Softball: Ohio State’s Sam Marder Named to National Player of the Year Watch List – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sophomore was first-team All-Big Ten and all-region last season as a freshman
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Amateur Softball Association announced its watch list for the Collegiate Player of the Year Thursday and Ohio State sophomore Sam Marder was among the 50 student-athletes named to the list, which included only nine sophomores. A catcher and first baseman, Marder led the Buckeyes last season with a .359 average, 10 home runs, 49 runs batted in and a school record 44 walks on her way to earning first-team honors from the Big Ten and NFCA Great Lakes Region.
A list of 25 finalists will be announced by the ASA April 9. The complete ASA release is below.
The list includes only five from the Big Ten, with three of those being sophomores. A native of Calabasas, Calif., Marder upped her average to .367 in Big Ten games last season to help lead Ohio State to a 14-2 league record and the conference championship. She was also named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team for her efforts in the Buckeyes’ three-game sweep of the league postseason tournament.
Marder is one of six starters back this season for Ohio State, which is ranked No. 22 and No. 23 in the two preseason national polls.
Last season Marder became the first freshman to earn the team’s offensive player of the year award. She led the Big Ten in walks and on base percentage (.520) and also led the team in average with runners on base (.417), average with runners in scoring position (.403), doubles (12), two-out RBI (17) and batting average on the road (.342). An OSU Scholar-Athlete and the first freshman to hit a grand slam in her first collegiate game, Marder batted third in the lineup and started all 58 games.
Marder was a first-team All-California selection and was named to the all-tournament team of the 2006 U-18 Gold National Championships. She batted .570 as a senior in high school and was named the Los Angeles Daily News first-team all-area squad three times.
For Immediate Release: 1/30/08
ASA Announces Top 50 Watch List for the 2008 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
Oklahoma City, Okla. The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, has selected its initial “Watch List” for the 7th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. This award, which is considered one of the most prestigious honors in women’s collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Past winners of this award include UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman, Florida State’s Jessica Van der Linden, three-time winner Texas pitcher Cat Osterman and 2007 winner Monica Abbott of Tennessee.
The 2008 Pre-Season Watch List is comprised of 50 players representing 34 schools and 14 different NCAA Division I Conferences.
The ASA will announce the 25 finalists on April 9. A player does not have to appear on the initial watch list to be considered as a Top 25 finalist, but once the Top 25 is named the remaining finalist must be selected from that list.
Just days before the start of post-season play, a list of 10 finalists will be named and released on May 7. The final three finalists will be announced May 21 while the winner of the 2008 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced prior to the start of the 2008 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
2008 USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List
Name School Year Position Hometown
Callista Balko (Arizona) Senior Catcher Tucson, Ariz.
Brandice Balschmiter (Massachusetts) Junior Pitcher – Manasquan, N.J.
Chelsea Bramlett (Mississippi State) Sophomore Catcher/Infield Cordova, Tenn.
Savannah Brown (Georgia Tech) – Senior Catcher/Third Base San Diego, Calif.
Katie Burkhart (Arizona State) Senior Pitcher – San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Tonya Callahan (Tennessee) Senior Infield Holden, Mo.
Ashley Charters (Washington) Senior Infield Beaverton, Ore.
Kaitlin Cochran (Arizona State) – Junior – Outfield – Yorba Linda, Calif.
Krista Colburn (UCLA) Senior Outfield Mukilteo, Wash.
Meagan Denny (Texas) Senior Pitcher Crowley, Texas
Lauren Eckermann (Oklahoma) Senior Pitcher – Brenham, Texas
Cristi Ecks (South Florida) Junior Pitcher Manassas, Va.
Angela Findlay (Michigan) Sophomore Outfield Lockport, Ill.
Samantha Findlay (Michigan) Senior First Base – Lockport, Ill.
Rachel Folden (Marshall) Senior Catcher/Utility Baldwin Park, Calif.
Megan Gibson (Texas A&M) Senior Pitcher/First Base Spring, Texas
Alissa Haber (Stanford) Sophomore Outfield- Newark, Calif.
Whitney Haller (Georgia Tech) Junior First Base Marietta, Ga.
Molly Hill (Nebraska) Junior Pitcher Wayne, Neb.
Dani Hofer (LSU) Junior Pitcher Safety Harbor, Fla.
Becca Heteniak (DePaul) Sophomore Pitcher – Simi Valley, Calif.
Tiffany Huff (Tennessee) Sophomore Catcher/First Base Saugus, Calif.
Carley Hughes (UNC Wilmington) Junior Catcher Pittsboro, N.C.
Annie Kinsey (Pennsylvania) Senior Second Base West Hills, Calif.
Sam Marder (Ohio State) Sophomore Catcher – Calabasas, Calif.
Cambria Miranda (Oregon State) Senior Second Base Camarillo, Calif.
Taryne Mowatt (Arizona) Senior Pitcher Corona, Calif.
Kara Nelson (Illinois State) Sophomore Third Base Moline, Ill.
Stacey Nelson (Florida) Junior Pitcher Los Alamitos, Calif.
Emily Nichols (Iowa) – Senior Catcher/Infield – Portland, Ore.
Chrissy Owens (Alabama) Senior Pitcher Miami, Fla.
Lauren Parker (Alabama) Junior Infield Port Neches, Texas
Nicole Pauly (Northwestern) Sophomore Infield – Palatine, Ill.
Missy Penna (Stanford) Junior Pitcher/Utility Miami, Fla.
Melissa Pura (Cal Poly) Junior Shortstop – Salinas, Calif.
Brette Reagan (Baylor) Junior Third Base Magnolia, Texas
Amanda Renth (Missouri) Junior Infield – Mascoutah, Ill.
Samantha Ricketts (Oklahoma) – Junior – First Base – San Jose, Calif.
Kate Robinson (Hawaii) Senior Pitcher/First Base Honolulu, Hawaii
Killian Roessner (LSU) – Senior Catcher – Manasquan, N.J.
Brittany Rogers (Alabama) Junior Outfield – Dacula, Ga.
Amanda Scarborough (Texas A&M) – Senior – Pitcher/First Base – Magnolia, Texas
Anjelica Selden (UCLA) Senior Pitcher – Vacaville, CA
Kirsten Shortridge (Baylor) Sophomore Pitcher/Outfield Keller, Texas
Holly Tankersley (Louisiana-Lafayette) Senior Designated Player Kirbyville, Texas
Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech) – Senior – Pitcher – Eagle Rock, Va.
Jessica Valis (Houston) Junior Shortstop Shiner, Texas
Sandy Vojik (DePaul) Senior Utility Riverside, Ill.
Kim Waleszonia (Florida) Junior Utility – Fontana, Calif.
Tammy Williams (Northwestern) Junior Infield – Roscoe, Mo.
ABOUT ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com.
ABOUT USA SOFTBALL
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive. For more information about USA Softball, please visit www.usasoftball.com
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