Feb. 1, 2017 Top 50 Watch List
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Auburn softball's Kaylee Carlson, Kasey Cooper and Makayla Martin were tabbed to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. The three Tigers join 47 other student-athletes to make up the annual top 50 watch list.
Announced Wednesday by USA Softball, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award enters its 16th season and recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country.
Auburn tied for the most representatives on the list, joining Arizona, Florida, Florida State and Oklahoma who each had three players chosen.
Carlson, who was one of seven junior pitches to be selected, went a scorching 19-2 last season in 22 starts for the Tigers. The Garden Grove, Calif. native tossed 10 complete games, including four shutouts, and maintained a 2.36 ERA in her first season at Auburn.
Last season's finalist for the award, Cooper is set to be the leader for one of the top offenses in the country. In 2016, the Dothan, Ala. product broke seven single-season program records and tied a conference mark en route to being named the espnW National Player of the Year and the SEC Player of the Year.
Martin, one of only six sophomores to be considered for the nation's top honor on the field, garnered recognition in her first season on The Plains after she was on the NFCA Freshman Player of the Year Top 25 List. Hailing from San Diego, Calif., Martin posted a team-best 1.57 ERA in 32 appearances and totaled 64 strikeouts last year.
The Top 25 Finalists for the 2017 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 12. While an athlete does not have to be on the watch list to be considered for the Top 25, the eventual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will come from the Top 25 Finalists. The Top 10 Finalists will be announced May 10 and the Top 3 announced May 24. The 2017 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 30.
Auburn kicks off the 2017 slate, Feb. 9-11, when it travels to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the Triple Crown Tournament. The home opener for the Tigers is Feb. 16 against SIU-Edwardsville.
