Feb. 2, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Georgia Tech senior shortstop Kelsi Wesemanhas been selected to the “Watch List” for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) announced Wednesday.
Weseman, who is coming off the most productive season of her career, returns to the Tech lineup after batting .424 last spring with 67 hits, 17 doubles, 21 homeruns and a slugging percentage of .968, which ranked second nationally.
The Hutto, Texas native earned her first career All-American nod last season, becoming the eighth Tech player to earn the honor and the fifth under the tutelage of head coach Sharon Perkins. Weseman was also named the 2011 ACC Player of the Year, earned All-ACC (first team) accolades for the third-straight season and has been a part of an ACC Championship in each of her three years here on the Flats.
The pre-season “Watch List” includes 23 seniors, 20 juniors and seven sophomores, with freshman ineligible for consideration. Athletes named to the “Watch List” represent 31 NCAA Division I universities and 13 conferences. Weseman is the lone ACC player nominated to the list.
Previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, the most prestigious individual honor in NCAA Division I Softball, include UCLA catcher Stacey Nuveman (2002), Texas pitcher Cat Osterman (2003, 2005 and 2006), Florida State pitcher Jessica Van der Linden (2004), Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott (2007), Virginia Tech pitcher Angela Tincher (2008), Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie (2009 and 2010) and Stanford shortstop Ashley Hansen (2011). Arizona State shortstop Katelyn Boyd, now a senior, and Missouri pitcher Chelsea Thomas, currently a redshirt junior, were the other two finalists for last year’s award.
In 2010, former Tech softball player Jen Yee was a finalist for the award while current junior Hope Rushmade it to the semi-final round of voting.
The top 25 finalists for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 11.
Last season, Weseman started and played in all 57 games, finishing the year with a .424 batting average, the highest on the team and 30th nationally. Her 21 home runs were good enough for second all-time in the Tech record books and seventh in the nation, while her home runs per game average of 0.37 ranked fifth in the nation in 2011. She drove in 65 runs, 1.14 per game, which ranked 14th in the nation and tallied 153 total bases for a slugging percentage of .968, which ranks second in the Tech record books and second in the nation in 2011.
Weseman netted 18 multi-hit games on the season including five of the three-hit variety, while also having at least one homer in five-straight games from April 9-16, capped by a 3-for-3, four RBI, two home run, one double showing against North Carolina on April 16.
2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List
Name (School) – Year – Position – Hometown
Emily Allard (Northwestern) – Junior – Shortstop – Antioch, Calif.
Valerie Arioto (Cal) – Senior – Utility – Pleasanton, Calif.
Nikki Armagost (Pacific) – Junior – Pitcher/Utility – Andover, Kan.
Lexy Bennett (Texas) – Senior – Infield – Kingwood, Texas
Emily Bledsoe (Texas Tech) – Senior – Infield – Fulshear, Texas
Katelyn Boyd (Arizona State) – Senior – Shortstop – Phoenix, Ariz.
Kayla Braud (Alabama) – Junior – Outfield – Eugene, Ore.
Devon Bridges (Boise State) – Sophomore – Outfield/First base – Danville, Calif.
Jenna Caira (Syracuse) – Senior – Pitcher – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Whitney Canion (Baylor) – Junior – Pitcher – Aledo, Texas
Raven Chavanne (Tennessee) – Junior – Third base/Outfield – Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Amanda Chidester (Michigan) – Senior – Third base – Allen Park, Mich.
Aimee Creger (Tulsa) – Sophomore – Pitcher – Yukon, Okla.
Brigette Del Ponte (Arizona) – Junior – Infield – Peoria, Ariz.
Taylor Edwards (Nebraska) – Sophomore – Catcher – Murrieta, Calif.
Dallas Escobedo (Arizona State) – Sophomore – Pitcher – Glendale, Ariz.
Bree Evans (Michigan) – Senior – Centerfield – Bloomington, Calif.
Ashley Fleming (Missouri) – Senior – Outfield – Silex, Mo.
Kenzie Fowler (Arizona) – Junior – Pitcher – Tucson, Ariz.
Kellie Fox (UCLA) – Sophomore – Shortstop – San Diego, Calif.
Olivia Galati (Hofstra) – Junior – Pitcher/Designated player – West Babylon, N.Y.
Lauren Gibson (Tennessee) – Junior – Infield– Pasadena, Md.
Ashley Hansen (Stanford) – Senior – Infield – Chandler, Ariz.
Andrea Harrison (UCLA) – Senior – Left field/First base – Garden Grove, Calif.
Jolene Henderson (Cal) – Junior – Pitcher/First base – Elk Grove, Calif.
Taylor Hoagland (Texas) – Junior – Outfield/Third base – Flower Mound, Texas
Jessica Iwata (Hawaii) – Junior – Shortstop – Lihu’e, Hawaii
Ashley Lane (Michigan) – Junior – Second base – Escondido, Calif.
Blaire Luna (Texas) – Junior – Pitcher – Austin, Texas
Meagan May (Texas A&M) – Junior – Catcher/First base – Spring, Texas
Ashley McClain (FIU) – Senior – Outfield/Pitcher – Brandon, Fla.
Dani Miller (Notre Dame) – Senior – Infield – Huntington Beach, Calif.
Jen Mineau (Fordham) – Senior – Pitcher – Schaghticoke, N.Y.
Adrienne Monka (Northwestern) – Senior – First base – Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Michelle Moultrie (Florida) – Senior – Center field – Jacksonville, Fla.
Christi Orgeron (ULL) – Senior – Outfield – New Orleans, La.
Sara Plourde (UMass) – Senior – Pitcher – Bristol, Conn.
Kimi Pohlman (Washington) – Senior – Outfield – Sammamish, Wash.
Jamia Reid (Cal) – Senior – Outfield – Buena Park, Calif.
Ellen Renfroe (Tennessee) – Sophomore – Pitcher – Jackson, Tenn.
Keilani Ricketts (Oklahoma) – Junior – Pitcher – San Jose, Calif.
Rachel Riley (Kentucky) – Senior – Pitcher/Designated player – Bowling Green, Ky.
Hannah Rogers (Florida) – Senior – Pitcher – Lake Wales, Fla.
Brittany Schutte (Florida) – Junior – Catcher – Fountain Valley, Calif.
Kathy Shelton (Baylor) – Junior – Outfield – McKinney, Texas
Jessica Shults (Oklahoma) – Junior – Catcher – Valencia, Calif.
Chelsea Thomas (Missouri) – Redshirt Junior – Pitcher – Pleasantville, Iowa
Jackie Traina (Alabama) – Sophomore – Pitcher/Designated player – Naples, Fla.
Kelsi Weseman (Georgia Tech) – Senior – Shortstop – Hutto, Texas
Niki Williams (Washington) – Senior – Utility – Mission Viejo, Calif.
