OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. ---The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today the top three finalists for the 7th Annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, in its seventh year, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by NCAA Division I collegiate softball players across the country.

An initial “Watch List” was released on January 30 and the list of 25 finalists was announced on April 9. The field of finalists was trimmed to 10 on May 7 just prior to the start of post-season competition.

For the fourth consecutive year, the three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year come from different Conferences including the Southeastern Conference, the Big 12 Conference, and the Atlantic Coast Conference. These three individuals in their senior seasons have already garnered top awards in their respective Conferences and two of them have led their teams into the NCAA Super Regionals.

The Top Three Finalists listed in alphabetical order, are:

Tonya Callahan (Tennessee) – Senior – Infield – Holden, Mo.

With a .465 season batting average at No. 4 in the nation, this senior third baseman carried the Tennessee Lady Volunteers to its fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The SEC Player of the Year, Callahan was remarkable from the plate leading the Southeastern Conference in batting average (.465), slugging percentage (.854) and on-base percentage (.630). She rated among the top three in home runs (16) and RBIs (62) for the SEC. She registered 18 multi-hit games and 16 multi-RBI contests this season. Callahan reached base by either hit, walk or hit by pitch in an amazing 63 of her 66 games. With 62 free passes, she broke the SEC single season record for walks, including 21 intentional walks which rates top four in NCAA Division I history in that category. Defensively, Callahan committed just five errors in 236 chances while playing all 66 games at third base for a .979 fielding percentage.

Megan Gibson (Texas A&M) – Senior – Pitcher/First Base – Spring, Texas

As the only athlete in Big 12 Conference history to earn the Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in the same year, Gibson has been the backbone to the Aggies success in 2008. Leading Texas A&M to both the Big 12 regular season and championship titles, this senior has carried her team to its best finish in Big 12 play at 17-1. A threat on both sides of the ball, from the circle Gibson currently holds a .92 ERA with a 36-1 record. With 19 shutout performances, she has tossed 250.0 innings tallying 304 strikeouts while holding her opponents to a .161 batting average. From the plate, she is hitting .339 with 13 home runs, 47 RBI and has earned 46 walks. To add, she broke the Big 12 career home run record (56) with an opposite field shot against Houston on February 27.

Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech) – Senior - Pitcher - Eagle Rock, Va.

The 2008 ACC Pitcher of the Year, Tincher has put her mark in the NCAA record books this season. At No. 3 for most NCAA career strikeouts (2,041), the senior hurler is currently leading the nation in ERA at 0.61. With 619 strikeouts this season, she also leads the nation with 14.0 strikeouts per seven innings. With a 36-7 record, Tincher has led the Hokies to its first-ever Super Regionals appearance. She has 32 double-digit strikeout performances this season and four no-hitters. She picked up her 100^th career win at NC State on March 22 and became the ACC’s all-time leader in victories on April 16. On March 26, 2008, she made softball history with a no-hit 1-0 shutout against the USA Softball Women’s National team.

The winner of the 2008 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced Tuesday, May 27 during the WCWS Party at the Park at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

A replica of the award will be placed in a permanent display in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, along with photos of the winner. An additional replica of the award will be presented to the player’s academic institution during an athletic event in the fall.

Tennessee’s Monica Abbott took home the 2007 award before leading her team to the Women’s College World Series final best-of-three series. Past winners of the award include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA-2002), Cat Osterman (Texas-2003, 2005, 2006) and Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State-2004).

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 http://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 as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.