Freshman pitcher/infielder Megan Good of the James Madison softball team was named one of 26 finalists for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced Wednesday.
Now in its 14th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players from around the nation.
“Megan has worked extremely hard and has been very focused in her work,” Head Coach Mickey Dean said. “She is getting recognition for her diligence. I am proud of how she has handled herself throughout this season.”
Good, who is one of eight pitchers to grace the list, has yet to lose a decision this season, going 17-0 for the Dukes. She ranks 10th in the country with a 1.10 ERA and is among the top 20 in hits allowed per seven innings (4.47). She has held foes to a .176 batting average, struck out a Colonial Athletic Association-best 124 batters and notched three shutouts.
On the offensive end, Good is among the league’s finest hitters, with a .398 batting average. She has accumulated five home runs, 24 RBI’s, 17 runs and a .584 slugging percentage in 35 starts this year.
Good has racked up a plethora of weekly accolades, most notably being tabbed the USA Softball National Player of the Week on March 24. She is also a two-time CAA Pitcher of the Week and three-time CAA Rookie of the Week in 2015.
The top 26 finalists are comprised of 12 seniors, 11 juniors, two sophomores and Good, who is the lone freshman on the list. The student-athletes represent 19 NCAA Division I universities and nine athletic conferences. Good is one of just four nominees to be a member of an institution in a non-power conference.
CLICK HERE for the full list of finalists.
The top 10 will be unveiled just prior to NCAA Championship play on May 6 and three finalists will be named on May 20, with the Player of the Year reveal coming on May 26, just before the start of the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award is voted on by coaching representatives from 10 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA Regions, members of the media who consistently cover Division I softball across the country, as well as past winners of the award.
Previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, the most prestigious individual honor in NCAA Division I Softball, are 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), Stanford shortstop Ashley Hansen (2011), Oklahoma’s Keilani Ricketts (2012 and 2013) and Florida State’s Lacey Waldrop (2014).
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Chris Graham
