The star freshman is the first Knight to receive the honor for softball.
Colony's Taylor Passard has hit for tremendous power as a freshman in high school softball this season. Freshman Taylor Passard on Friday became the first player from Colony High to be named Gatorade Alaska Softball Player of the Year.
“This award means a lot to me, I do not take this achievement lightly and I am honored to be given this award,” Passard said. “This award is a full reflection from my teammates and my coaches’ performance just as well as mine. ” Heading into the Division I state championship tournament, Passard led the Colony softball team to not only the best record in the state at 32-2, but also the program’s best in over a decade.
At the time of her selection, the 5-foot-8 shortstop and outfielder batted .671 with a state-leading 14 homers and 59 RBIs as well as 51 runs and 28 extra-base hits to compile an OPS of 2.148. She was named 2026 Railbelt Conference MVP, is a two-time invitee to USA Softball’s High Performance Program and was also named a First Team All-State selection in both volleyball and basketball earlier in her freshman year.
“Passard is truly a freak athlete,” Dimond head coach Josh Ogee said in a statement. “I think Taylor is standing out pretty much above everyone else in the state. She’s a natural athlete, a five-tool player who can hit for power, lay down a bunt and hit for average. Defensively, she’s done everything for them.
” The award not only recognizes student-athletes for their athletic dominance, it also takes into account academic achievement and exemplary character exhibited on and off the field. Passard maintained a 4.0 GPA and volunteered stocking shelves at the Palmer Food Bank. She also donated her time as an ice hockey scorekeeper and served as a mentor for elementary school students.
“To be awarded Gatorade Player of the Year that has had amazing people that have won in the past years, I am honored and grateful to be put in the same category as those amazing players,” Passard said. The multi-sport standout has been playing softball since the fifth grade in Little League and continued to grow from there.
Some of her highlights in the sport so far include going to the Little League World Series twice, once at the major level and the other at juniors with some of her Colony teammates, and receiving invitations to attend the USA tryouts in Florida each of the past two years. The USA tryouts experience was “very surreal” for her, as was competing with some of the top talent from across the nation.
“Pitchers are pitching 68 miles an hour,” Passard said. “Meeting all those people and playing with them is just such a surreal place to be. ”Josh Reed is a sports reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He's a graduate of West High School and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
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