Kierson McDonald of Oak Mountain High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Alabama Girls Soccer Player of the Year. McDonald is the fourth player from Oak Mountain to earn the award.

The award, in its 38th year, honors the nation’s best high school athletes and recognizes high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.

McDonald is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award. She joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alyssa Thompson (2020-21, Harvard-Westlake School, Calif.), Mallory Swanson (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.), Heather O’Reilly (2002-03 and 2001-02, East Brunswick High School, N.J.) and Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy School of Young Women, N.Y.).

The 5-foot-10 senior played minutes as a defender, midfielder and forward this past season, leading the Eagles (22-4) to the 7A state semifinals. McDonald recorded 31 goals and passed for 15 assists to earn first-team All-State honors. Oak Mountain won more than 100 games during her tenure.

A National Honor Society member, McDonald has volunteered locally on behalf of the Auburn tornado relief effort and has donated her time by serving the YMCA. She also has participated in multiple community service initiatives through her church.

“Kierson is dominant in all facets and has a killer instinct when it comes to winning,” said Thompson head coach Dan DeMasters. “She is a stellar left-footed player.”

McDonald has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. She has signed to play at the University of Alabama this fall.

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. 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.

McDonald joins recent Gatorade Alabama Girls Soccer Players of the Year Isabel Smith (2021-22, Mountain Brook), Haley Duca (2020-21, Chelsea), Morgan White (2019-20, Westminster School at Oak Mountain), and Tara Katz (2018-19, Montgomery Academy), on the state’s list of former Gatorade award winners.

Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.