Chicago (May 28, 2009) - In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with ESPN RISE, today announced Luke Maile of Covington Catholic High School as its 2008-2009 Gatorade Kentucky Baseball Player of the Year. Maile is the first Gatorade Kentucky Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Covington Catholic High School.

 

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Maile as Kentucky's best high school baseball player. Maile is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award to be announced in June.

 

The 6-foot 3, 200-pound catcher led the Colonels to a 32-3 record and a berth in the postseason district final at the time of his selection. Maile was batting .561 with 12 home runs and 68 RBI's along with 1.775 OPS through 35 games. He had also slugged 19 doubles and scored 61 runs. A 2008 First Team All-State selection, Maile's 12 home runs this season and his 29 career home runs are both school records.

 

Maile has maintained a 3.22 GPA in the classroom. An active member of his church community, he has volunteered locally as a youth mentor at a school for physically and mentally handicapped children.

 

"Maile has been starting varsity since he was a freshman and he's just a great hitter" said Beechwood High Head Coach R.W. Myerhoff. "If you make a mistake, he'll punish you. I haven't seen any hitter like him. He's the best we've seen here in a long time. He hit three home runs against us and we just couldn't get him out."

 

Maile has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of Kentucky this fall.

WOW. What an honor for Luke and NKY schools. What is Lukes draft status?

Congrats Luke. Simply fantastic and well deserved. :thumb:

WOW. What an honor for Luke and NKY schools. What is Lukes draft status?

 

From the front page of the today's (Tuesday) NKy.com

 

Maile waits for future

 

UK recruit could pass on college for right chance

 

By Ryan Ernst • [email protected] • June 8, 2009