Oklahoma City, Okla. – Three LSU softball players were named to the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List it was announced today, as Bianka Bell, Carley Hoover and Bailey Landry were the Tigers selected.
Now in its 15th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, awarded 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.
For the seventh time in the last eight years LSU has had at least one player grace the initial list, with this being the first time that the team has had three earn the nod right out of the gate. Bell is making the list for the second consecutive year, making it through the first cut, while this is the first time that both Hoover and Landry have been an initial selection.
Bell, a preseason All-SEC selection, heads into her senior season as LSU’s home run leader after belting a team and season-record 18 in 2015, having 44 for her career which is also the most for any player in program history. She was second on the team last year in hits and batting average, leading the group in slugging and on-base percentage in a first team All-American season.
Another preseason All-SEC selection heading into the season is sophomore pitcher Hoover, as she opened her LSU career last year by leading the pitching staff in wins, appearances and saves. The Clemson, South Carolina, native had a 7.2 strikeout per seven inning average while finishing in the top 30 in the nation in earned run average.
Landry, a second team All-American in 2015 returns for her junior season after posting the second-highest batting average in a single season at LSU, while leading the team in hits with 89. The Prairieville, Louisiana, native powered her way to a 21-game hitting streak during the season, the longest in program history by six games, while ending the year hitting safely in 11 straight contests.
LSU, along with Georgia and Michigan lead the way with three selections each, with nine others having two. Eight Southeastern Conference institutions are included in the list, with 15 total players representing the conference that has won three of the last four national championships.
The Top 25 Finalists for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced 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 May 11 and the Top 3 announced May 25. The 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 31.
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.