Three Named to Player of the Year Watch List

NORMAN — Three members of the Oklahoma softball team have been named to the 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List, released on Wednesday afternoon.

Senior pitcher Giselle Juarez, junior utility player Jocelyn Alo and sophomore utility player Grace Green are among the 50 student-athletes on the preseason watch list. Juarez was named NFCA First Team All-American in 2019, while Alo was a second-team selection and Green was a third-team honoree.

Three selections tie for second nationally with Alabama, Arizona, Texas and Washington also having three representatives. UCLA leads all programs with four on the list.

The top 25 finalists for the 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 22. 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 6 and the top three announced May 20. The 2020 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 26.

Juarez finished the 2019 season ranked second in OU career history in opponent batting average (.151) and strikeouts per seven innings pitched (10.11) and ninth in walks per seven innings pitched (1.31) and ERA (1.39). The then-junior made 39 appearances in the circle with 32 starts and finished the regular season undefeated at 21-0. Additionally, Juarez threw the first two perfect games of her career in 2019 at Loyola Marymount (3/14) and at Iowa State (4/28), becoming just the second player in program history to register multiple perfect games in a season.

In 2019, Alo tied for the team lead in RBIs (56) and ranked second in hits (66) and on-base percentage (.484). In her sophomore campaign, Alo recorded 17 games with multiple hits and 13 games with multiple RBIs. Alo had an explosive freshman campaign in which she hit a nation-leading 30 home runs, tying the Oklahoma single-season record, the Big 12 single-season record and the NCAA Division I freshman single-season record.

Green, the 2019 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team honoree, played in 63 games with 61 starts. In her first year as a Sooner, Green tied for second on the team with 17 home runs and tied for third with 54 RBIs. Green ranked 30th nationally in homers (17) and 49th in total bases (121).

Oklahoma alumna and current USA Softball team member Keilani Ricketts was a two-time recipient of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, considered the most prestigious honor in NCAA Division I Softball.

The Sooners begin their 2020 campaign on Feb. 6 as they take on Nevada at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Action can be seen via FloSoftball on a subscription basis.

Single-game tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be ordered online or by calling (405) 325-2424 or toll-free at (800) 456-GoOU.