Dan Klink wins 2025 National Gatorade Player of the Year Award for boys soccer

Gatorade announced that Dan Klink of Loyola Blakefield School is the 2025 National Gatorade Player of the Year for boys soccer. The award’s selection committee chose him based on three pillars: athletic excellence, academic achievement, and exemplary character.

The 6-foot-3 midfielder won his second Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year Award after scoring 17 goals and making eight assists. His contributions were essential to the Dons finishing the season with a 17-2-2 record and winning their second consecutive Maryland Independent Athletic Association A Conference tournament championship.

Mount St. Joseph High School head coach Mike St. Martin praised Klink’s game by saying, “Dan has good size, a good work rate, is good with his feet, and good in the air. He’s the total package.”

In addition to the championship, Klink won his second Maryland Association of Coaches of Soccer State Player of the Year and the United Soccer Coaches National High School Player of the Year. He continued his excellence in soccer while maintaining a 3.89 weighted GPA.

Klink is also the founder and president of Loyola Blakefield’s Sports Analytics Clubs. Likewise, he volunteered his time with the Francis X. Gallagher Service and Beans and Bread. He also attends church, where he facilitates community service initiatives through his youth group.

Klink joins the likes of Ben Bender and Ransford Gyan as winners of the National Gatorade Player of the Year award for boys’ soccer. Each year, they recognize one winner from the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 high school sports. From those state winners, they select a national winner based on the Selection Committee, composed of scouts, media members, and coaches.

Dan Klink will also get a grant that he can donate to a social impact partner he identified. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has donated over $5.6 million in grants to over 2,000 organizations.