TUCSON, Ariz. – For the second consecutive season, Arizona's Katiyana Mauga has been named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 “Watch List”, ASA/USA Softball announced on Wednesday.
Mauga was named a third-team All-American last season after leading the Pac-12 with 26 home runs and hitting .350 with 76 RBI, tied for sixth-most in the NCAA. The 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and 2015 Pac-12 Home Run Champion has 46 career home runs, already 15th in Arizona history and tied for third most in NCAA history after a player's sophomore year.
The San Diego native, who has recorded 114 of her 115 career starts in right field, will likely make the switch to third base in 2016. Mauga has been an all-conference and all-region player each of her first two seasons in Tucson.
The pre-season “Watch 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). Athletes named to the “Watch List” represent 35 NCAA Division I universities and 15 athletic conferences. Georgia, LSU and Michigan lead the way among universities with three athlete representatives each, while Alabama, Auburn, California, Florida, James Madison, Louisiana-Lafayette, Oklahoma, Oregon and UCLA have two athletes on the "Watch List" apiece. The SEC is also well represented among the Top 50 "Watch List" with eight member-schools represented with the Pac-12 Conference represented by six universities.
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.
Up Next: Arizona will open the 2016 campaign at home as it will host the Hillenbrand Invitational Feb. 11-14 at Hillenbrand Stadium. The Wildcats and Southern Utah will open the season on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. MST.
Follow Arizona Softball: For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat softball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and be sure to follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@UA_Softball).
