CHICAGO — In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Tresz McLeod of Wheeling Park High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade West Virginia Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes McLeod as West Virginia’s best high school boys soccer player, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Ben Bender (2019-20, Calvert Hall College High School, M.D.) and Ransford Gyan (2022-23 & 2023-24, St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, N.J.).
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound senior forward and midfielder scored 39 goals and passed for 18 assists this past season, leading the Patriots (20-4) to the Class 3A state semifinals. The 2024 West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association Class 3A Player of the Year, McLeod was a four-time First Team All-State selection. A two-time United Soccer Coaches High School All-Mid-Atlantic Region honoree, he concluded his prep soccer career with 118 goals and 60 assists.
A self-taught barber who cuts the hair of both family and friends, McLeod has volunteered locally with the Greater Soup Kitchen of Wheeling and the Ohio County Relay for Life, which raises money for cancer research. He has also donated his time as a teen mentor, youth soccer coach and as part of multiple community service initiatives through his church youth group. “Tresz was an absolute beast,” said Sam Snyder, head coach of Morgantown High School. “He’s one of the most dangerous players we’ve had in West Virginia. He was also a phenomenal leader and played both sides of the ball with electric tenacity.”
Despite being diagnosed with a learning disability when he was in the third grade, McLeod has maintained a 3.98 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play soccer at George Mason University this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – 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.
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 $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.
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 Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
