Halpern Named Gatorade Girls Soccer Player Of The Year
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Addison Halpern, a freshman forward/midfielder with the Virginia women’s soccer team, was named the 2025 Gatorade Girls Player of the Year it was announced by Gatorade with the release of its annual award.
Halpern, who is rated the No. 5 overall recruit nationally, enrolled at Virginia in January and has been practicing with the women’s team through the spring. She is part of the fourth-ranked recruiting class in the nation.
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. Halpern was selected as the New Jersey state winner for 2024-25 and now claimed the national award.
As a senior, Halpern led the Argonauts to a 23-0 record and both the Prep B and Non-Public B state championships this past season. Halpern scored 44 goals and passed for 14 assists, setting up Rutgers Preparatory School’s 3-0 win over DePaul High School in the Non-Public B state final. Halpern missed the first six games of the season while participating in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup with the U.S. National Team. Also the 2024 United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year, she is a two-time NJ.com State Player of the Year honoree. Ranked as the nation’s No. 5 recruit in the Class of 2025 by TopDrawerSoccer.com, she concluded her prep soccer career with 180 goals—second in state history—and 68 assists.
Halpern has volunteered locally with Rise Against Hunger and as an elementary school mentor and tutor. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer coach and as part of multiple community service initiatives through her church.
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.
Halpern and the Cavaliers open the 2025 season on the road at West Virginia on August 14 and will play the first home game of the season against Xavier on August 21. The Hoos host DC Power FC of the USL in an exhibition match on August 9.