OKLAHOMA CITY — USA Softball has officially announced the Top 53 Watch List for the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. As the highly anticipated 2025 NCAA Division I Softball season approaches, this prestigious award aims to recognize exceptional athletic achievement among female collegiate softball players across Division I schools nationwide.
Click here to view the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 53 Watch List »
The 2025 Top 53 Watch List features athletes from 26 universities and seven athletic conferences, with Florida and Oklahoma leading the pack, each with five athletes on the list, followed by Florida State and UCLA with four athletes each and Duke, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M tabbing three athletes apiece. In addition, five universities are highlighted with two athletes on the list, while 13 collegiate programs tally one. Among the 53 athletes, returning to the spotlight of this prestigious award is the 2024 Player of the Year, NiJaree Canady (Texas Tech), along with 2024 Top 3 Finalist Reese Atwood (Texas) – while three additional 2024 Top 10 Finalists also return to the list including Jaysoni Beachum (Florida State), Korbe Otis (Florida) and Karlyn Pickens (Tennessee).
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is at the forefront with 23 athletes represented, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 Conference, and Big Ten Conference with 9 athletes apiece. Also represented is the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Patriot League and Summit League with one athlete each.
Branded as the most prominent individual honor in NCAA Division I Softball, previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA – 2002), Cat Osterman (2003, 2005, 2006 – Texas), Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State – 2004), Monica Abbott (2007 – Tennessee), Angela Tincher (2008 – Virginia Tech), Danielle Lawrie (2009, 2010 – Washington), Ashley Hansen (Stanford – 2011), Keilani Ricketts (2012, 2013 – Oklahoma), Lacey Waldrop (2014 – Florida State), Lauren Haeger (2015 – Florida), Sierra Romero (2016 – Michigan), Kelly Barnhill (2017 – Florida), Rachel Garcia (2018, 2019 – UCLA), Jocelyn Alo (2021, 2022 – Oklahoma), Valerie Cagle (2023 – Clemson) and most recently, NiJaree Canady (2024 – Stanford).
The Top 25 Finalists for the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced on April 30. 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 revealed May 14 with the Top 3 being released May 19. The 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be announced prior to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS).
In addition to crowning the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, USA Softball is now in its 23rd season of presenting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll which is announced on Tuesdays during the regular season. The 2025 Preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll was released on Jan. 21 with Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tennessee ranking in the Top 5 respectively.
Follow along with NCAA Softball all season long at USASoftball.com.