What does Cathedral Catholic softball pitcher Megan Faraimo have in common with Peyton Manning, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jabari Parker, Maya Moore, Kerri Walsh and Andrew Wiggins?
She's a Gatorade National Player of the Year.
"It hasn't set in yet, I'm very honored obviously, this is a huge award and accomplishment that I'm very thankful for," said Faraimo. "There are so many athletes who are deserving of this award, so to named the national player of the year is a very big honor for me."
Faraimo was presented with the Gatorade National Softball Player of the year award during a surprise ceremony Tuesday afternoon at the Bali Hai restaurant in San Diego. Two-time Olympic pitcher Jennie Finch was part of the presentation to Faraimo.
Finch said, "This was a dream of Megan's and she accomplished it, I'm so excited for Megan. When I gave her the award, she was so grateful."
Faraimo added, "Jennie was one of my idols as a little girl, so to see her again was really cool. I was really, really surprised."
The 6-foot-1 senior right-handed pitcher compiled a 26-3 record with a 0.23 ERA this past season leading the Dons(26-4) to the San Diego Section Open Division championship game. Faraimo struck out 405 batters, the second highest total in San Diego section history, and she's a great hitter, batting .316 with 7 home runs, 22 RBI and a .645 slugging percentage.
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Finch says, "I am so impressed with Megan, her stats are unreal and I love pitchers that can hit. The fact that she can do it on the mound and the batters' box stole my heart instantly."
Ranked as the #1 recruit in the Class of 2018 by FloSoftball, Faraimo has signed a national letter of intent to play for UCLA.
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 and field; and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. In addition to athletic excellence, the award recognizes academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the field.
