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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Senior Allexis Bennett and junior Delaney Spaulding have been named to the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, as announced by ASA/USA Softball on Wednesday.
In its 15th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, given by the National Governing Body for softball in the United States, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Previous recipients of the award include former Bruin Stacey Nuveman, the winner of the inaugural accolade in 2002.
The pre-season Watch List includes 25 seniors, 15 juniors and 10 sophomores. Freshmen can be considered for the award once they have competed at the collegiate level. The Top 25 finalists for the award will be announced on April 13. 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 on May 11 and the Top Three finalists will be announced on May 25. On May 31, prior to the start of the 2016 NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed.
Bennett, who was a Top 10 finalist for this award last year, was an NFCA First Team All-American, NFCA West All-Region First Team and All-Pac-12 First Team honoree a season ago, leading the Bruins and ranking fourth in the nation with a .492 batting average. She was also first with 27 multiple-hit games, 21 stolen bases and a .529 on base percentage, second with 61 runs scored and tied for third with two triples, adding six sacrifice hits, 12 doubles, 28 runs batted in and a .577 slugging. Bennett ranked first among Pac-12 players in average and hits (93), second in stolen bases, fourth in runs scored and fifth in on base percentage. She had hits in 55 of 63 games, including 30 of the last 33, and added a pair of 11-game hitting streaks.
Spaulding, who was named NFCA Second Team All-American, NFCA West All-Region First Team and All-Pac-12 First Team, led the Bruins with 72 runs batted in and tied for the team lead with 20 home runs, placing second with a .397 batting average. She was also first with an .852 slugging, 69 runs scored, 20 doubles, six sacrifice flies and 12 sacrifice hits. Spaulding was second with 19 multiple-RBI games, 37 walks and three triples and third with 20 multi-hit contests and seven stolen bases, adding a .487 on base percentage. She ranked tied for 12th in the nation in sacrifice flies, 13th in RBI, tied for 19th in homers, 20th in runs per game and 21st in slugging, and among Pac-12 players, was first in slugging, runs and total bases (161), third in doubles, tied for third in homers and fourth in RBI.
The Bruins, who are ranked seventh in both preseason national polls (ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA), open the 2016 campaign next Friday, Feb. 12 in College Station, Texas with a doubleheader against Colorado State (10:15 a.m. PT) and #24 Texas A&M (1 p.m. PT).