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BENTONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED
GATORADE ARKANSAS GIRLS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (June 20, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade
today announced Kayla Hurley of Bentonville High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Arkansas Girls Soccer Player
of the Year. Hurley is the fifth Gatorade Arkansas Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Bentonville
High School.
The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and
in the community, distinguishes Hurley as Arkansas’ best high school girls soccer player. From CEOs and coaches
to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of
alumni that includes Aly Wagner (1997-98, Presentation High School, Calif.), Mallory Swanson (2014-15, Mountain
Vista High School, Colo.) and Kennedy Fuller (2022-23 & 2021-22, Southlake Carroll High School, Texas).
The 5-foot-4 senior midfielder led the Tigers to an 18-2-1 record and a second-straight Class 6A state championship
this past season. Hurley scored 24 goals, passed for eight assists and was named MVP of the Class 6A tournament
final despite not recording a point in Bentonville’s 4-2 win over Rogers High School. Also the Class 6A West Division
Outstanding Player of the Year, she concluded her prep soccer career with 82 goals and 39 assists.
Hurley has volunteered locally packaging “compassion kits” for international relief efforts on behalf of the For All
Mankind Movement. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer coach and referee. “Kayla is an outstanding
player and really no one could stop her,” said Joe Thoma, head coach of Fayetteville High School. “She has excellent
vision, work rate and skill. She was the best player in the state this season.”
Hurley has maintained a weighted 3.92 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a national letter of intent to play soccer
on scholarship at the University of Central Arkansas 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.
Hurley joins recent Gatorade Arkansas Girls Soccer Players of the Year Samantha De Luca (2022-23, Episcopal
Collegiate School), Kate Carter (2021-22, Bentonville West High School), Sophie Nash (2020-21, North Little Rock
High School) and Kailyn 'KK' Pavatt (2019-20, Conway High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
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 $4.9
million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.
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 X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
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