OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Amateur Softball Association and USA Softball today announced the 50 collegiate players named to its annual watch list for the player of the year and LSU junior infielder Bianka Bell was one of 13 players hailing from the Southeastern Conference to make the cut.
Now in its 14th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, given by the national governing body for softball in the United States, recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country.
A Tiger has now graced the initial list for the sixth time in the last seven years, as Bell follows in the footsteps of A.J. Andrews who was selected in her junior season in 2014. Of those years, Leslie Klein, Britni Sneed, Kristin Schmidt, Kirsten Shortridge and Rachele Fico have been the only players who were selected as a USA Softball Top 25 finalist.
Bell was one of just three players who played in all 62 games for LSU last season, finishing second on the team in batting average (.337), hits (60), extra base hits (26), home runs (14), RBI (55), slugging percentage (.646) and runs scored (44) in her sophomore campaign, where she was named first team NFCA All-South Region and All-Louisiana. In just two years she has become the fastest player in team history to reach 100 RBI for a career, while she sits second all-time in career slugging and on-base percentage.
The pre-season watch list includes 26 seniors, 18 juniors and six sophomores, with freshman ineligible for consideration, although freshman can be considered for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award once they have competed at the collegiate level. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is also well represented on the list with eight schools represented with the Pac-12 Conference represented by seven universities.
The Top 25 Finalists for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 8. While an athlete does not have to be on the initial 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 6 and the Top 3 announced May 20. The 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 26.
LSU opens the 2015 season on Friday, Feb. 6 against the Memphis Tigers at 4 p.m. in Baton Rouge.
Season tickets for the 2015 LSU softball season are currently on sale for $75, as the Tigers will play 35 games in Tiger Park in the upcoming year. For more information on purchasing season tickets, visit LSUTix.net or call (225) 578-2184.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball along with @lsusoftball and @BethTorina on Twitter and @lsusb on Instagram.