HIGH SCHOOL
One of the most impressive middle infield prospects in the 2025 signing class, Avery Gehrke arrived in Happy Valley as a highly touted prospect hailing from Scottsdale, Arizona... As a star at Desert Mountain High School, Gehrke helped guide her team to a pair of state championships in 2024 and 2025, landing Class 5A First Team All-State honors a season ago… She was tabbed as the preseason No. 9 player in the state of Arizona by the Arizona Republic and secured First Team All-Region accolades following the 2024 campaign as well... Gehrke played travel softball with Athletics Mercado under the direction of coaches Dave Mercado and Mark Smith in Murrieta, California... While working with that organization, she helped lead her team to a 2025 Triple Crown Colorado National Power Pool Championship... She also participated in the 2023 USA Softball High Performance Program National Selection Event as one of the most highly-regarded players in the nation.
PERSONAL
Born in the summer of 2008, Avery Gehrke is the eldest child of Jay Gehrke and Michelle Mango… Her father, Jay, played for Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals from 1999 to 2002 after being drafted into the league as a first rounder following an All-American collegiate career at both Pepperdine and Arizona State… She has two younger siblings named Ellie and Joseph… While at Penn State, she plans to study management in PSU’s prestigious Smeal College of Business… Upon graduation, she plans to begin a career in either sports management or as a physical therapist… In her time away from the diamond, she enjoys spending time with friends and family.