OKLAHOMA CITY — The Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today the Top 25 Finalists for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, which will be announced at the opening of the 2016 NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) in Oklahoma City. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s collegiate softball, recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by female players across the country.
Now in its 15th year, previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award are UCLA catcher Stacey Nuveman (2002), Texas pitcher Cat Osterman (2003, 2005 and 2006), Florida State pitcher Jessica Van der Linden (2004), Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott (2007), Virginia Tech pitcher Angela Tincher (2008), Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie (2009 and 2010), Stanford shortstop Ashley Hansen (2011), Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts (2012 and 2013), Florida State pitcher Lacey Waldrop (2014) and Florida pitcher Lauren Haeger (2015).
This year’s Top 25 is comprised of nine seniors, 11 juniors and five sophomores. The student-athletes selected represent 20 NCAA Division I universities and nine athletic conferences. Alabama, Florida, Florida State, James Madison and Michigan each have two players represented and Auburn, Florida Atlantic, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, McNeese State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, UCLA and Washington each have one member among the Top 25 Finalists.
Just prior to the start of post-season play, the list will be narrowed to the Top 10 Finalists on May 11. The Top 3 Finalists will be announced May 25, while the winner of the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 31 prior to the start of the NCAA WCWS in Oklahoma City.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA/USA Softball Regions, members of the media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country as well as past winners of the award.
In addition to bestowing the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, ASA/USA Softball is now in its 13th season of presenting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll and the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week, which are announced Tuesdays during the regular season. A complete history of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, past Top 25 Polls and Player of the Week honorees are available at Teamusa.org/USA-Softball/
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-- Courtesy of ASA/USA Softball
