USA Softball announces 2020 Collegiate Player of the Year "Watch List"

OKLAHOMA CITY – Fourteen of the 2019 Top 50 “Watch List” athletes join 36 other student-athletes on the “Watch List” for the 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. Announced today by USA Softball, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award enters its 18th season and recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country.

2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year “Watch List”
 
Previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, the most prestigious individual honor in NCAA Division I Softball, are UCLA catcher Stacey Nuveman (2002), Texas pitcher Cat Osterman (2003, 2005 and 2006), Florida State pitcher Jessica Van der Linden (2004), Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott (2007), Virginia Tech pitcher Angela Tincher (2008), Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie (2009 and 2010), Stanford shortstop Ashley Hansen (2011), Oklahoma’s Keilani Ricketts (2012 and 2013), Florida State’s Lacey Waldrop (2014), Florida’s Lauren Haeger (2015), Michigan’s Sierra Romero (2016), Florida’s Kelly Barnhill (2017) and UCLA’s Rachel Garcia (2018 and 2019). 
 
The preseason “Watch List” includes 28 seniors, 13 juniors and 9 sophomores, with freshman ineligible for consideration. (Freshman can be considered for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award once they have competed at the collegiate level).  Athletes named to the “Watch List” represent 33 NCAA Division I universities and 19 athletic conferences. UCLA leads the way among universities with four athlete representatives, while five universities (Alabama, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington) have three athletes on the “Watch List” apiece. The Pac-12 and Big Ten Conferences are also well-represented with five member-schools, while four universities represent the Southeastern Conference (SEC). 
 
The Top 25 Finalists for the 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 22. 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 announced May 6 and the Top 3 announced May 20. The 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 26. 
 
In addition to bestowing the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, USA Softball is now in its 18th season of presenting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll which is announced Tuesdays during the regular season. The preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll was released Jan. 28 with Alabama, Washington, Oklahoma, UCLA and Arizona taking the Top 5 spots respectively. 
 
Follow along with NCAA Softball all season long at USASoftball.com.

— Courtesy of USA Softball