Only 10 Finalists remain in the hunt for the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, USA Softball announced today.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s collegiate softball, recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female players across the country.
Here is the list of the Top 10 Finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
| First | Last | University | Pos | Year |
| Jocelyn | Alo | Oklahoma | UT | Sr |
| Sis | Bates | Washington | IF | Grad |
| Braxton | Burnside | Arkansas | IF | Grad |
| Valerie | Cagle | Clemson | P | Fr |
| Carrie | Eberle | Oklahoma State | P | Sr |
| Rachel | Garcia | UCLA | P/IF | RS Sr |
| Mary | Harr | Arkansas | P | RS Jr |
| Tiare | Jennings | Oklahoma | IF | Fr |
| Kayla | Kowalik | Kentucky | C | Jr |
| Gabbie | Plain | Washington | P | Sr |
Previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award have been:
- Stacey Nuveman (UCLA, 2002)
- Cat Osterman (Texas, 2003, 2005 and 2006)
- Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State, 2004)
- Monica Abbott (Tennessee, 2007)
- Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech, 2008)
- Danielle Lawrie (Washington, 2009 and 2010)
- Ashley Hansen (Stanford, 2011)
- Keilani Ricketts (Oklahoma, 2012 and 2013)
- Lacey Waldrop (Florida State, 2014)
- Lauren Haeger (Florida, 2015)
- Sierra Romero (Michigan, 2016)
- Kelly Barnhill (Florida, 2017)
- Rachel Garcia (UCLA, 2018 and 2019)
A 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award was not given out due to the COVID-19 pandemic and season cancellation.
The Finalists include two graduate students, four seniors, two juniors and two freshmen representing seven NCAA Division I universities and four athletic conferences.
Among the universities, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Washington are represented by two student-athletes while Clemson, Kentucky, Oklahoma State and UCLA have one student-athlete on the list.
The Top 3 Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, May 19 before the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is virtually revealed on June 1 prior to the 2021 NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS), which will take place at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex June 3-9.
Additional information on the reveal will be announced at a later date.
In addition to bestowing the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, USA Softball is now in its 19th season of presenting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, which is announced every Tuesday during the regular season.
