OKLAHOMA CITY (May 15, 2024) — USA Softball has announced the remaining Top 10 Finalists in the running 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, 2019), Jocelyn Alo (Oklahoma – 2021, 2022) and most recently, Valerie Cagle (2023).
The Top 10 Finalists feature three standout pitchers – two of whom also contribute on the offensive end – along with seven position players. The group includes one graduate student, four seniors, one junior, three sophomores and one freshman, representing ten different NCAA Division I universities and five athletic conferences. The Big 12 Conference leads in representation with three member schools, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Pac-12, and Southeastern Conference (SEC) with two schools each, and the Mid-American Conference with one. The Top 10 Finalists encompass a diverse range of talent, with athletes from Duke, Florida, Florida State, Miami University, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, and UCLA on the list.
Click here to view the Top 10 Finalists »
The Top 25 Finalists will be narrowed down to 3 athletes on May 20, followed by the announcement of the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year prior to the NCAA 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.