NEW ORLEANS (August 9, 2024) – Brayden Bertucci, a May graduate of St. Charles Catholic High School who led the Gibbs Construction Cardinals to the Grand Slam World Series championship, has been selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month for July. Athletes of the month have been selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region in order to be eligible.
 
Allstate Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month
 
Bertucci, who will play at Baton Rouge Community College, led the Cardinals to the Grand Slam World Series U18 championship in Panama City Beach, Fla., the first national title for the 10-year-old Gibbs program. In nine games at the World Series in July, Bertucci hit .524 (11-for-21) with three doubles, a home run, and 10 RBI and an OPS of 1.477 as the Cardinals rallied out of the losers' bracket to win a tripleheader on the final day of the tournament to claim the championship. He also scored 15 runs and had a pair of stolen bases at the GSWS. Overall in July, Bertucci hit .432 in 15 games with two homers, 13 RBI and an OPS of 1.244.
 
The baseball star won the monthly honor over four other standout local athletes:

• In four games (July 29-31) in the All-American National Baseball Tournament in Johnstown, Pa., Rhett Centanni was the primary force for the New Orleans Boosters posting a 3-1 record in the tournament. Centanni, who plays for Delgado and prepped at Archbishop Rummel, batted .563 (9-for-16) with three home runs and 11 RBI in those four games, compiling an extremely impressive .632 on-base percentage. He earned the tournament's RBI crown for his performance.
• Kadi Trosclair was the key player for Southern Smoke, a 10-year-old softball team from St. Charles Parish that captured the USSSA World Series championship in Deston, Fla., in July. Trosclair, the event's MVP, batted .400 with a .583 on-base percentage to go with five RBI and four stolen bases in July. She also pitched 11 2/3 innings with a 0.00 ERA, allowing just four walks while holding opponents to an .027 batting average. She tossed a four-inning no-hitter against Indiana in the title game on July 12, striking out eight batters as Southern Smoke won the championship with a 10-run ruling.
• Savannah Windham led the Slidell Soccer Club's girls storm elite squad all the way to the national finals of the United States Youth Soccer Association 16U National Presidents Cup in Wichita, Kansas, in mid-July. It was the first time a Louisiana club soccer team had advanced to a national championship match. Windham, the Storm's star goalkeeper, played an instrumental role in the journey to Kansas. She made two massive penalty kick saves in Dallas at Regionals to help send the team to Kansas and also made key saves throughout the five games in five days in Kansas. She also made two key saves to break the tie breaker in the group stage to help get her team into the semifinals of nationals. The Storm allowed only one goal in five matches on its run to the championship match, which was even more impressive considering a team has many young players contributing significantly.
• Varenka Zhuk, a 13-year-old star for the New Orleans Metro Stars Track Club, had a memorable month of July on the track. At the USATF Regional Championships in Jackson, Miss. (July 5-7), she won both the 800-meter run and the 1,500-meter run. Her times of 2:20.51 and 4:55.86 were the fastest of any girl at the meet – meaning her time as a 13-year-old topped even the 18-year-olds competing. She also led off the 4x400-meter relay with an impressive 1:02 split. Zhuk then competed at the National Junior Olympics at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, for the final week of July. She posted a time of 4:48.50 to finish third nationally in the 1,500-meter run in the 13-14 age group. Her other July action included a home meet in New Orleans on July 20 where she won the 400-meter dash (1:01.66).

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 107 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 90-year history. The 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2025. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.