Home
Bodie Smith '26 named Gatorade Player of the Year for Vermont Boys Soccer
In its 41st year celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Bodie Smith of Burr & Burton Academy is the 2025-26 Gatorade Vermont Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their excellence in sport, academics and community. The award recognizes Smith as Vermont’s best high school boys soccer player, and he joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Alecko Eskandarian (1999-00, Bergen Catholic High School, New Jersey), Cristian Roldan (2012-13, El Rancho High School, California) and Dan Klink (2024-25, Loyola Blakefield, Maryland).
The 5-foot-10, 155-pound senior midfielder and forward led the Bulldogs to a 16-0-1 record and the first Division 1 state championship in program history this past season. Smith scored 23 goals and passed for 20 assists, contributing over 2.5 points per game. The state tournament Offensive MVP and Burlington Free Press Player of the Year, he was a 2025-26 United Soccer Coaches All-American as well.
Smith has volunteered locally with his school’s Pink the Rink fundraiser, through which he and his ice hockey team raise money to support breast cancer survivors. He has also donated his time as a youth soccer coach. “Bodie Smith was the most impressive player I saw this year,” said Dustin Hess, head coach of Mount Mansfield Union High School. “He spent the past two seasons running the midfield (for his team) and was outstanding in that role. This year, he switched to the striker role and retained an impressive impact on building possession, but was also a prolific scorer. He was dynamic on the turn, dangerous with both feet and lethal on set pieces. His work rate as a striker is also something you rarely see in that position.”
Smith has maintained a 3.76 weighted GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to play soccer on scholarship at Clarkson University this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one state winner from each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., in 12 different sports: football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls track & field. In total, 610 high school athletes are honored each year. From the pool of state winners, one national winner is selected in each of the 12 sports. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the winners in each sport.
As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $6.4 million in grants to winners across more than 2,200 organizations.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X (Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
Ready to take the next step?
Contact Us
Quicklinks & Resources
Burr and Burton Academy does not discriminate against any person or group on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), ancestry, national origin, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, political affiliation or marital status in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries concerning the school's compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI, Title IX, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or other federal or state nondiscrimination laws or regulations is directed to The Headmaster's Office, Burr and Burton Academy, Manchester, VT 05254. Burr and Burton complies with all applicable state and federal nondiscrimination statutes, including the Vermont Public Accommodations Act (9 V.S.A. Chapter 139), the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act (21 V.S.A. Chapter 5, Subchapter 6) and Vermont State Board of Education rules 2226.6 and 2229.1.