Garden City’s Armstrong earns prestigious Gatorade award
Garden City senior Ethan Armstrong was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for Michigan.
In its 41st year celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Ethan Armstrong of Garden City High School is the 2025-26 Gatorade Michigan Baseball 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 excellence in sport, academics and community.
The award recognizes Armstrong as Michigan’s best high school baseball player and he joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Clayton Kershaw (2005-06, Highland Park, TX), MacKenzie Gore (2016-17, Whiteville High School, NC) and Seth Hernandez (2024-25, Corona High School, CA).
All-time Garden City great
At the time of his selection, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior right-handed pitcher and third baseman had led the Cougars (26-5) to the Division 2 District 53 semifinals.
Armstrong compiled a 5-0 record over 34 innings on the mound, posting a 0.21 ERA and amassing 70 strikeouts while issuing just three walks.
He fired three shutouts, including a no-hitter, as opposing batters hit for an average of 0.100 against him through 31 games.
At the plate, Armstrong entered the postseason’s district round with a batting average of .388 along with five doubles, three triples, six home runs and 26 RBI.
Ranked as the nation’s No. 114 prospect in his class by Perfect Game and as Michigan’s No. 1 recruit by Baseball America, he played in the 2025 PBR 17U National Championships. Armstrong has volunteered locally on behalf of the Miracle League, which provides baseball opportunities to the intellectually or physically challenged.
‘Coach’s dream’
“Ethan is a coach’s dream: phenomenal player, but even better person,” said Avery Emerson, Garden City High School head coach. “He’s always the first one to the field and the last one to leave. Whenever I need help with anything, I know I can turn to Ethan. He’s an extremely hard worker who other players follow because they see what it takes to be great.
“Ethan has elevated the play of our entire program.”
Armstrong has maintained a 3.21 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play baseball at the University of Michigan this fall.
he Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one state winner from each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., in 12 different sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. In total, 610 high school athletes are honored each year.
From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports.
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 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 $6.4 million in grants to winners across more than 2,200 organizations.
