Matt Roberts of Graham High School is the 2009-10 Gatorade North Carolina Baseball Player of the Year. Roberts is the second Gatorade North Carolina Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Graham High School.
The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior catcher batted .500 with 56 RBI, 34 runs scored, 20 intentional walks, 13 doubles and 11 home runs this season, leading the Red Devils (20-11) to the Class 2-A state championship series, scheduled to begin June 4.
A Rawlings/Perfect Game Preseason Second Team All-America honoree, Roberts pitched for the first time this spring in the Class 2-A Eastern Regional final, striking out 11 while allowing just three hits over six innings in an 11-6 victory against Farmville Central.
Also a returning Class 2-A First Team All-State selection and the 2009 Mid-State Conference Player of the Year, he batted .409 with 22 RBI, 22 runs scored and eight home runs as a junior.
Roberts has maintained a 3.56 weighted GPA in the classroom. In addition to donating his time as a mentor to local elementary school students, he has volunteered on behalf of the Special Olympics and the Meals on Wheels Association of America.
“He has been a high-profile athlete since he has stepped foot on this campus, but has continued to hold our team values at the top of his list,” said Graham Head Coach Chad Holland. “There aren’t many athletes of his status that can say that. He has matched his talent and ability with effort and hard work on the practice field and in the weight room. He is one of the best kids I have had the privilege of coaching.”
Roberts has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of North Carolina this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in this month’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
