April 7, 2004
Oklahoma City, Okla. - The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, and USA Softball announced today the 25 finalists for the 2004 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award. The award, which is considered the Heisman Trophy in women's collegiate softball and is the only national player of the year award, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. The final list is comprised of 25 players that represent 18 colleges and six different Conferences.
The 2004 top 25 Finalists include:
Monica Abbott, Tennessee
Nicole Barber, Georgia
Autumn Champion, Arizona
Christina Clark, Fresno State
Leigh Ann Ellis, South Florida
Keira Goerl, UCLA
Holly Groves, South Florida
Alicia Hollowell, Arizona
Peaches James, Nebraska
Lauren Lappin, Stanford
Jessica van der Linden, Florida State
Caitlin Lowe, Arizona
Monica Hoffman, Oregon State
Iyhia McMichael, Mississippi State
Brooke Mitchell, Louisiana-Lafayette
Stephanie Ramos, UCLA
Kristen Rivera, Washington
Heather Scaglione, Oklahoma
Kristin Schmidt, LSU
Dana Sorensen, Stanford
Jamie Southern, Fresno State
Cristin Vitek, Baylor
Kim Wendland, Georgia
Haley Woods, California
Phelan Wright, Arizona State
Note: Florida's Jenny Gladding was selected among the top 25 finalist but was removed from further consideration after suffering a season ending injury last week.
The list will be reduced to ten players on April 28 and three finalists will be announced May 11. The winner of the 2004 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced May 26 at the opening ceremonies of the NCAA College World Series in Oklahoma City, OK. The winner will be recognized and presented with the Player of the Year trophy during the ASA National Council Meeting in Mobile, Alabama, in November.
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.