Faraimo, Brady Tabbed as Top 10 Finalists for Player of the Year
May 03, 2023 | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – UCLA softball redshirt senior pitcher Megan Faraimo and redshirt junior utility Maya Brady were named 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 10 Finalists, the organization announced the list on Wednesday.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball, recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female players across the country.
The list will be narrowed to three on May 17 before the beginning of NCAA Regionals and the Player of the Year will be revealed prior to the start of the Women's College World Series.
This marks the second time in Faraimo's career she has made the cut as one of the top 10 players in the country. This is Brady's first acknowledgement.
The reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, Megan Faraimo, is dominating her competition once again in 2023. Faraimo paces the country with a new career high in wins with 26 this season. She has walked away with a victory in each of her last 13 outings dating back to March 25. Faraimo also leads the conference with 208 strikeouts and ranks second with a 1.15 earned run average.
Faraimo has now recorded back-to-back 20-win and 200-strikeout campaigns.
The Oceanside, Calif. product has thrown two no-hitters and one perfect game this season. She now ranks second in UCLA history in both solo no-hitters with seven and solo perfect games with three. Most recently, Faraimo tossed her first no-no against a ranked opponent in No. 3 Florida on Feb. 23, 2023. Faraimo's no-hitter versus the Gators marked the first time a Bruin pitcher no-hit a top-3 opponent since March 28, 2003, when Keira Goerl kept No. 2 Stanford out of the hit column.
Faraimo is on the precipice of becoming just the fourth pitcher in UCLA's illustrious history of hurlers to record 100 wins, sitting at 98 in her career. She needs 24 more strikeouts to become the third Bruin to chalk up 1,000 K's.
Brady has taken the country by storm this season. Through the end of April, the superstar shortstop continues to improve her batting average to an astronomical .454 which is tops in the conference and good for 11th in the country. Brady also paces the Pac-12 in hits (69), slugging percentage (.875), total bases (133) and extra-base hits (29). She is in the hunt for the Pac-12 Triple Crown, ranking second in both runs batted in (55) and home runs (16).
The Thousand Oaks, Calif. native has two multi-homer games on the year.
Brady broke the record books in the first week of the season by recording 11 consecutive base hits across four games, breaking the previous mark of 10 consecutive hits formerly held by UCLA legends Lisa Fernandez (March 1993) and Stacey Nuveman (Feb. 1999). The performance earned Brady NFCA Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball, recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female players across the country.
The list will be narrowed to three on May 17 before the beginning of NCAA Regionals and the Player of the Year will be revealed prior to the start of the Women's College World Series.
This marks the second time in Faraimo's career she has made the cut as one of the top 10 players in the country. This is Brady's first acknowledgement.
The reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, Megan Faraimo, is dominating her competition once again in 2023. Faraimo paces the country with a new career high in wins with 26 this season. She has walked away with a victory in each of her last 13 outings dating back to March 25. Faraimo also leads the conference with 208 strikeouts and ranks second with a 1.15 earned run average.
Faraimo has now recorded back-to-back 20-win and 200-strikeout campaigns.
The Oceanside, Calif. product has thrown two no-hitters and one perfect game this season. She now ranks second in UCLA history in both solo no-hitters with seven and solo perfect games with three. Most recently, Faraimo tossed her first no-no against a ranked opponent in No. 3 Florida on Feb. 23, 2023. Faraimo's no-hitter versus the Gators marked the first time a Bruin pitcher no-hit a top-3 opponent since March 28, 2003, when Keira Goerl kept No. 2 Stanford out of the hit column.
Faraimo is on the precipice of becoming just the fourth pitcher in UCLA's illustrious history of hurlers to record 100 wins, sitting at 98 in her career. She needs 24 more strikeouts to become the third Bruin to chalk up 1,000 K's.
Brady has taken the country by storm this season. Through the end of April, the superstar shortstop continues to improve her batting average to an astronomical .454 which is tops in the conference and good for 11th in the country. Brady also paces the Pac-12 in hits (69), slugging percentage (.875), total bases (133) and extra-base hits (29). She is in the hunt for the Pac-12 Triple Crown, ranking second in both runs batted in (55) and home runs (16).
The Thousand Oaks, Calif. native has two multi-homer games on the year.
Brady broke the record books in the first week of the season by recording 11 consecutive base hits across four games, breaking the previous mark of 10 consecutive hits formerly held by UCLA legends Lisa Fernandez (March 1993) and Stacey Nuveman (Feb. 1999). The performance earned Brady NFCA Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
Players Mentioned
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