CHICAGO — Cayde Stajcar has joined some pretty exclusive company.

The Butte High sophomore was named the 2023-23 Gatorade Montana Baseball Player of the Year Monday. This marks the first time the baseball award was handed out in Montana.

The announcement comes after the 6-foot-2, 195-pound shortstop helped lead the Bulldogs to a 12-8 record and a fourth-place showing the State tournament in Missoula. He batted .561 on the season. He scored 37 runs, drove in 18, collected 10 steals and an OPS of 1.425. Stajcar also pitched four innings, striking out eight and picking up a win.

Overall, Stajcar is the eighth Butte High athlete to win a Gatorade award. Bulldogs Scott Ferguson, Gary Kane and Lexie Nelson won in basketball, Dalton Daum and Erika McLeod won in track, Jaimee Paffhausen won in softball, and Tommy Mellott took home the award in football.

Butte Central’s Dougie Peoples won the award a year ago in basketball.

Gatorade has been honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes for 39 years. The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Stajcar as Montana’s best high school baseball player.

From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Gary Sheffield (1985-86, Hillsborough High School, Fla.), Alex Rodriguez (1992-93, Westminster Christian School, Fla.), Clayton Kershaw (2005-06, Highland Park High School, Texas) and Max Clark (2022-23, 2021-22 & 2020-21, Franklin Community High School, Ind.).

Stajcar has volunteered locally as an official for the East Middle School Unified basketball program for student-athletes with special needs. A participant in Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, he has also donated his time on behalf of Action, Inc. in addition to umpiring youth baseball and softball games.

“Cayde is a kid you hate to coach against because of his amazing skill, but he’s impossible not to like because he’s a great young man,” Butte Central coach Richie O’Brien said. “His defense is phenomenal. His speed gives him range that players would kill for and he’s got an arm that can set the ball on fire out of his hand. His defense is outshined only by his bat. He can flat out hit the ball. Pitchers from all over the state know they can’t miss a spot when he’s up, but even if they put the ball where they want it could be, and likely will be, barreled up.”

Stajcar has maintained a 3.71 GPA in the classroom.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls’ volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls’ soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. 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 state 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 $4.9 million in grants to winners across more than 1,900 organizations.

Photo of Stajcar courtesy Josie Trudgeon Photography.