The finalists were chosen from a list of 30 candidates based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete. These four primary areas of criteria include: classroom, community, character and competition.

Eckermann, who was the 2007 Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the year in 2007, has recorded a 10-3 record for the Sooners this season and has been even better in Big 12 play this season where she owns a 2-0 record and a 0.54 ERA.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award has developed into the nation’s premier tribute to college seniors. The award, which launched in 2001 with college basketball, is now in its second year for softball. Arizona outfielder Caitlin Lowe won the inaugural softball division award in 2007.

The 2008 finalists are: Callista Balko, University of Arizona, Beth Boden, Tennessee Tech University, Sara Dyer, University of Tulsa, Lauren Eckermann, University of Oklahoma, Rachel Folden, Marshall University, Jordan Praytor, University of Alabama, Megan Rhodes, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Anjelica Selden, UCLA, Angelia Tincher, Virginia Tech and Sandy Vojik, DePaul University.

These 10 names will be placed on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award softball ballot for a nationwide vote beginning April 10 and concluding May 9. Fan balloting, available on the award’s official website www.seniorclassaward.com, will be combined with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award.

“These young women are outstanding student-athletes who deserve recognition for their all-around achievements in the classroom, in the community and on the field,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising. “The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award is dedicated to honoring senior collegians that are making an impact on others with their talents. This is an impressive group of individuals and we commend each of them, along with their respective coaches and universities.”

The 2008 award winner will be announced and presented with the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award trophy at the Opening Ceremonies of the NCAA Women’s College World Series on May 27 in Oklahoma City. The Lowe’s All-Senior All-America Team, based on final results of the balloting, will also be recognized. The idea of an award to salute collegiate seniors was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman. It was inspired by the trend of college basketball players leaving college early to turn professional.

The Senior CLASS Award was formed to honor senior student-athletes who fulfill their entire collegiate athletic eligibility, earn a college degree and give back to their community.

WEBCAST
A live web cast of both games will be available on Oklahoma All-Access.

LIVE STATS
Live stats are available for all games this season on SoonerSports.com.

PROMOTIONS
Friday night will feature $.50 hot dog and coke night and the first 250 fans will receive a free OU mini bat. On Saturday, the first 500 fans through the gate will receive a free OU team picture with an autograph session to follow the game. Saturday also marks First Responder Day as helicopters, fire trucks and police units will be on display for Sooner fans to enjoy.

TICKETS
Seats remain for this weekend’s games and gates will open 90 minutes prior to first pitch each day. Tickets are available at the gate, online or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-GoOU. The office is open from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located on the plaza level of the Asp Avenue parking garage.

SCOUTING KANSAS
The Jayhawks enter the weekend on fire as they own a five-game winning streak with this week’s National Player of the Week, Val Chapple, leading the way. Currently, KU has a 23-6 record with key wins over Illinois State, Central Florida, Oregon, BYU and Cal State Northridge. The three-member pitching staff is having a solid season as the squad owns a team ERA of 1.60 with ace Valerie George leading the way. The junior right-hander posts an 11-1 record and owns a 0.69 ERA while throwing four shutouts this season and holding opponents to a .165 ERA. Offensively, Chapple headlines the KU offense that owns a .270 batting average as she leads the team with six home runs and 21 RBI. The junior earned national weekly honors after hitting .875 last week with four home runs in three games last week. Chapple is also getting it done on the base paths as she is 4-of-5 in stolen bases.

OU/KU SERIES RECORDS
The series records between the two teams is tied at 40-40. The Sooners have won five of the last seven, but KU and OU split the series in Lawrence last season. The loss was costly for the Sooners as it took away their chances of winning the Big 12 regular season title.

LAST MEETING
In addition to splitting the regular season series last season in Lawrence, both teams met in OU’s first game of the Big 12 Championship on May 11. The Sooners shut out the Jayhawks, 5-0 , to advance to the Big 12 semifinals and eventually clinch the Big 12 Postseason Championship with a win over Texas Tech.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma will head to Oklahoma City next Tuesday (March 25) to play an exhibition game against the USA Olympic Team at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The game will be shown on tape delay by ESPN2 on Tuesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. The Sooners will follow that with a non-conference game against Central Arkansas on Wednesday (March 26) at 6 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex. The Sooners will step back into conference action next weekend as they travel to Nebraska for their first road series of the year. The Sooners and Huskers will square off at 2 p.m. on Saturday and conclude the series with a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday.

