OKLAHOMA CITY — Only 10 Finalists remain in the hunt for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, USA Softball announced today. 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 Division I female players across the country.

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 Finalists include six seniors, three juniors and one sophomore representing nine NCAA Division I universities and six athletic conferences. Among the universities, the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners have two student-athletes among the list of Finalists while Drake, Florida, Georgia, James Madison, Kentucky, Mississippi State, UCLA, and Wisconsin are represented by one student-athlete. 

The Top 3 Finalists will be announced on May 22 before the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be announced on May 28. 

The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball Regions, members of the media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country as well as past winners of the award.

Follow along with NCAA Softball all season long at USASoftball.com.