The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 8 Softball’s Jefferson & Dolcini named to USA Softball Top 50 Watch List
01.26.2022 | Softball
The USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award is now in its 20th year of existence
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas super senior second baseman Janae Jefferson and super senior transfer pitcher Hailey Dolcini have been included as two of 50 student-athletes named to the prestigious 2022 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List as announced by the organization on Wednesday.
Now in its 20th year, the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award, bestowed by the national governing body for softball in the United States, was created to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country. Nominations are submitted through the program's Sports Information Director.
Texas joins UCLA and Oklahoma as the only programs in the nation to have secured the honor three times as former Longhorns pitching legend Cat Osterman earned the trophy in 2003, 2005 and 2006.
As one of just two unanimous choices to the 2022 Preseason All-Big 12 Conference Team, a recent selection to the 2022 USA Softball Women's National Team and a three-time NFCA All-American, Jefferson preps to enter her super senior campaign on the Forty Acres as the all-time program leader in both batting average (.431 – current Big 12 career leader) and total hits (270). The Humble, Texas, product, and Top 25 finalist for the 2021 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year trophy, is also within sight of the Big 12 Conference's career hit mark (332) established last season by Iowa State standout Sami Williams. Jefferson led the Longhorns during 2021 in batting average (.446), hits (75), on-base percentage (.495) and steals (14), while rating second in runs scored (49) and third in total bases (100).
A fifth-year senior pitcher out of Fresno State, Dolcini arrived on the Forty Acres with a slew of impressive stats and honors in tow. During an outstanding 2021 senior campaign for the Bulldogs, the Ferndale, Calif., product posted a 22-5 record with a 1.12 ERA (11th in NCAA Division I) over 180.2 innings of work and 259 strikeouts (13th in NCAA Division I) on the way to earning both Softball America Third-Team All-American and Mountain West Conference (MWC) Pitcher of the Year accolades. A Top 25 finalist for the 2021 USA Softball National Player of the Year trophy as well as a NFCA All-Pacific Region and All-MWC First Team selection, Dolcini rated first in the nation as a senior with 14 shutouts, fired two perfect games, struck out 10-or-more batters in a game 13 times and limited the opposition to a miniscule .175 batting average. In MWC play, Dolcini posted a 13-1 mark with a 0.89 ERA while leading the league in wins, strikeouts, ERA and opponent batting average. Along the way, she won seven 2021 MWC Pitcher of the Week awards and tied a program record with 18 K's in seven innings during a 6-0 win over New Mexico (April 2).
Following the NCAA decision to grant 2020 spring athletes an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, a total of ten student-athletes join the preseason "Watch List" for their fifth-year/graduate year. Also included in the "Watch List" are 24 seniors, eight juniors and eight sophomores. Freshmen are ineligible for consideration for the Top 50 "Watch List" but can be considered for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award once they have competed at the collegiate level.
The 2022 Top 50 "Watch List" is highlighted by 21 pitchers and 29 position players with athletes representing 27 different universities from across the country. Oklahoma leads the way with four athletes represented while Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma State and UCLA are highlighted with three athletes apiece. A total of seven athletic conferences are represented in the preseason "Watch List" with the Southeastern Conference (SEC) accounting for nine member-schools followed by the Pac-12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with five schools apiece. Additionally, the Big 12 conference is represented by three college programs followed by two schools from both the Big Ten Conference and American Athletic Conference (AAC) and one school from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The Top 25 Finalists for the 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 20. 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 4 and the Top 3 announced May 18. The 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed prior to the start of the Women's College World Series.
