OKLAHOMA CITY (May 1, 2024) – USA Softball has released the list of the Top 26 Finalists for the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. This prestigious award recognizes exceptional athletic performance throughout the entire softball season and is considered the highest individual honor in Division I collegiate softball.
Previous winners of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA – 2002), Cat Osterman (Texas – 2003, 2005, 2006), Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State – 2004), Monica Abbott (Tennessee – 2007), Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech – 2008), Danielle Lawrie (Washington – 2009, 2010), Ashley Hansen (Stanford – 2011), Keilani Ricketts (Oklahoma – 2012, 2013), Lacey Waldrop (Florida State – 2014), Lauren Haeger (Florida – 2015), Sierra Romero (Michigan – 2016), Kelly Barnhill (Florida – 2017), Rachel Garcia (UCLA, 2018 and 2019), Jocelyn Alo (Oklahoma – 2021, 2022) and most recently, Valerie Cagle (2023).
Highlighting the Top 26 Finalists are six graduate students, 10 seniors, two juniors, seven sophomores and one freshman hailing from 17 NCAA Division I universities and nine athletic conferences. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has the highest representation with four member-schools, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Big 12 with three each, Pac-12 with two, and the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Big Ten, Mid-American Conference (MAC), Patriot League and Sun Belt with one each. The Oklahoma Sooners, ranked No. 2, have the highest number of athletes on the list with five, followed by Tennessee with three athletes, while Duke, Florida, and Miami-OH have two athletes each. Additionally, Alabama, Boston U, Florida State, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Wichita State have one athlete each on the list. The list of finalists include a diverse range of talent, comprised of 16 position players and 10 pitchers.
Click here to view the Top 25 Finalists »
The Top 25 Finalists will be narrowed down to 10 athletes on May 15, followed by the Top 3 Finalists set to be released on May 20. The 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed prior to the Women’s College World Series, which is scheduled to take May 30 – June 7 at the Softball Capital of the World®.
Paired with the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, USA Softball is also in its 22nd season of presenting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, which is released every Tuesday throughout the regular season. Follow along with Division I NCAA Softball all season long at USASoftball.com.