Oklahoma City, OK - Top 50 "Watch List" for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year announced
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2016
Top 50 "Watch List" for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the
Year announced
OKLAHOMA CITY - With just a little over a week until the start of the
2016 NCAA Softball season, 50 student-athletes from across the country
have been selected for the "Watch List" for the 2016 USA Softball
Collegiate Player of the Year award, the Amateur Softball Association
(ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today. Now in its 15th year,
the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, awarded by the
National Governing Body for Softball in the United States, recognizes
outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate
softball players across the country.
Click here for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
"Watch List"
<http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2016-College-Corner/Player-of-the-Year/Top-50-Watch-List >
Previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
award, the most prestigious individual honor in NCAA Division I
Softball, 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's Keilani
Ricketts (2012 and 2013), Florida State's Lacey Waldrop (2014) and
Florida's Lauren Haeger (2015).
The pre-season "Watch List" includes 25 seniors, 15 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 35 NCAA Division I universities and 15 athletic
conferences. Georgia, LSU and Michigan lead the way among universities
with three athlete representatives each, while Alabama, Auburn,
California, Florida, James Madison, Louisiana-Lafayette, Oklahoma,
Oregon and UCLA have two athletes on the "Watch List" apiece. The
Southeastern Conference (SEC) is also well represented among the Top 50
"Watch List" with eight member-schools represented with the Pac-12
Conference represented by six universities.
Eight athletes on the Top 50 "Watch List" will compete as a member of
the 2016 USA Softball Women's National Team this summer. An additional
six athletes will also compete for the Red, White and Blue this summer
as a member of the 2016 USA Softball Women's Elite Team.
The Top 25 Finalists for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the
Year award will be announced April 13. 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 11 and the Top 3
announced May 25. The 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
will be revealed May 31.
In addition to bestowing the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
award, ASA/USA Softball is now in its 14th 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. The pre-season ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
Poll was released Jan. 26 with Florida, Michigan, LSU, Oregon and
Alabama taking the Top 5 spots respectively.
Follow along with NCAA Softball all season long at USASoftball.com
<http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2015-College-Corner/Player-of-Year/Top-50-Watchlist > !
About ASA/USA Softball
Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is
the National Governing Body Softball in the United States and a member
of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation's largest
sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every
state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a
few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today,
representing a membership of more than 2.5 million. ASA/USA is
responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball
National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions.
The USA Softball Women's National Team is one of only two women's sports
involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold
medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won
nine World Championship titles as well as claimed eight World Cup of
Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please
visit http://www.asausasoftball.com <http://www.asausasoftball.com/ > .
About the NCAA Women's College World Series
ASA Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the
NCAA Women's College World Series (WCWS). For the 26th year, the top
eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete
for a national championship. Last year, over 78,000 fans attended the
WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across
the country June 2-8 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2016 NCAA WCWS
are on sale now, click here
<http://www.ncaa.com/championships/softball/d1/tickets-hospitality > to
purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!
Codi Warren I Managing Director of Communications
Amateur Softball Association/USA Softball
2801 NE 50th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111
405-425-3431 (O)
Visit Us Online: ASAUSASoftball.com
