OKLAHOMA CITY — USA Softball has announced the Top 10 Finalists for the 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. Widely recognized as the sport’s highest individual honor in Division I collegiate softball, the award highlights outstanding athletic achievement throughout the regular season.
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), Valerie Cagle (Clemson – 2023), NiJaree Canady (Stanford – 2024) and most recently, Bri Ellis (Arkansas – 2025).
The Top 10 Finalists include five standout pitchers — three of whom also contribute offensively — along with five position players. Representing eight NCAA Division I universities and five athletic conferences, the list includes five seniors, four juniors and one freshman. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) leads all conferences with three member schools, followed by the Big Ten Conference with two, while the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 Conference and Missouri Valley Conference each tab one university. Texas Tech and UCLA lead all programs with two finalists apiece, while Alabama, Belmont, Florida State, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas each have one athlete represented.
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The Top 10 Finalists will be narrowed down to three athletes on May 18, followed by the announcement of the 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year prior to the NCAA Women’s College World Series, which is scheduled to take May 28 – June 5 at the Softball Capital of the World®.
Paired with the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, USA Softball is also in its 24th 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.
Top 10 Finalists
| Name | College | Position | Current Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jocelyn Briski | Alabama | P | Jr. |
| NiJaree Canady | Texas Tech | P | Sr. |
| Jordy Frahm | Nebraska | P/UTL | Sr. |
| Megan Grant | UCLA | UTL | Sr. |
| Maya Johnson | Belmont | P | R-Sr. |
| Katie Stewart | Texas | INF | Jr. |
| Kaitlyn Terry | Texas Tech | P/OF | Jr. |
| Isa Torres | Florida State | INF | Jr. |
| Kendall Wells | Oklahoma | C/INF/DP | Fr. |
| Jordan Woolery | UCLA | INF | Sr. |