OKLAHOMA CITY — USA Softball unveiled its Top 50 Watch List for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.  Highlighting the Watch List are two previous USA Softball Player of the Year recipients and three NCAA National Champions. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is entering its 18th season, recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country.

Click HERE for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.

Previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award are Stacey Nuveman (UCLA, 2002), Cat Osterman (Texas, 2003, 2005 and 2006), Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State, 2004), Monica Abbott (Tennessee, 2007), Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech, 2008), Danielle Lawrie (Washington, 2009 and 2010), Ashley Hansen (Stanford, 2011), Keilani Ricketts (Oklahoma, 2012 and 2013), Lacey Waldrop (Florida State, 2014), Lauren Haeger (Florida, 2015), Sierra Romero (Michigan, 2016), Kelly Barnhill (Florida, 2017) and Rachel Garcia (UCLA, 2018).

The Watch List includes 24 seniors, 16 juniors and 10 sophomores, with freshman ineligible for consideration. (Freshman can be considered for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award once they have competed at the collegiate level).  Athletes named to the Watch List represent 36 NCAA Division I universities and 15 athletic conferences. Among the universities, Arizona and Washington have four athlete representatives apiece, while Florida, Oklahoma and UCLA have three athletes on the Watch List.  The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is also well represented with 13 athletes, while 12 Pac-12 Conference athletes are on the Watch List.

The Top 25 Finalists for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 24. While an athlete does not have to be on the Watch List to be considered for the Top 25, the eventual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will come from the Top 25 Finalists. The Top 10 Finalists will be announced May 8 and the Top 3 announced May 22. The 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 28.

The 2019 NCAA Division I softball season opens on Thurs. Feb. 7.

- Courtesy of USA Softball