South Carolina softball signee, area standout repeats as Gatorade Player of Year
After helping Gray Collegiate to its third-straight state championship, Aspen Boulware earned South Carolina’s top softball honor for the second year in a row.
Boulware was named S.C. Gatorade Softball Player of the Year on Friday. The Gatorade Player of the Year is based on a player’s performance both on and off the field. The honor comes a day after being named the MaxPreps Softball Player of the Year for the state of South Carolina.
The University of South Carolina Gamecocks signee becomes the seventh player to win multiple S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year honors since the award was first handed out in 1998. Other players are Ansley Bennett (2023-24), Bailey Betenbaugh (2017, 19), Cayla Drotar (2014-16), Carley Hoover (2012-13), Leslie Jury (2009-11) and Kate Pouliot (2002-04).
This season, Boulware hit .554 with 12 home runs, 43 RBIs, 58 stolen bases and 72 runs scored. She had a .694 on-base percentage, 1.169 slugging percentage, walked 28 times and was hit by a pitch 10 times.
Boulware homered in her final high school at-bat, a solo blast in the 11-1 championship-clinching win over A.C. Flora. Gray Collegiate finished with a 34-0 record, the War Eagles’ first unbeaten season in program history.
“I was praying in the box. Please give me one more opportunity,” Boulware said of her final at-bat. “It was pretty special.”
In the postseason, Boulware was 13-for-21 with four home runs and nine RBIs.
Boulware finished her high school career with a .581 batting average and 64 home runs and 169 RBIs, all school records. Off the field, she has maintained an A average in the classroom and participated in multiple community service events through her church youth group.
Boulware announced her commitment to USC in early October and announced her decision to reclassify from Class of 2027 to 2026 a few weeks later. The decision to reclassify was made later in the recruiting process when she started taking visits. Softball America ranks her as the seventh-best prospect in the country for Class of 2026.
Boulware also has been selected to play for USA Softball’s U-18 team in the Pan-Am championship later this year.
This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 8:03 AM.
