Cochran named finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year

The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, has selected its 25 Finalists for the 8th Annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award. This award, which is considered the most prestigious honors in Division I women’s collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Past winners of this award include UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman, Florida State’s Jessica Van der Linden, three-time winner Texas pitcher Cat Osterman, Tennessee’s Monica Abbott and Virginia Tech’s Angela Tincher.

The Top 25 list represents 17 schools and seven different NCAA Division I Conferences. The list is comprised of nine seniors, 12 juniors, three sophomores and one freshman. The 2009 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be chosen from the 25 finalists.

Just days before the start of post-season play, a list of 10 finalists will be named and released on May 6. The three finalists will be announced May 20th while the winner of the 2009 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced prior to the start of the 2009 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

2009 Top 25 Finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

Name – School – Year – Position – Hometown

Chelsea Bramlett (Mississippi State) – Junior – Catcher/Infield – Cordova, Tenn.

Stacey Chambers (Arizona) – Junior – Catcher – Glendale, Az.

Ashley Charters (Washington) – Senior - Infield– Beaverton, Ore.

Kaitlin Cochran (Arizona State) - Senior- Outfield - Yorba Linda, Calif.

Kelsi Dunne (Alabama) – Sophomore – Pitcher – Port Orange, Fla.

Francesca Enea (Florida) – Junior – Outfield – Woodland Hills, Calif.

Amber Flores (Oklahoma) – Junior – Infield – Calexico, Calif.

Alisa Goler (Georgia) – Sophomore – Infield – Frankfort, Ill.

Alissa Haber (Stanford) – Junior – Outfield- Newark, Calif.

Ashley Hansen (Stanford) – Freshman – Infield – Chandler, Az.

Tiffany Huff (Tennessee) – Junior – Catcher/First Base – Saugus, Calif.

Cheyenne Jenks (Florida Gulf Coast) – Senior –Infield – Naples, Fla.

Brittany Lastrapes (Arizona) – Sophomore – Outfield - Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Danielle Lawrie (Washington) – Junior - Pitcher – Langley, British Columbia

Jenae Leles (Arizona) – Senior – Third Base – Fair Oaks, Calif.

Sam Marder (Ohio State) – Junior– Catcher - Calabasas, Calif.

Charlotte Morgan (Alabama) – Junior– Pitcher/Utility – Moreno Valley, Calif.

Stacey Nelson (Florida) – Senior – Pitcher – Los Alamitos, Calif.

Nikki Nemitz (Michigan) – Junior – Pitcher – St. Clair Shores, Mich.

Amber Patton (DePaul) – Senior – Third Base - Forsyth, Ill.

Missy Penna (Stanford) – Senior – Pitcher/Infield – Miami, Fla. 

Brittany Rogers (Alabama) – Senior – Outfield - Dacula, Ga.

Kaila Shull  (UCLA) – Junior – Catcher/Outfield – Lodi, Calif.

Danielle Spaulding (North Carolina) – Junior – First Base/Pitcher - Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Tammy Williams (Northwestern) – Senior – Infield - Roscoe, Mo.

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 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three 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 eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.