Lexie Elkins Named To USA Softball Top 50 Watch List

UL junior catcher Lexie Elkins

Louisiana Ragin' Cajun softball catcher Lexie Elkins was one of 50 student-athletes from across the country selected to the 2015 "Watch List" for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced on Wednesday.

The award, which is now in its 14th year, is handed out annually by the National Governing Body for softball in the United States.

A junior, Elkins was named an NFCA Third Team All-American last season, after hitting a .388, while ranking second nationally in home runs, with 24, and fifth in the nation with 74 runs batted in, while also finishing 11th nationally in slugging percentage, at an .835.

A native of Victoria, Texas, Elkins was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2014, while being tabbed the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year earlier this week.

The Top 25 Finalists for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 8, with the list being narrowed to ten on May 6, and the actual winner being revealed on May 26.

Louisiana, who 49-10-1 overall last season, returns Elkins, along with 22 letterwinners from a team that made its sixth appearance in the Women's College World Series.

The Cajuns open their 2015 season on Feb. 6 against North Carolina State in the Louisiana Classic at Lamson Park.