CHICAGO (June 11, 2021) — In its 36th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Charlie Cobb of Brophy College Preparatory as its 2020-21 Gatorade Arizona Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Cobb is the tenth Gatorade Arizona Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Brophy College Preparatory.

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 Cobb as Arizona’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, Cobb joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook High School, Mich.), Steve Cherundolo (1996-97, Mt. Carmel High School, Calif.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy School of Young Women, N.Y.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02 & 2002-03, East Brunswick High School, N.J.), Matt Besler (2004-05, Blue Valley West High School, Kans.), Jack Harrison (2013-14, Berkshire High School, Mass.) and Mallory Pugh (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.).

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior midfielder and forward led the Broncos to a 15-1-1 record and a third straight Conference 6A state championship this past season. Cobb scored 21 goals and passed for 20 assists, including a goal in Brophy Prep’s 2-1 shootout win over San Luis High in the state final. A 2020 Second Team All-State selection, he concluded his prep soccer career with 41 goals and 40 assists.

Cobb has volunteered locally with the Welcome to America Project, which serves foreign refugees who have been relocated to the Phoenix area. He has also participated in multiple fundraising campaigns to benefit brain cancer research as an ambassador with Students Supporting Brain Tumor Research. “It’s not just about scoring goals— Charlie’s presence on the field is very impactful,” said Walid Kaakoush, head coach of Basha High. “He leads the team with work rate and by assisting his younger teammates.”

Cobb has maintained a weighted 4.45 GPA in the classroom. He remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

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 works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Cobb joins recent Gatorade Arizona Boys Soccer Players of the Year Francesco Montanile (2019-20, Brophy College Preparatory), Deric Hall (2018-19, Brophy College Preparatory), Carter Clemmensen (2017-18, Brophy College Preparatory), and Danny Baca (2016-17, Gilbert High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Through Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Cobb has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of their choosing. Cobb is also eligible to submit a 30-second video explaining why the organization they chose is deserving of one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year.

To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $2.7 million across 1,117 organizations. Since the program’s inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming coaches, business owners and educators.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.