BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU senior infielder Amanda Sanchez has been named to the 2019 USA Softball Player of the Year Top 50 “Watch List” the organization announced Wednesday afternoon.
Sanchez, a 2018 All-SEC Defensive Team selection, transferred to LSU for the 2019 season after graduating from Missouri. In 2018, Sanchez served as one of Missouri’s most consistent and dangerous hitters as she reset single-season career-highs in average (.374), runs scores (31), doubles (10), on-base percentage (.500) and slugging percentage (.671).
The graduate transfer finished fourth among the league in on-base percentage and tied for ninth in average and slugging percentage. She committed just one error on 72 total attempts in SEC play, registering a .986 fielding percentage.
The preseason “Watch List” includes 24 seniors, 16 juniors and 10 sophomores, with freshman ineligible for the consideration. (Freshman can be considered for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award once they have competed at the collegiate level).
The Top 25 Finalists for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 24. 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 8 and the Top 3 announced May 22. The 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 28.
LSU finished the 2018 season with a 45-17 overall record after falling to Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional. The Tigers return 14 letterwinners to the 2019 squad and add 10 newcomers to the roster.
The Tigers kick off the 2019 season on February 7 with the Tigers Classic. LSU will play host to Tulsa, Iowa and Bucknell in its first week of competition. LSU will host three nonconference tournaments, four SEC weekend series and six midweek contests against state and regional opponents.
Single-game tickets for the 2019 LSU softball season are now on sale through the LSU Ticket Office and online at LSUtix.net. For more information on the 2019 softball schedule, click here.
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 @lsusoftball on Instagram.