Thursday, October 1, 2026
John F. Kennedy High School rising senior Derek Yormack added another milestone to a historic baseball season by being named the 2025-26 Gatorade New York Baseball Player of the Year, an honor recognizing excellence in athletics, academics and community involvement.
The award capped a standout spring in which Yormack helped lead the Cougars to a 19-4 record, the program’s first Nassau County Class AA baseball championship and a Long Island title, establishing Kennedy as one of the state’s premier programs.
Yormack learned of the honor in an unexpected place.
“I was in science class at the time,” he recounted. “I didn’t even know about it. Ryan, my brother, was scrolling through Instagram, and he saw the post, so he was freaking out before I was. That was a cool moment.”
The excitement quickly spread throughout Yormack’s classroom. “My whole class was kind of reacting to it,” he said. “Everyone was going nuts.”
While the award highlights his accomplishments on the field, Yormack said he appreciates that it also recognizes who he is away from baseball. “To me, I just feel like it means a lot more than baseball,” he said. “It means they see me as not just an overall good player, but an overall good person.”
Kenndy High varsity baseball Coach Mike Gattus said the recognition is well deserved for a player whose work ethic has fueled the team’s success. “I was just pure excitement and pure joy,” Gattus said. “So happy for Derek, because he worked so hard. He deserves all the accolades and earns all the accolades that he gets.”
Gattus added that the award puts Yormack among some of the nation’s most accomplished high school athletes. “They’re talking about so many professional athletes and big-time high school athletes and college players that have won this award,” Gattus said. “It’s basically saying he’s the best baseball player in the state of New York. For him to win this is very special.”
Yormack was dominant in the field as well as at the plate. At the time of his selection, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound right-handed pitcher and first baseman had a 6-0 record and a 0.42 earned run average, and had struck out 65 batters in 33 2/3 innings while allowing just 14 hits and six walks. At the plate, he was batting .439, with eight home runs, 24 RBIs and a .955 slugging percentage.
His defining performance came May 31, when he threw a complete game with 14 strikeouts to defeat Garden City and secure Kennedy’s first Nassau County championship.
Despite the eye-popping statistics, Yormack said he wasn’t focused on the strikeout total. “I didn’t even remember how many strikeouts I had at the time,” he said. “I just remember from the fourth inning on, my adrenaline just started to kick in.”
Gattus said that Yormack’s impact extends beyond his statistics.
“He really leads by example,” his coach said. “He sets the tone for our team, and he competes, wants the ball, does it on both sides of the plate. He really kind of increases the level of play for all of our players, and I think that’s what any great leader does.”
Yormack’s rise has been years in the making. He joined the varsity squad as an eighth-grader, Gattus recalled, and immediately earned the respect of older teammates before growing into one of the program’s leaders.
Gattus also believes the Gatorade award sends a message to aspiring players that they can reach the highest levels without leaving their hometown program. “It elevates the trajectory of our program,” he said. “It says you can go to Kennedy High School and be part of the Kennedy baseball program, and earn the most prestigious award in New York state for baseball.”
A 2025 Class AA First Team All-State selection, Yormack also maintains a weighted A average, and has verbally committed to play at Vanderbilt University beginning in 2027.
Although his junior season ended with championships and statewide recognition, Yormack has already shifted his focus to next spring.
“I would just like to improve my velo and sharpen my off-speed pitches,” he said. “We just got to have the gas pedal on from September on, train hard, and with the talent at Kennedy, it shouldn’t be hard to defend what we’ve done so far.”
