By Brian Gosset
X – @gosset41
No one’s trophy case is more packed in a single season than Sophee Peterson’s – adding one of the most prestigious awards in all of sports…Gatorade National Player Of The Year. Peterson, a junior setter, was surprised with the award Thursday morning by three-time Olympic medalist April Ross.
“It’s definitely the biggest award I’ve won and it feels great,” Peterson said. “Every award feels a little bit different, but this feels a lot different from all the other ones.
“This award is amazing. It’s the highest honor a high school athlete can get. Just competing in such a competitive sport, where there’s so many amazing girls, it just feels super good to have an award like this.”
Peterson was named Gatorade Texas Player Of The Year less than two weeks ago, but had no clue she won the national award.
Her parents, family and coaches knew – but never leaked it out.
She’s the second Byron Nelson player to win Texas POTY – joining Paige Flickinger, who won twice in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Her head coach Brianne Groth also won twice during her time at Amarillo High in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
“This is kind of the Mount Everest award for her and it’s awesome to see what goes into Gatorade and everything they’re about, and for them to select Sophee this year was really awesome and special,” Groth said. “To see her come in and get surprised, and how much it means to her – it was awesome and we’re very excited and obviously Byron Nelson is pretty excited to have a national player of the year.”
The Bobcats wrapped up a perfect 42-0 record and the program’s third state championship in November following a 3-0 sweep over Pearland Dawson in the Class 6A D1 final.
They became the 20th team to post a perfect season in UIL volleyball history, which dates back 60 years. Byron has won 78 straight matches and 82 of its past 83 matches.
Peterson posted 35 assists, 13 digs, four kills, two block assists and one ace against Dawson. Byron Nelson won the 6A D2 crown over Houston Stratford during the 2024 season.
The Texas A&M commit is highly regarded as the top-ranked player in the nation among the 2027 class. She finished second in DFW and in the Top 10 nationally with 1,459 assists. She surpassed 3,500 career assists on the season. Peterson also had 274 digs, 161 kills and 70 total blocks.
“What stands out for me about Sophee Peterson is her competitive fire,” said Chris Tobolski, Chief Editor for Vballrecruiter.com. “She exhibits the same level of intensity, excitement and enthusiasm in a one-sided match as she does in a state final with everything on the line. That type of energy, combined with her skillset, elevates the play of everyone around her. As a setter, she’s unparalleled in making Byron Nelson’s offense go.”
Peterson is the 50th non-senior national winner in the award’s 41-year history and just the second in volleyball – the first since Cynthia Barboza in 2003-04. She was selected from more than half a million other student-athletes who play high school volleyball nationwide.
She’s the fourth Texan to win the national award in the past six years – joining former DFW stars Ayden Ames (Prosper 2023-24) and Averi Carlson (Lovejoy 2021-22).
Other awards won by Peterson this past season: 4-6A MVP, 6A D1 state all-tournament team, TGCA 6A-5A Player Of The Year, TGCA 6A All-State, TSWA 6A Player Of The Year, TSWA 6A All-State, MaxPreps National Player Of The Year, MaxPreps All-America Team, MaxPreps Junior Of The Year and our very own GM Sports Media All-Area Most Valuable Player.
