May 11, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today the Top 10 Finalists for the 2011 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, which included Arizona State junior infielder, Katelyn Boyd. The honor will be awarded May 31 at the athlete banquet of the 2011 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. The award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.
Now in its 10th year, past winners of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award include UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman, Florida State’s Jessica Van der Linden, three-time winner Texas pitcher Cat Osterman, Tennessee’s Monica Abbott, Virginia Tech’s Angela Tincher and two-time winner Washington’s Danielle Lawrie.
The Top 10 finalists represent nine schools and five different NCAA Division I Conferences. The list is comprised of three seniors, four juniors and three sophomores.
2011 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 10 Finalists
Name (School) – Year – Position – Hometown
Katelyn Boyd (Arizona State) – Junior – Infield – Phoenix, Ariz.
Kayla Braud (Alabama) – Sophomore – Infield – Eugene, Ore.
Megan Bush (Florida) – Senior – Utility – Anaheim Hills, Calif.
Raven Chavanne (Tennessee) – Sophomore – Outfield – Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Kelsi Dunne (Alabama) – Senior – Pitcher – Port Orange, Fla.
Ashley Hansen (Stanford) – Junior – Infield – Chandler, Ariz.
Blaire Luna (Texas) – Sophomore – Pitcher – Austin, Texas
Christi Orgeron (ULL) – Junior – Utility – New Orleans, La.
Jordan Taylor (Michigan) – Senior – Pitcher – Valencia, Calif.
Chelsea Thomas (Missouri) – RS-Sophomore – Pitcher – Pleasantville, Iowa
The three finalists will be announced May 25. The winner of the 2011 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced on May 31 at the athlete banquet of the 2011 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
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 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 210,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visithttp://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 nine World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed four World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.