BIG 12 COACHES PICK OKLAHOMA SECOND
The University of Oklahoma softball team was picked to finish second by the Big 12 coaches in the annual preseason poll. The Sooners were one of three teams to receive a first-place vote and picked up 70 total votes while Texas A&M was tabbed the league favorite with 79 total points. Texas A&M received seven of the 10 first-place votes while Baylor, last year’s Big 12 regular season champion, is ranked third with 64 total points and two first-place votes. Missouri was ranked fourth followed by Texas, Nebraska and Texas Tech. Filling the remaining spots in the preseason poll were Oklahoma State, Kansas and Iowa State, respectively.

PLAYER TO WATCH
Sophomore Amber Flores has been OU’s top performer this season at the plate as she leads the team with a .402 batting average and owns 10 home runs and 29 RBI this season. Flores has been one of the top hitters in the Big 12 as she ranks in the top three in the conference in runs scored, home runs, RBI, total bases, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The left fielder has also been clutch for the Sooners as she is hitting .415 with runners on base and .357 with runners in scoring position.

Originally, OU was scheduled to play a doubleheader at 5 p.m. against Wichita State.

The Sooners are headed to California this week for a Thursday night game against Fresno State followed by the Capital Classic in Sacramento (March 14-16).

Oklahoma will return home on March 19 for the contest against Missouri State and will host its Big 12 opener against Kansas on Friday, March 21 at 7 p.m.

Following its Fresno State game, the Sooners will jump on the bus and head to Sacramento. The Sooners will open tournament action with a 12 p.m. (CT) contest against Cal Poly on Friday followed by a 5 p.m. meeting against Colorado State. On Saturday, Oklahoma will face Sacramento State (12 p.m.) and California (2:30 p.m.). The Sooners will round out tournament action on Sunday with an 11 a.m. meeting against Princeton.

LIVE STATS
Live stats for all of OU’s games will be available at SoonerSports.com.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma will return to the OU Softball Complex as it hosts Missouri State at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19. The Sooners will follow that with its Big 12 opener at the OU Softball Complex. Oklahoma will host the Kansas series March 21-22. The Sooners will play Kansas at 7 p.m. on Friday followed by a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday.

SOONERS MOVE TO NO. 8 IN USA SOFTBALL POLL, REMAIN AT NO. 11 IN NFCA POLL
The Sooners improved to No. 8 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and remained at No. 11 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll. Last week the Sooners were No. 9 in the ESPN.com poll and No. 11 in the USA Today poll.

OU AND ARIZONA ONLY TWO SCHOOLS TO BE RANKED IN NFCA POLL ITS ENTIRE EXISTENCE
The Sooners have been ranked in the top 25 of every NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 176 weeks long. OU and Arizona are the only programs to be ranked in the NFCA Top-25 every week of its existence.

RICKETTS MOVES UP TO NO. 5
Junior Samantha Ricketts has caught fire in the last two weeks and has hit five home runs in the last nine games. Prior to that, Ricketts hadn’t hit a home run yet this season. The 2007 second team All-American is quickly moving up the OU career list for home runs as she is now No. 5 on the list with 32 home runs.

POWER HITTERS
After hitting 20 home runs in the last two weeks, the Sooners are establishing themselves as one of the power teams of the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma currently leads the league in home runs (37), slugging percentage (.550), on-base percentage (.419) and RBI (149).

SMITH PERFECT IN RELIEF
Senior pitcher Jadyn Smith only owns a 2-1 record but has been solid in relief work for the Sooners this season in seven appearances. Smith posts a team-best 0.31 ERA and is even better in relief situations as she owns a perfect 0.00 ERA when not starting. She has thrown 15 innings of relief and owns 14 strikeouts during that time. She also picked up a win against Pacific in relief effort.

LONG BALL
Senior Savannah Long is off to a hot start for her final season as she owns a team-best .375 batting average through 26 games this season. In addition, the shortstop has been one of the team’s top power hitters as she owns a .750 slugging percentage and leads the Big 12 with nine doubles and also owns six home runs.

“LITTLE MANNY”
Head coach Patty Gasso often refers to sophomore left fielder Amber Flores as “little Manny Ramirez.” The 5-4 sophomore put up strong numbers as a freshman and is producing Ramirez-esque numbers at the start of the 2008 season. Through 26 games this season, Flores owns a team-best 26 RBI and owns a .368 batting average as well as a .809 slugging percentage (eight homers, four doubles, one triple). Flores’ eight home runs this season ranks second among All Big 12 players.

