University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC's Brown Named Finalist For National Player Of The Year
April 8, 2015 | Softball
Chapel Hill, N.C. – University of North Carolina junior Kristen Brown has been named as one of 26 finalists for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, as announced by the Amateur Softball Association and USA Softball on Wednesday afternoon.
The shortstop from Levittown, NY is having a record-breaking season for the Tar Heels, establishing herself as one of the top hitters in Carolina softball history.
The junior needed just 33 games in 2015 to break the UNC single-season home run record with 17. She leads the ACC and ranks third in the country in long balls. With 41 dingers over three years, Brown is three away from breaking the North Carolina career record of 43.
Brown is currently batting .376 with a .908 slugging percentage. She has tallied 41 hits and brought in 52 runs. She needs four more for the Carolina single-season RBI record.
In the 13 games since ACC play has begun, Brown is hitting .429 with a 1.143 slugging percentage to go along with nine homers and 24 RBI.
ABOUT THE AWARD
This year's Top 26 is comprised of 12 seniors, 11 juniors and two sophomores and one freshman. The student-athletes selected represent 19 NCAA Division I universities and nine athletic conferences. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon and UCLA each have two players represented and Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Florida State, James Madison, Louisiana-Lafayette, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Notre Dame, UCF and Western Kentucky each have one member among the Top 25 Finalists.
Just prior to the start of post-season play, on May 6 the list will be narrowed to the Top 10 Finalists. The Top 3 Finalists will be announced May 20, while the winner of the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 26 prior to the start of the NCAA WCWS in Oklahoma City.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award is voted on by coaching representatives from 10 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA Regions, members of the media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country as well as past winners of the award.
About ASA/USA Softball Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation's largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 74 local associations and 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. ASA/USA is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women's National Team is one of 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 as well as claimed eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.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 25th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, nearly 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 28 to June 3 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2015 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!
