Romero Named Finalist for Senior CLASS Award

NORMAN — Oklahoma softball infielder Sydney Romero has been chosen as one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award in college softball, the organization announced Wednesday.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

An acronym for “Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School,” the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 candidates announced in March. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through May 20. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners.

The Senior CLASS Award recipient for softball will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, May 30-June 5.

A 2018 NFCA First Team All-American, Romero has started all 34 of No. 2/2 Oklahoma's games this season, leading the team with a .442 batting average and a .885 slugging percentage. Romero is proving to be one of the best players in the country this season, ranking third among Division I softball players in total bases (100), 10th in hits (50), 11th in home runs (13), 12th in runs per game (1.03), 14th in slugging and 26th in batting average.

Romero leads all active DI players with 280 career hits and 755 career at-bats. Additionally, she ranks second with 482 career total bases, third with 193 career RBIs and fourth with 201 career runs scored.

In the OU record books, Romero's 280 career hits rank fourth, 193 RBIs are fifth and 47 home runs hold seventh.

A criminology major, Romero joins former Sooners Paige Parker (2018), Erin Miller (2016), Shelby Pendley (2015), Destinee Martinez (2014), Keilani Ricketts (2013), Jessica Shults (2013), Samantha Ricketts (2009) and Lauren Eckermann (2008) as OU's finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.