Incoming Freshman Brinley Murphy Named Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year

CHICAGO — In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced incoming South Carolina freshman Brinley Murphy of Bearden High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Murphy is the first Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Bearden High 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 Murphy as Tennessee’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, Murphy 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 state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-10 senior forward led the Bulldogs to a 24-0 record and a second-straight Class AAA state championship this past season. Murphy scored 41 goals and passed for 23 assists, including one of each in Bearden’s 3-1 win over Houston High in the state final. The 2022 United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year, Murphy is a four-time First Team All-State selection. She concluded her prep soccer career with 110 goals and 54 assists.

Murphy has volunteered locally on behalf of a food bank and with the Salvation Army. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer and basketball coach. “Brinley is the type of player that given my best lineup, health and time to prepare, I am not sure that we would ever have been able to contain her,” said Meggie Lucas, head coach of Harpeth Hall School. “She was simply that good—speed, agility, vision and her touch were outstanding. She also scored at will.”

Murphy has maintained a weighted 4.17 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a national letter of intent to play soccer on scholarship at the University of South Carolina 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.

Two-time winner Murphy joins recent Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Players of the Year Caroline Betts (2020-21, Christ Presbyterian Academy), Sydney Ham (2019-20, Briarcrest Christian School), and Cara Young (2018-19, Houston 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 studentathletes, 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.