College Softball News

ASA/USA Softball announce Top 3 Finalists for 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

Courtesy of Steven Embree | ASA/USA Softball

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today the Top 3 Finalists for the 13th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. This 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. UCLA’s Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.), Michigan’s Sierra Romero (Murrieta, Calif.) and Florida State’s Lacey Waldrop (Chester, Va.) are the three remaining athletes in the running.

Past winners of this award include UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman, Florida State’s Jessica Van der Linden, three-time winner from Texas Cat Osterman, Tennessee’s Monica Abbott, Virginia Tech’s Angela Tincher, two-time winner Washington pitcher/hitter Danielle Lawrie, 2011 winner Ashley Hansen from Stanford and 2012 and 2013 back-to-back winner Keilani Ricketts of Oklahoma.

The 2014 Pac-12 Player of the Year, Ally Carda, through regional play, has amassed a 31-4 record, a 1.64 ERA and 219 strikeouts in the circle. If that wasn’t enough, the junior also holds a .388 batting average, .688 slugging percentage and .523 on-base percentage. Carda was voted Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week three times this season and was the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week in week three. No. 2 UCLA will face No. 14 Kentucky in this week’s Super Regional’s for a spot in the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS), which will be held in Oklahoma City May 29 – June 4.

The two-time Big 10 Player of the Year, Sierra Romero proved her freshman year was no fluke as the sophomore closed out the 2014 regular season leading the country with a .510 batting average, .646 on-base mark and was third with a .930 slugging percentage. In just two seasons at Michigan, Romero has a combined .429 batting average and 41 home runs. Behind their sophomore slugger, the Wolverines won their seventh straight Big 10 regular season title. Michigan is 46-13 on the year and will play No. 3 Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional this weekend for a berth into the NCAA WCWS.

The 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Pitcher of the Year, Lacey Waldrop leads the country with 36 wins and is second with a .90 ERA. The junior ace has given up just four home runs on the season and has held opposing batters to a .175 average in 241.1 innings of work. Waldrop, a two-time All-ACC selection, led her Seminoles to both the regular season and conference tournament titles this season. Florida State will host Michigan in Super Regional’s this week with a trip to the NCAA WCWS on the line.

The winner of the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced on May 27 at the team only banquet just prior to the start of the NCAA WCWS.

The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award is voted on by coaching representatives from 11 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA Regions as well as members of the media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country, and previous Player of the Year recipients.

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 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://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 six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.

About the NCAA Women’s College World Series

The ASA Hall of Fame Stadium serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 24th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, over 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 29 to June 4 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2014 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!

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