TEMPE – Arizona State University softball’s Dallas Escobedo has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the year, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 27 just prior to the start of the 2014 NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) in Oklahoma City. This award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.
Escobedo, a senior pitcher for the No. 3 Sun Devils, has been among the elite aces in the nation this season and advances to the final 10 for the award for the first time in her illustrious career.
The senior out of Glendale, Ariz., is 21-6 on the season with 10 shutouts, one no-hitter, six one-hitters and three Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors. She has a 1.69 ERA on the year in 190.1 innings pitched. She currently leads the nation in strikeouts with 293 compared to just 42 walks on the season.
With a 112-23 record to her credit for her career, Escobedo is seven games shy of breaking Katie Burkhart’s all-time school record of 118 in the category. Her 1,179 career strikeouts are 40th in NCAA career history and seventh in Pac-12 history.
Escobedo is also a finalist for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award as she continues to add to her ever-growing trophy case.
The Sun Devils will wrap up the 2014 regular season at home this weekend against No. 2 UCLA with Escobedo tenatively schedule to take the circle for Thursday and Saturday's contests. Tickets for the weekend are still available here.
Now in its 13th year , previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award are UCLA catcher Stacey Nuveman (2002), Texas pitcher Cat Osterman (2003, 2005 and 2006), Florida State pitcher Jessica Van der Linden (2004), Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott (2007), Virginia Tech pitcher Angela Tincher (2008), Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie (2009 and 2010), Stanford shortstop Ashley Hansen (2011) and Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts (2012 and 2013).
This year’s finalists are comprised of four seniors, three juniors, and three sophomores. The student-athletes selected represent seven NCAA Division I universities and five athletic conferences. Alabama, Florida State and Oregon lead the way among universities with two athlete representatives each.
The top three finalists selected from this list will be announced May 21, with the winner of the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award revealed on May 27.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award is voted on by coaching representatives from 11 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA Regions as well as members of the media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country, and previous Player of the Year recipients.
In addition to bestowing the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, ASA/USA Softball is now in its 12th season of presenting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll and the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week, which are announced Tuesdays during the regular season.
About ASA The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA 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. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA Softball USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the 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 including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com.
About the NCAA Women’s College World Series The ASA Hall of Fame Stadium serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 24th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, over 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 29 to June 4 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2014 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!