OKLAHOMA CITY – University of Florida senior Lauren Haeger is the 2015 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year, announced Tuesday night by the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA). She is the first Gator to receive the award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's softball. Haeger won the award from a group of three finalists that also included Oregon's Cheridan Hawkins and Michigan's Sierra Romero.
A four-time NFCA All-Southeast Region First Team selection, Haeger has played in more games (255) than any other active Division I softball player and is the first player ever to hit 60+ home runs and win 60+ games in a career. The 2013 All-American is the Gators' all-time leader in home runs (68 – also the Southeastern Conference [SEC] record), RBI (253), total bases (476), walks (169) and intentional walks (17). Haeger additionally ranks among the all-time UF leaders in ERA (eighth, 1.75), wins (fifth, 69) and strikeouts (sixth, 511).
“It was a great feeling,” said Florida Head Coach Tim Walton. “A very proud moment for her and for us as a program. It was special – a one-of-a-kind feeling. It's something we've never felt before, and to be able to have her recognized is a wonderful accomplishment for her.”
The 2015 SEC Pitcher of the Year stands among the national leaders this season in ERA (sixth, 1.24), wins (13th, 28), RBI (27th, 64) and shutouts (fourth, 11). The fourth-year Gator also was selected by the Dallas Charge in the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch Draft.
“I was shocked, honestly,” Haeger said. “I didn't expect it at all. I think it could've gone to any one of us, and it would've been a great reward for anybody. It was a really cool feeling – my heart was beating so fast before [the presenter] said the name. I was looking at Bailey [Castro] like 'feel my pulse, my heart's pounding!' It's so cool and such a relief. I still couldn't breathe because it was crazy to think of how big of an award that is. It blows my mind.”
Florida's senior leader has known success on every stage during her softball career. A two-time All-SEC First Team selection, No. 17 started the championship-clinching game against Alabama at the 2014 Women's College World Series, one of her 21 lifetime wins against ranked opponents. The senior has enjoyed a banner season in 2015, winning her first 24 decisions and setting the Gator all-time records for RBI (3/6 vs. Arizona) and home runs (4/18 at Georgia, Game 1). As a sophomore, Haeger hit 18 home runs and led the SEC with 70 RBI while tallying six wins against ranked foes. The 2012 SEC All-Freshman Team selection quickly established herself as a force on team when she arrived in 2012, striking out 11 batters in her pitching debut (2/11 vs. Maine) and going on to finish among league leaders in RBI (fourth, 52), home runs (sixth, 14) and ERA (seventh, 1.85). Before coming to UF, Haeger set a single-season Arizona high school home run record (21, 2011) and tied the state's career home run mark (48) while earning All-America honors from ESPN and the NFCA. The right-hander also played for the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team for two seasons (2010-11), and was the winning pitcher when Team USA defeated Japan in the gold-medal game at the ISF IX Junior Women's World Championship in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2011.
Haeger is the first Gator and the second Southeastern Conference player to win the award, which was established in 2002. The senior and her teammates will face SEC rival Tennessee in the opening game of the 2015 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City at noon ET on Thursday.
USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Year
2002: Stacey Nuveman - UCLA
2003: Cat Osterman - Texas
2004: Jessica Van der Linden - Florida State
2005: Cat Osterman - Texas
2006: Cat Osterman - Texas
2007: Monica Abbott - Tennessee
2008: Angela Tincher - Virginia Tech
2009: Danielle Lawrie - Washington
2010: Danielle Lawrie - Washington
2011: Ashley Hansen - Stanford
2012: Keilani Ricketts - Oklahoma
2013: Keilani Ricketts - Oklahoma
2014: Lacey Waldrop - Florida State
2015: Lauren Haeger - Florida
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