on-base percentage. Cason has volunteered locally on behalf of both the Pantry at Hamilton Mill and the Lilburn Co-op food banks in addition to serving as a youth karate instructor.
“Conrad Cason is a special talent,” said Josh Lee, head coach at Greater Atlanta Christian School. “I have been blessed to see his development from sixth grade all the way to his senior year. He is a tireless worker and a fearless competitor who hasn’t met a moment that was too big. I could not be prouder of the young man he has become and how he represents our school.”
Cason has maintained a 3.03 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at Mississippi State University this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in July’s Major League Baseball First Year Player 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.
Cason joins recent Gatorade Georgia Baseball Players of the Year Colin Houck (2022-23, Parkview High School), Druw Jones (2021-22, Wesleyan School), Dylan Lesko (2020-21, Buford High School) and Jordan Walker (2019-20, Decatur 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 $4.9 million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.
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 X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
