Leach Named to USA Softball Top 50 "Watch List"

OKLAHOMA CITY – Preseason honors continue to roll in for Tennessee softball's Aubrey Leach, as the senior was named to the Top 50 "Watch List" for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, as announced by USA Softball, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States.

Now in its 18th season, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country.

With Leach's selection, Tennessee has had at least one player named to the preseason "Watch List" in 16 consecutive seasons (2004-19). The Lady Vols have had 32 players selected to the Top 50 "Watch List" overall since its creation. The softball program boasts 23 Top 25 finalists, 13 Top 10 finalists and five Top 3 finalists. Monica Abbott is the only Lady Vol to win the award, doing so back in 2007.

Leach was also recently named to the Preseason All-SEC Team after becoming the program's 12th NFCA All-American with first-team honors and the national leader in runs scored last season. The senior infielder had an outstanding junior campaign as one of the Lady Vols' top offensive players, ranking first on the team in hits (82), batting average (.441), runs scored (80), walks (48), on-base percentage (.565) and stolen bases (23). Leach's 80 runs scored also set Tennessee's single-season runs record.

This week, the Woodlands, Texas, native earned Preseason All-America honors from two publications (FPN and JWOS). In 2018, Leach garnered All-SEC and NFCA All-Region recognition and was tabbed a Top-25 Finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

The Watch List includes 24 seniors, 16 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 36 NCAA Division I universities and 15 athletic conferences. The Southeastern Conference is well represented with 13 athletes, while 12 Pac-12 Conference athletes are on the Watch List.

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.

About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation's largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition through a network of Local Associations, which includes all 50 states and select metro associations, and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation's largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.

About the NCAA Women's College World Series:
USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Women's College World Series (WCWS). For the 29th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there with softball fans from across the country May 30-June 4/5 in Oklahoma City.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Aubrey Leach

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