April 5, 2007
Oklahoma City---The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today the 25 finalists for the 2007 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award. This award, which is considered one of the most prestigious honors in women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.
The Top 25 is comprised of players representing 17 colleges and six different NCAA Division I Conferences. Among the list are 12 seniors, seven juniors, five sophomores and a red-shirt freshman. Five of the finalists were among the Top 25 finalists in 2006 including Tennessee's Monica Abbott, Arizona's Caitlin Lowe and Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher who were also top 10 finalists last year.
The Top 25 finalists for the 2007 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, listed in alphabetical order, are:
Monica Abbott Tennessee Salinas, Calif. Senior Pitcher
Katie Burkhart Arizona State San Luis Obispo,Calif. Junior Pitcher
Kaitlin Cochran Arizona State Yorba Linda, Calif. Sophomore Outfield
Garland Cooper Northwestern Mission Viejo, Calif. Senior First Base
Bianca Cruz Arizona State Surprise, Ariz. Senior Third Base
Norrelle Dickson Oklahoma Orange, Calif. Senior Third Base
Kristie Fox Arizona San Diego, Calif. Senior Shortstop
Megan Gibson Texas A&M Spring, Texas Junior RHP/1B
Leslie Klein LSU Sunrise, Fla. Senior Outfield
Danielle Lawrie Washington Langley, B.C. Sophomore Pitcher
Caitlin Lever Georgia Tech Amherst, N.Y. Senior Outfield
Caitlin Lowe Arizona Tustin, Calif. Senior Outfield
Brooke Marnitz Kentucky Lexington, Ken. Senior Shortstop
Ashley Monceaux Baylor Tucson, Ariz. Senior Infield
Chrissy Owens Alabama Miami, Fla. Junior Pitcher
Lauren Parker Alabama Port Neches, Texas Sophomore Infield
Amanda Renth Missouri Mascoutah, Ill. Junior Infield
Samantha Ricketts Oklahoma San Jose, Calif. Sophomore First Base
Jenn Salling Oregon Port Coquitlam, B.C. (RS)Freshman Shortstop
Amanda Scarborough Texas A&M Magnolia, Texas Junior RHP/1B
Lindsay Schutzler Tennessee Monterey, Calif. Senior Outfield
Holly Tankersley ULL Kirbyville, Texas Junior DP/Outfield
Angela Tincher Virginia Tech Eagle Rock, VA Junior Pitcher
Courtney Totte Oklahoma State Lawton, Okla. Senior Catcher
Tammy Williams Northwestern Roscoe, Mo. Sophomore Shortstop
On May 9, just days before the start of post-season play, a list of 10 finalists will be named. On May 23 the list will be cut to three and those final three players will travel to Oklahoma City for the announcement of the winner at the 2007 NCAA Women's College World Series.
A replica of the award will be placed in a permanent display in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, along with photos of the winner. An additional replica of the award will be presented to the player's academic institution at a sporting event in the fall.
Cat Osterman became the first three-time winner of the National Player of the Year Award in 2006 after leading her Longhorns to the Big 12 regular season title and a berth into the NCAA Women's College World Series. Past winners of the award include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA-2002), Osterman (Texas-2003, 2005 and 2006) and Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State-2004).
For complete stats and photos of the 2007 Top 25 Finalists visit the "College Corner" section on USA Softball's official website - www.usasoftball.com.
About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 84 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 230,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men's, Women's, Junior Boys' and Junior Girls' National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women's National Team is one of the only two women's sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive. For more information about USA Softball, please visit www.usasoftball.com.