The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today the Top Ten Finalists for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, which will be announced on Tuesday, May 26 just prior to the start of the 2015 NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) in Oklahoma City.

This award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s softball, is designed to recognize the outstanding athletic achievement by female players across the country.

This year’s finalists are comprised of three seniors, six juniors, and one sophomore.

The student-athletes selected represent eight NCAA Division I universities and five athletic conferences. Florida and Oklahoma lead the way among universities with two athlete representatives each, while Auburn, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, UCLA and UCF each have one student-athlete represented.

The top three finalists selected from this list will be announced May 20, with the winner of the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award revealed on May 26… here are the finalists:

Top 10 Finalists for USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year

Click here to see head shots of each finalist

Name	School	Position	Class
Allexis Bennett	UCLA	Outfield	Junior
Emily Carosone	Auburn	Infield	Junior
Lauren Chamberlain	Oklahoma	Infield	Senior
Sara Groenewegen	Minnesota	Pitcher	Sophomore
Lauren Haeger	Florida	Pitcher/Infield	Senior
Cheridan Hawkins	Oregon	Pitcher	Junior
Shelby Pendley	Oklahoma	Infield/Pitcher	Senior
Sierra Romero	Michigan	Infield	Junior
Kelsey Stewart	Florida	Infield	Junior
Shelby Turnier	UCF	Pitcher	Junior

Now in its 14th 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)

The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award is voted on by coaching representatives from 10 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA 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 12th 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/College-Corner.aspx.