The Sooners tied Georgia Tech with the most selections by one team as each school had three players taken in the draft. OU also led all Big 12 schools with the most selections as Texas A&M’s Megan Gibson was the only other Big 12 player selected.

Long led the way as she was the No. 8 overall pick by the Philadelphia Force. Eckermann was the 12th overall pick and was selected by the Rockford Thunder while Ogden was the 18th pick by the Akron Racers, the same team that former Sooner Norrelle Dickson played for last summer.

Oklahoma has now had 11 players drafted to the NPF league since its inaugural draft prior to the 2004 season. The 2008 draftees join Sooner alums Dickson, Scaglione, Kami Keiter, Christina Enea, Erin Evans, Christy Ring, Leah Gulla and Kristin Vesely who were all drafted by the league.

Due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete may not sign with her respective franchise until their 2008 college season is over.

Major League Baseball is the Official Development Partner of National Professional Fastpitch in the category of women’s professional fastpitch softball. The partnership, which began the fall of 2002, is part of The Commissioner’s Initiative on Women and Baseball, a league-wide effort to help Major League Baseball and the 30 Major League Clubs build stronger relationships with female audiences.

National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Denver, Colo. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL).

The Sooners return to the field this weekend as they travel to Palm Springs for the annual Palm Springs Classic. Oklahoma will take on Stanford, Pacific, Oregon, San Diego State and Georgia in the tournament.

* Does OU really care about star ratings?

* Buffalo really wants Malcolm Kelly.

* The fake recruit saga continues. This time with a lawsuit from his coach.

* Good feature on OU softballer D.J. Mathis.

* How about some OU lacrosse coverage?

Both Sooners are receiving their first career weekly accolade. It also marked the sixth time in the history of the conference that Oklahoma collected both honors in the same week.

Mathis compiled a perfect 3-0 tally on the weekend as she recorded two shutouts, including one at No. 10 UCLA. The junior lefty allowed one earned run in 18 innings of work and produced a 0.39 ERA overall. Mathis struck out 21 batters and allowed just eight hits while holding opposing batters to a .129 batting average. The East Alton, Ill., native threw a complete seven-inning game and gave up just three hits and a walk in the Sooners’ first-ever win at UCLA’s Easton

Flores led the Sooners to a 3-2 record over the weekend, including a 7-0 win over No. 10 UCLA. The left fielder led the team offensively with a .500 batting average and tallied seven RBI after hitting two home runs, including a grand slam, and a double at the Cal State Fullerton/UCLA Freeway Series. Flores compiled 13 total bases and owned a 1.083 slugging percentage through five games. Against the Bruins, the junior went 2-for-3 with an RBI while scoring two runs. She was one of three Sooners to record a double against All-America pitcher, Anjelica Selden.

The Sooners host St. Gregory’s on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex and will hit the road this weekend for the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic (Feb. 15-17) in Las, Vegas.

Tuesday will also feature $.50 hot dog night and every fan will receive a free 2008 team poster. Live stats of Tuesday’s game will be available at SoonerSports.com.

The Sooners enter Tuesday’s match up with a 3-2 record after competing in their season-opening tournament, the Freeway Series, in Los Angeles last weekend. Oklahoma highlighted the tournament with a 7-0 shutout over No. 10 UCLA on the Bruins home field. It marked the first-ever program win for the Sooners against UCLA in Easton Stadium.

Tuesday night’s match up will mark St. Gregory’s season opener as the Cavaliers are ranked No. 6 in the NAIA Preseason Poll. The Cavaliers return NAIA All-American pitcher Sharon Bell along with seniors Nicole Tindall and Jessica Munson. They finished last season with a record of 49-17. SGU won the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament and the Region IV Tournament, before finishing fifth in the national tournament.

Season tickets still remain and are $100 for reserved seating and $70 for general admission. In addition to season tickets, the ticket office will also be selling Boomer and Sooner Ticket Packages. Each package includes a general admission ticket for 11 select OU home games and costs $40. Call the OU ticket office for more information.

Single game tickets are $10 for reserved seating, $7 for general admission and $5 for K-12. All OU students receive free admission.

