University of North Carolina Athletics
Brown Placed on USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List
February 3, 2016 | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY – Just nine days before beginning her senior season, Tar Heel shortstop Kristen Brown was named to the Top 50 “Watch List” for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awrd, as announced by the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) and USA Softball on Wednesday. Now its its 15th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, presented by the National Governing Body for Softball in the United States, recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country.
Brown is in the running for the prestigious honor for the second year in a row. Overlooked for the preseason Watch List, Brown was a midseason addition who was selected as one of 26 finalists. Women's College World Series Champion pitcher Lauren Haeger of Florida took home the national award last season.
A native of Levittown, New York, Brown became the first Tar Heel in program history to earn a place in the U.S. National Team program last month when she was selected to the U.S. Women's Elite Team that will tour the country this summer. Named Preseason First-Team All-America Preseason, ACC Field Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-ACC First Team by CollegeSportsMadness.com, the record-holding shortstop, aptly nicknamed “Downtown Kristen Brown,” has high hopes for 2016.
The preseason Watch List includes 25 seniors, 15 juniors and 10 sophomores. (Freshmen are ineligible for consideration at this time, but may be added to the list of 25 finalists after the season has begun.) Eight athletes on the Watch List will compete as members of the 2016 USA Softball Women's National Team this summer, while Brown joins five of her Elite Team teammates on the list as well.
The Tar Heels will compete against 15 student-athletes on this list, including Georgia and Michigan, who tie LSU for the most representatives with three players each. Brown is one of three ACC members represented on the list, joining Florida State junior Jessica Burroughs and Notre Dame junior Karley Wester.
The Watch List will be narrowed to 25 Finalists on April 13. While all players are currently still eligible for consideration, only the 25 student-athletes named as finalists will be in the running for the individual award. The candidate list will be further trimmed to 10 finalists on May 11, with the top three announced on May 25. The 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 31.
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 70 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
ASA Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Women's College World Series (WCWS). For the 26th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 78,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across the country June 2-8 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2016 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!
