A dedicated ESPNHS team managed the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year selection process, resulting in this winner based on the program's three pillars: athletic production and impact in the 2011-12 season, high academic achievement and exemplary personal character.

For his 47 fellow Gatorade State Baseball Player of the Year winners, click here.

THE WINNER: Courtney Hawkins

THE BASICS

School: Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas)

Grade: Senior

Position: OF/RHP

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 220 pounds

THE PILLARS

Athletic achievement: Hawkins led the Tigers (30-4) to the Class 5A regional final against J.B. Alexander (Laredo, Texas), scheduled for Saturday. He owned a .412 batting average with 11 home runs, 38 RBI and 17 stolen bases through 34 games. A 2011 First Team All-State selection, Hawkins also owned a 4-2 record with a 0.92 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 30.1 innings on the mound.

Academic excellence: Hawkins has maintained an 88 average in the classroom.

Exemplary character: He has volunteered locally on behalf of Beyondthefences.org, a faith-based Christian collaborative to instill core values using baseball as a platform, and on behalf of multiple community service initiatives in association with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

THE PRAISE

“Courtney Hawkins is the best high school player I have seen in my 12 years of coaching,” said Preston Rogers, head coach at Stevens (San Antonio, Texas). “His physical ability and raw power and speed are just unbelievable. Carroll has eliminated us from the playoff three of the last four years and this kid has been a major factor in every game.”

THE FUTURE: Hawkins has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on an athletic scholarship at the University of Texas this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in next month’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.