Incoming Mizzou pitcher named Gatorade Player of the Year
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou softball coach Larissa Anderson's 2026 roster will officially feature the 2024-25 Missouri Softball Gatorade Player of the Year, after Lafayette High School pitcher Abby Carr earned the honor, on Monday.
The award is widely known as the top honor in all of high school sports. It goes to the nation's best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Carr was named the best softball player in all of Missouri, after an impressive senior season. The 6-foot right-handed pitcher led Lafayette to a Class 5 state championship win over Rock Bridge in her final high school season. She put up a stunning performance in that title game, tossing a 16-strikeout, eight-inning, no-hitter to lift her team to the holy grail.
Overall, she finished the 2024 campaign undefeated in the circle, 23-0, with a 0.24 earned run average. The Wildwood, Missouri native struck out 304 batters and issued just 26 walks in 144.2 total innings. But, she was a dual-threat for the Lancers, as well. She batted .476 with 29 RBI, 10 home runs and 35 runs scored, posting an OPS of 1.590.
Carr finished her Lafayette career in the record books, as she holds the career-best in strikeouts, ERA, doubles, home runs and batting average. Her dominant high school career shows just why she's ranked as the No. 27 recruit in the nation by Perfect Game, No. 31 by Prep Softball and No. 41 by Extra Inning.
The Gatorade Player of the Year is one of the big highlights of Coach Anderson's six-member 2025 signing class, which will arrive on campus for the 2025-26 school year. Carr will be the 13th Mizzou player from the state of Missouri to win the Gatorade award, joining fellow pitcher Cierra Harrison and recently graduated All-American catcher Julia Crenshaw. Overall, Carr will be the ninth Gatorade Player of the Year for MU softball during Anderson's reign in Columbia.
