NEWS FLASH; Maddie Penta selected to USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List
For the second consecutive season, Auburn ace Maddie Penta begins the season as one of 50 student-athletes selected to the USA Softball Player of the Year list.
He was the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year and was one of 21 SEC players named to the inaugural All-American Watch List. Penta was the 25th nominee for the award a season ago.
Penta, a right-handed pitcher from Chesapeake City, Md., led the SEC and was 15th nationally with 27 wins, tying the program’s single-season record. Penta became the fifth player in school history to play at least 10 games in conference play, finishing his junior season with 12 games.
Penta broke the Auburn junior hitting record by ranking second in the nation with 303 hits. He became just the second pitcher in program history to strike out 300 batters in a season. Penta is also the first pitcher to record at least 250 strikeouts in back-to-back seasons since Anna Thompson (2009, 2010). Among his impressive numbers, he ranked second in the league in earned run average (1.33), innings pitched (220.2), hits (8) and hits allowed per seven innings (3.93) .
He finished his junior season with 11 top-10 finishes in Auburn’s single-season pitchers rankings. That includes first or tied for first in wins, games started and combined hits in a season. He also ranked in the top 10 of Auburn’s 20 pitching categories, including wins, strikeouts, earned run average, innings pitched and shutouts.
The top 25 finalists for the 2024 USA Softball Player of the Year Award will be announced on May 1. Although a player does not have to be on the watch list to be ranked in the Top 25, the best collegiate players in USA Softball are included in the Top 25 finalists. The top 10 finalists will be announced on May 15th and the top 3 finalists will be announced on May 20th. The 2024 US Collegiate Player of the Year will be announced prior to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS).
Opening Day for the Plains is scheduled for Friday, February 2nd. 9 împotriva Virginia Tech Jane B. Moore Square 13:00 As part of the Tiger Invitational, Auburn will face Belmont that day at 4 p.m. CT.
