Brynley Erb repeats as Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year

Western slugger Brynley Erb has been named Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year for a second consecutive season.

>The Kentucky-bound infielder set the state’s all-time home run record this season with her 70th home run, and finished her senior year with a .659 average that included 58 hit (10 doubles, eight triples, 13 home runs). She scored 54 runs, drove in 43 RBIs and struck out just three times for the sectional champs.

>Erb finished her career with a .651 average, 236 RBIs and 235 runs scored.

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>Gatorade Player of the Year honors the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the court, in the classroom and in the community, and distinguishes Erb as the state’s best high school softball player.w

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>“We’ve played Western about 10 times in Brynley’s four years and the kid is an absolute stud,” West Lafayette coach Chauncey Fry said in a statement. “She’s as good as I’ve seen at the plate, in the field and on the bases in my 13-year coaching career.”

>Erb has volunteered locally at the Western concession stand during sporting events and as a peer tutor for students with mild and moderate intellectual challenges. She has also donated her time as a youth softball and volleyball coach, all while maintaining a weighted 3.43 GPA.

>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 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.

>Recent Indiana recipients include Erb (2025), Tri-West’s Audrey Lowry (2024), Roncalli’s Keagan Rothrock (2021, 22, 23) and Bremens’s Erin Coffel.

>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 $6.4 million in grants to winners across more than 2,200 organizations.

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>This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Brynley Erb repeats as Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year