Faith Johnston of Parkview Baptist named 2022-23 Gatorade Louisiana Girls Soccer Player of the Year

PARKVIEW BAPTIST SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED
GATORADE LOUISIANA GIRLS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO (June 23, 2023) — In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Faith Johnston of Parkview Baptist School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Louisiana Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Johnston is the first Gatorade Louisiana Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Parkview Baptist School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Johnston as Louisiana’s best high school girls soccer player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in June, Johnston joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alyssa Thompson (2020-21, Harvard-Westlake School, Calif.), Mallory Swanson (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.), Heather O’Reilly (2002-03 & 2001-02, East Brunswick High School, N.J.) and Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy School of Young Women, N.Y.).

The 5-foot-7 sophomore midfielder and forward led the Eagles to a 22-5 record and the Division III state championship this past season. Johnston scored 47 goals and passed for 30 assists, including 11 goals and six assists in Parkview Baptist School’s five-game postseason run to the title. An All-Metro selection as a seventh-grader at Parkview Baptist School, Johnston spent the last two years at IMG Academy in Florida. She is ranked as the nation’s No. 117 recruit in the Class of 2025 by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

A two-time national champion triathlete, Johnston has volunteered as part of two service-mission trips to the Dominican Republic, where she helped build houses. She has donated her time locally with the Parkview Baptist School key club and on behalf of multiple fundraising campaigns in association with UNICEF. “Faith was a dominant force in the midfield,” said Melissa Ramsey, head coach of University Lab High School. “From her ability to win balls in the air, to scoring incredible goals from any part of the field, to beating opponents with her incredible moves, to her vision to make split-second accurate passes, she is a special player that has a very bright future.”

Johnston has maintained a weighted 4.05 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.

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.

Johnston joins recent Gatorade Louisiana Girls Soccer Players of the Year Kelsey Major (2021-22 & 2020-21, St. Mary’s Dominican High School), Jordan Grigsby (2019-20, Northshore High School), and Maddie Moreau (2018-19, St. Thomas More Catholic High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.

For nearly 40 years, Gatorade has honored high school athletes at the top of their game as teammates, supporting their communities and achieving academic success. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes and community leaders, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport.

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 Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.