Lafayette's Abby Carr Named Gatorade Missouri Softball Player of the Year

Recent Lafayette High graduate Abby Carr earned the 2024-2025 Gatorade Missouri Softball Player of the Year award, celebrating her as the top state athlete in her sport for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

She is the fourth Lancers athlete in the past three years to earn state Gatorade Player of the Year honors, following cross country runners Grace Tyson (2022-2023) and Natalie Barnard (2023-2024) and volleyball player Maya Witherspoon (2024-2025).

As a senior this past fall, Carr helped lead Lafayette to a 25-6-1 record and the Class 5 state championship. She finished with a 23-0 record and a 0.24 earned run average in the circle, striking out 304 batters against just 26 walks in 144.2 innings pitched. Carr also batted .476 with 29 RBI, 10 home runs and 35 runs scored. She was a first-team All-State selection, as well as earning the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's All-Metro Player of the Year and Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete recognition.

“She had no weaknesses in the circle this year,” Eureka High coach Mark Mosley said in a Gatorade press release. "She was pretty untouchable — threw any pitch she wanted with accuracy and velocity. The offense was built around her and thrived on her success — she didn't just dominate in the circle, she did it in the batter’s box, too.”

A member of the Lafayette Athletic Leadership Council, Carr has volunteered locally with the Kendall Johnson Foundation, which seeks to support and empower individuals by providing opportunities for personal and athletic growth, particularly in the realm of softball. She has also donated her time to the Special Olympics and as a member of PE Mentors, helping students with disabilities. Carr plans to study business and play for the Tigers' softball team at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Now in its 40th year, 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 and field, then 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.