MEDIA RELEASE

CHICAGO (May 27, 2014) — — In its 29th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Kodi Medeiros of Waiakea High School as its 2013-14 Gatorade Hawaii Baseball Player of the Year. Medeiros is the second Gatorade Hawaii Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Waiakea High School. Onan Massaoka also won the honor (1994-1995).

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 Medeiros as Hawaii’s best high school baseball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year, Medeiros joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Roy Halladay (1994-95, Arvada West HS, Colo.), David Price (2003-04, Blackman HS, Tenn.), Chipper Jones (1989-90, Bolles School, Fla.), Derek Lee (1992-93, El Camino HS, Calif.) and John Lester (2001-02, Bellarmine Prep, Wash.).

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior right-handed pitcher and outfielder posted a 7-1 record, a 0.97 ERA and 83 strikeouts against just 11 walks in 43.1 innings, leading the Warriors (13-3) to the Division I quarterfinals this past season. A 2013 Perfect Game All-American and ranked as the nation’s No. 7 prospect by Perfect Game USA, he also batted .486 with a home run, 13 RBI, 12 runs scored and a .784 slugging percentage in 2014.

Medeiros has maintained a 3.35 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally on behalf of his school’s homecoming parade, the Waiakea May Day craft and food fair and as a youth baseball coach.

“Kodi Medeiros is a hard-working individual who excels both on and off the field,” said Waiakea head coach Jensen Sato. “He’s a special talent who will succeed in his future endeavors.”

Medeiros has signed with Pepperdine University but is projected as an early round selection in next month’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 high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Medeiros joins recent Gatorade Hawaii Baseball Players of the Year Trey Saito (2012-13, Mid-Pacific Institute), Travis Garcia-Perreira (2011-12, Mid-Pacific Institute), Kalei Contrades (2010 – 11, Saint Louis School), Michael Suiter (2009-10, Punahou School), Breland Almadova (2008–09, Iolani School), Aaron Fukiji (2007-08, Mid-Pacific Institute), and Harrison Ishida (2006-2007, Punahou School) among the state’s list of former award winners.

To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit www.gatorade.com/poy