Kylie Cino and Katie Shea Collins Named Gatorade Players of the Year
CHICAGO, IL — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced incoming freshmen Kylie Cino of Wando High School, and Katie Shea Collins of Pope John Paul II Preparatory School are the 2023-24 Gatorade Girls Soccer Players of the Year (South Carolina and Tennessee).
The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Cino and Collins as South Carolina and Tennessee’s best high school girls soccer players.
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.
Kylie Cino
Incoming freshman Kylie Cino of Wando High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade South Carolina Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
The 5-foot-6 senior midfielder scored 23 goals and passed for 18 assists this past season, leading the Warriors (19-3) to the Class 5A state tournament quarterfinals. A three-time state champion, Cino was the 2023 South Carolina Coaches Association of Women’s Soccer Class 5A Player of the Year. She concluded her prep soccer career with 123 goals and 107 assists.
Cino holds a job at an area hair salon and she’s volunteered locally on behalf of Carolina Boxer Rescue. She has also donated her time to the Special Olympics and as a mentor for special needs students at Wando High. “Kylie’s work rate, coachability, technical ability, soccer IQ and mental toughness shape the extremely talented and driven player that she is,” said Shannon Champ, head coach of Wando High School. “She always strives to better herself as a player and leader.”
Cino has maintained a weighted 4.49 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.
Cino joins recent Gatorade South Carolina Girls Soccer Player of the Year and Gamecock, Autumn Cayelli (2021-22, T.L. Hanna High School).
Katie Shea Collins
Katie Shea Collins of Pope John Paul II Preparatory School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Collins is the second Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Pope John Paul II Preparatory School.
The 5-foot-2 senior forward scored 44 goals and passed for six assists this past season, leading the Knights (12-2-2) to the Division II, Class AA state quarterfinals. Collins had a direct hand in 50 of her team’s 56 goals on the year. She missed the state quarterfinal while earning a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile as a member of the U.S. Soccer Under-19 Women’s National Team. She earned a call-up to the Under-20 Women’s National Team in June. She concluded her prep soccer career with 106 goals and 31 assists in 47 games.
Collins has volunteered locally with Habitat for Humanity and as a peer mentor to students with special needs. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer coach. “Katie Shea is one of the most amazing players I have ever coached against,” said Meggie Lucas, head coach of Harpeth Hall School. “Her skill with the ball is unmatched, her patience off the ball is wise beyond her years and her drive and competitive nature make her a force to be reckoned with.”
Collins 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.
She joins recent Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year and Gamecock, Brinley Murphy y (2022-23 & 2021-22, Bearden High School).
