DiMaria Named Gatorade Best Female Player

DiMaria Named Gatorade Best Female Player
by TopDrawerSoccer
July 17, 2026
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Gatorade announced Madeline DiMaria as the Best Female Player of the Year at this week's ESPY awards.

Recognizing the top athletes across all sports, the winner is considered and selected from the pool of National Player of the Year honorees.

DiMaria earned the nod after leading Cor Jesu Academy to a 25-0 record and the Class 4 state championship this season, scoring 67 goals and passing for 25 assists, while netting a hat trick as Cor Jesu beat St. Teresa’s Academy, 5-0, in the state championship game. She is a two-time Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year, three-time Gatorade Missouri Girls Soccer Player of the Year and two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American selection. She is the No. 1 ranked player in the Girls MESA Academy Player Rankings.

"Being named the Gatorade Best Female Player of the Year makes everything I've worked for worth it – not just as an athlete, but also as a student and member of my community," DiMaria said after earning the recognition. "Seeing my name next to such incredible athletes who have changed the game is unreal and something I couldn’t have imagined."

In three seasons of high school soccer, she has scored 142 goals, to go with 65 assists.

The decorated U.S. youth international is one of the top players in the ECNL and committed to player at North Carolina. She received the award along with Grady Emerson, the Best Player of the Year honoree.

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