USA Softball has announced the Top 25 Finalists for the 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award.

This prestigious award recognizes exceptional athletic performance throughout the collegiate softball season and is widely regarded as the highest individual honor in NCAA Division I softball.

Class Years

The 2026 Top 25 Finalists feature 10 seniors, 11 juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen, representing 16 NCAA Division I institutions across five athletic conferences.

Conferences

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) leads all conferences with six programs represented, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 and Big Ten with three each, and the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) with one.

Players by University

Oklahoma leads all programs with four selections, followed by Florida with three.

Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech and UCLA each have two representatives, while Alabama, Arizona, Belmont, Duke, Florida State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Purdue and Texas A&M each have one selection.

Positions

The list is composed of 15 position players and 10 pitchers.

Award Timetable

The Top 25 will be narrowed to 10 finalists on May 13, followed by the announcement of the Top 3 on May 18.

The 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed prior to the Women’s College World Series, scheduled for May 28–June 5 at the Softball Capital of the World®.

Paired with the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, USA Softball is also in its 24th season of presenting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, which is released every Tuesday throughout the regular season.

Follow along with Division I NCAA Softball all season long at USASoftball.com.

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TOP 25 Finalists for the 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award

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USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Winners (2002-2025) 

• Stacey Nuveman (UCLA – 2002)
• Cat Osterman (Texas – 2003, 2005, 2006)
• Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State – 2004)
• Monica Abbott (Tennessee – 2007)
• Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech – 2008)
• Danielle Lawrie (Washington – 2009, 2010)
• Ashley Hansen (Stanford – 2011)
• Keilani Ricketts (Oklahoma – 2012, 2013)
• Lacey Waldrop (Florida State – 2014)
• Lauren Haeger (Florida – 2015)
• Sierra Romero (Michigan – 2016)
• Kelly Barnhill (Florida – 2017)
• Rachel Garcia (UCLA — 2018, 2019)
• Jocelyn Alo (Oklahoma – 2021, 2022)
• Valerie Cagle (Clemson ­– 2023)
• NiJaree Canady (Stanford – 2024)
• Bri Ellis (Arkansas – 2025)