Texas softball's Reese Atwood named one of 10 finalists for national player of the year award
After powering her way to the top of Texas softball’s record books, catcher Reese Atwood has been selected as one of the 10 finalists for USA Softball’s collegiate player of the year award, the organization announced Wednesday.
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Atwood, a sophomore from the Corpus Christi-area town of Sandia, has already broken school records for home runs (22 and RBIs (86) in a single season while helping the Longhorns to the top of the national polls as well as the NCAA Tournament’s top overall seed. She also leads the Longhorns in batting average (.427) and slugging percentage (.909). She has already won the Big 12 player of the year award.
Former Texas pitcher Cat Osterman is the only Longhorn to win the award, and she's also the nation's only three-time winner after claiming the honor in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Atwood is Texas' first top 10 finalist since pitcher Blaire Luna was a three-time top 10 finalist in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
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The top three finalists will be revealed on Monday, with the winner's announcement coming prior to the Women's College World Series, which starts May 30 in Oklahoma City. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award is voted on by previous award winners, coaching representatives from 10 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball regions as well as media members. The voters do not factor in stats compiled in the NCAA Tournament, which begins this weekend.
Texas (47-7) will open the tournament against Siena on Friday at 3 p.m. at McCombs Field.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas softball's Reese Atwood one of 10 finalists for national award
