Mason Toye honored as Gatorade New Jersey Boys Player of the Year

CHICAGO (Via Gatorade) — In its 32nd year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, today announced Mason Toye of Seton Hall Preparatory School as its 2016-17 Gatorade New Jersey Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Toye is the second Gatorade New Jersey Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Seton Hall Preparatory 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 Toye as New Jersey’s best high school boys soccer player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in June, Toye joins an elite alumni association of past state soccer award-winners, including Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook HS, Mich.), Steve Cherundolo (1996-97, Mt. Carmel HS, Calif.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02, 2002-03, East Brunswick HS, N.J.), Matt Besler (2004-04, Blue Valley West HS, Kans.), Jack Harrison (2013-14, Berkshire HS, Mass.), Mallory Pugh (2014-15, Mountain Vista HS, Colo.).

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior forward scored 21 goals and passed for 13 assists this past season, leading the Pirates (19-3-1) to the Non-Public A state championship match. The Newark Star Ledger Player of the Year, Toye was also an All-American selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He attended a U.S. Soccer Under-19 Men’s National Team training camp in February and is rated as the No. 100 recruit in the Class of 2017 by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Toye has volunteered locally at the Winston School, which specializes in helping students with severe learning disabilities. He has also donated his time as a youth soccer coach. “As a soccer player, I would compare Mason Toye to a five-tool player in baseball; that’s the impact he has on games in a high-school setting,” said Roger Rubinetti, head coach of Livingston High School. “As a coach, our first goal was to keep Mason Toye off the scoreboard. If we could do that, we felt as though we could compete with Seton Hall throughout the match.”

Toye has maintained a B average in the classroom. He has signed a national letter of intent to play soccer on scholarship at Indiana University beginning 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 & 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 work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Toye joins recent Gatorade New Jersey Boys Soccer Players of the Year Johnny Antunes (2015-16, St. Benedict’s Preparatory School), Brian Hawkins (2014-15, Notre Dame High School), James Murphy (2013-14, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School), Brian Costa (2012-13, Pingry School), Christiano Francois (2011-12, St. Benedict’s Preparatory School), Dan Metzger (2010–11, Holmdel High School), Jon Aguirre (2009-10, Madison High School), Rafael Diaz (2008–09, Morris Hills High School), Matt Kassel (2007-08, BridgewaterRaritan High School), and Brayan Martinez (2006-07, West Orange High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.

As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Mason will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. 12 spotlight grants – one for each sport – will be announced throughout the year.