Maddie DiMaria, who will join the UNC women’s soccer program as a true freshman this coming fall, has been named the 2025-26 Gatorade National Player of the Year in Girls’ Soccer. This is the second time DiMaria has won the honor; she also took it home for the 2023-24 season.

Playing at Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, DiMaria led her team to a perfect 25-0 record and a Missouri state championship this past season. She scored 67 goals and dished out 25 assists across Cor Jesu’s 25 games. DiMaria has been named Missouri’s Gatorade Player of the Year in each of her three high school seasons and is ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in her class by multiple outlets. She will graduate from Cor Jesu a year early and enroll at UNC this fall.

DiMaria has extensive international experience. She represented the United States at the U-14, U-15, U-16 and U-17 levels, winning a gold medal with the U-15 team at the 2025 CONCACAF Championships. To commemorate her National Player of the Year win, DiMaria was surprised with a video call from U.S. National Team star Mallory Swanson (who herself won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award in 2014-15).

“The Gatorade Player of the Year program celebrates the next generation of athletes who are shaping the future of sport, and Maddie DiMaria does just that,” said Jennifer Schmit, Senior Director of Brand Marketing for Gatorade. “She embodies greatness on and off the field.”

DiMaria will join a UNC women’s soccer program entering its third season under the leadership of head coach Damon Nahas. Nahas helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2024 national title while still in an interim role. In 2025, Carolina finished 13-6-2 and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to TCU in a penalty shootout.

 

Featured image via Gatorade

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