Best high school athletes of 2022-23: Meet the national girls soccer players of the year

Here are 20 high school girls soccer superstars who thrived on a national level in 2022-23

The high school sports season is finished in most states and almost done in others, so SBLive Sports is starting to take a look back at some of the best high school athletes of 2022-23.

Over the next month we'll be highlighting some of the players of the year in volleyball, football, boys basketball, girls basketball, boys wrestling, girls wrestling, boys soccer, softball, baseball, track and field and lacrosse.

Here are 20 high school girls soccer players who had a 2022-23 season worthy of national recognition.

Mary-Ainsley Alack, sr., St. Thomas More (Louisiana)

Alack captained a St. Thomas More squad that won its sixth straight state title and was among the top-ranked teams in the country during the winter season. She's the only player at the soccer power to exceed 100 career goals and will be playing for Samford next season.

Kayla Barr, sr., Maryville (Tennessee)

A four-time All-State player, Barr scored 32 goals and added 11 assists in her final year of high school soccer. The All-American finished as Maryville's career leader in goals scored and will stay close to home in playing college soccer for Tennessee.

Ava Bramblett, sr., Noblesville (Indiana)

Bramblett finished her storied high school soccer career with her third state championship. Noblesville's record during her tenure: 70-2-5. The Ohio State commit had 17 goals and seven assists while anchoring the midfield of one of the best teams in the country.

Aniyah Collier, sr., Archer (Georgia)

After missing her junior year with a knee injury, Collier stormed back as a senior, scoring 31 goals and adding 13 assists. She holds the school record with 67 goals despite playing just two seasons of high school soccer.

Lana Djuranovic, jr., Scarborough (Maine)

Djuranovic, an attacking midfielder, set the single-season Scarborough scoring mark with 28 goals in the fall, including the game-winning header in the state championship game against Brunswick. It completed an undefeated season and the program's first state championship in a decade for national No. 3 Scarborough.

Kennedy Fuller, jr., Southlake Carroll (Texas)

A sophomore age-wise, Fuller recently reclassified to the Class of 2024 and has already committed to play college soccer for superpower North Carolina. She finished the season with 55 goals and 26 assists despite missing the regional tournament to play with the United States' U-16 team in France. 

Loren Gehret, sr., Southern Columbia (Pennsylvania)

Gehret led Southern Columbia to its third straight state title with a dominant performance in the championship game, scoring four goals and assisting on the other in a 5-3 win. She finished her high school career with a program-record 140 goals and will be playing college soccer for Monmouth.

Faith George, jr., Santa Margarita (California)

George was the top offensive player on one of the best teams in the country during the winter season. The USC commit scored 28 goals in 25 games to lead Santa Margarita to the Southern Section and CIF SoCal Division I regional championships.

Taylor Heimerl, sr., Rosemount (Minnesota)

Heimerl primarily played forward as a senior, but when needed there she also thrived as a central midfielder for 3A state champion Rosemount. She finished the season with 20 goals and 18 assists and will be a Minnesota Golden Gopher next season.

Kayla Hurley, jr., Bentonville (Arkansas)

Hurley doesn't need to score to leave her mark on a game, as evidenced by her MVP honors in a 3-0 state championship win over Fayetteville while facilitating rather than scoring. But the Central Arkansas commit still had plenty of goals on the season, netting 20 in 21 games.

Grace Ivey, sr., Bartram Trail (Florida)

The defending Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, Ivey was named Miss Soccer in Florida after leading Bartram Trail to its third state championship in four years. She had 19 goals and 35 assists and will be playing college soccer for Texas A&M next season.

Maddie Landers, sr., Pingree School (Massachusetts)

Landers is a midfielder who can do it all — especially score goals. She led her region with 23 this season, leading Pingree to a NEPSAC Class B title. She'll be playing college soccer for Boston College.

Bella Leonard, sr., Xavier Prep (Arizona)

Leonard served as the steadying force in the midfield and co-captain for undefeated Xavier Prep, which beat Gilbert Perry for the state championship for the second consecutive season. An excellent passer and defender, Leonard will be playing for Notre Dame next season.

Brinley Murphy, sr., Bearden (Tennessee)

The defending Gatorade Player of the Year in Tennessee, Murphy was named player of the year in the fall by United Soccer Coaches. She led national No. 1 Bearden to its second straight state championship, set the school record for career goals and will prove her versatility by playing defense next season for South Carolina.

Kennedy Neighbors, sr., Memorial (Indiana)

Neighbors is accustomed to the spotlight, as she committed to play soccer for the Indiana Hoosiers as an eighth-grader. Signing day finally came in the fall after the midfielder finished her high school career with 57 goals, 69 assists and two state championships.

Ashley Roni photo by Joshua Hart

Ashley Roni, jr., Skyline (Washington)

Roni was the key player in the biggest game of the year for one of the best teams in the nation in fall 2022. The forward got fouled in the box twice in the championship game against Issaquah and scored one of the two PK goals in a 2-0 win for Skyline (20-0-1). She's already committed to play college soccer for Alabama.

Emma Stransky, sr., Copley (Ohio)

Stransky scored 44 goals and dished out 20 assists in her final high school season, leading Copley to the Division II state championship. The 5-foot-2 midfielder/winger earned postseason honors as Ohio Ms. Soccer and will be playing for Bowling Green next season.

Taylor Suarez, jr., Ardrey Kell (North Carolina)

Suarez was named North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year as a sophomore and came back as a junior to help lead Ardrey Kell to its first 4A state championship. The Florida State commit scored one of Ardrey Kell's three goals and assisted on the other two.

Ivy Tolbert, jr., Commerce (Georgia)

Scoring a hat trick is typically a season highlight for the best of strikers, but Tolbert more than averaged one during the spring season. She scored 87 goals in 23 matches, adding 50 assists, and the stellar student has already committed to play college soccer in the Ivy League for Cornell.

Georgia Whitehead, sr., Lake City (Idaho)

Playing alongside fellow Washington State signee signee Elliotte Kortus, Whitehead comprised half of one of the more potent attacks in high school girls soccer last fall. She had a team-high 26 goals and 20 assists in Lake City's one-loss season.