University of Minnesota Athletics
Groenewegen Named to Watch List
2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Full 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award Top 50 Watch List
Sara Groenewegen is among 50 student-athletes selected to the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award Top 50 Watch List for her second straight season, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced Wednesday.
Now in its 15th 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.
Groenewegen went 31-7 recording a 1.67 ERA last season. She was 10th in the country with 10 shutouts and had a strikeout total of 379 placing her third in the nation and first in the Big Ten conference.
At the plate Groenewegen had a .372 batting average with a .650 slugging percentage. She led the Gophers with 12 home runs and 117 total bases. She drove in 44 total runs, five of which were game-winners and nine of that came with two outs.
Last season she was an unanimous First Team All-Big Ten Selection, First Team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honoree, was an NFCA Second Team All-American and was named the Big Ten Player of the Year becoming just the third player in Big Ten history to win Big Ten Player, Pitcher and Freshman of the Year awards in her career.
Groenewegen was the only underclassmen to be named a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award top-10 finalist last year.
This year's list includes 25 seniors, 15 juniors and 10 sophomores, with freshman ineligible for 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 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.
In addition to bestowing the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, ASA/USA Softball is now in its 14th 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. The preseason top-25 Poll was released Jan. 26 with Minnesota landing No. 13. The Gophers opened No. 14 in the USA Today/NFCA Division 1 Preseason Top 25 Poll.
The Maroon and Gold open their season on Feb. 12 against Utah Valley at the Sportco Kick Off Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.