MEN’S BASKETBALL (15-6, 3-3)

Last Week: Oklahoma split its two games last week, beating Bedlam rival Oklahoma State 64-61 on Monday in Norman before falling at No. 23 Texas A&M 60-52 on Saturday. Junior forward Taylor Griffin led the Sooners against OSU by scoring a career-high 20 points and pulling down a game-high six rebounds, while Blake Griffin added 15 points, four boards and three assists. Senior guard David Godbold keyed OU offensively at Texas A&M as he netted a career-high 22 points with the help of 6-for-10 3-point shooting. The Sooners led 51-50 in College Station but were outscored 10-1 over the final three minutes.

This Week: OU plays host to No. 10 Texas (17-4, 4-2) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CST (televised by ESPN2) before traveling to Boulder, Colo., for a contest against Colorado (9-12, 1-6) on Saturday at 3 p.m. CST.

Notes: Over his last two games against Texas A&M, David Godbold has scored 42 points and is 11-for-17 (.647) from 3-point range … Blake Griffin saw his 11-game streak of scoring in double figures snapped with his six-point performance on Saturday (the streak did not include the Jan. 14 game when he played five minutes at Kansas) … Griffin is still averaging a double-double in his four full Big 12 games (16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest) … OU’s loss at Texas A&M was its first this season when leading at halftime (it was 11-0 prior to Saturday) … Texas will mark OU’s sixth ranked opponent in the last 11 games and third in the last four.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/okla-m-baskbl-body.html

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (15-4, 5-2 Big 12)

Last Week: No. 11/10 Oklahoma (15-4, 5-2) defeated Kansas and No. 25 Texas last week as it extended its winning streak to four games — two of which were against ranked opponents. The Sooners grabbed a 67-51 home win against the Jayhawks on Wednesday, Jan. 30, before using a 19-0 second-half run to take down the Longhorns in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Feb. 3. Nyeshia Stevenson came off the bench to play a career high 32 minutes against KU and score a game-high 15 points. It was the first time in her career to lead her team in scoring. Courtney Paris nearly posted the second triple-double of her career with a 20-point, 14-rebound, eight-block effort to stifle Texas.

This Week: Oklahoma travels to Missouri Wednesday, Feb. 6, before hosting Colorado Saturday, Feb. 9.

Notes: Oklahoma’s “Think Pink” game to promote breast cancer awareness is on the horizon. OU will host its “PinkOUt” game versus Texas A&M on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/okla-w-baskbl-body.html; http://soonersports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/thinkpink.html

SOFTBALL

This Week: The No. 5 Oklahoma softball team will begin its season this week as it heads to Los Angeles, Calif., for the CSFU/UCLA Freeway Series (Feb. 8-10). The Sooners’ season opener will be a top-10 showdown as OU will face No. 10 UCLA on Friday, Feb. 8 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on UCLA’s home field in Los Angeles. Oklahoma will follow that with a 7:30 p.m. meeting against UC Santa Barbara. In Saturday action of the tournament, the Sooners will head to Fullerton, Calif., as they will face Nevada at 12 p.m. No. 21 Cal State Fullerton at 5 p.m. Oklahoma will return to UCLA on Sunday for an 11:30 a.m. meeting with the Bruins to round out tournament action.

Notes: Oklahoma opens the season as the No. 5 team in the country in the NFCA Preseason Poll … Oklahoma and Arizona are the only two schools to be ranked in every NFCA Top 25 Poll since its inception in 1995 … Junior Samantha Ricketts and senior Lauren Eckermann were named to USA Softball’s National Player of the Year Watch List for 2008 … Oklahoma was picked to finish second in the conference in the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll.

WRESTLING

Last Week: No. 17 Oklahoma rebounded from two straight losses by whipping the Arizona State Sun Devils last Friday in Norman, 31-9. After losing the opening two bouts, the Sooners reeled off eight straight victories and 31 unanswered points to take the victory.

This Week: The Sooners (0-2 in Big 12) resume Big 12 conference competition this weekend as they hit the road to Columbia, Mo., and Lincoln, Neb. OU will dual the Missouri Tigers, ranked 12th, on Friday, Feb. 8, and the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday, Feb. 10.

Notes: Oklahoma, now 12-3 on the season, has surpassed its overall win total of 11 wins last season … The Sooners have continued to be plagued with injuries on the season. Brian Shelton at 133 pounds missed his fourth straight dual due to a lingering hip injury. Zack Bailey at 141 pounds, who leads the team with 27 total wins this season, also missed his first match on the year versus the Sun Devils … Coming in for the injured Bailey, Nolan Spring started the Sooner rally against the Sun Devils with a 6-4 decision over Chris Drouin. The victory was Nolan’s fourth of the season (4-1) … Senior Joshua Weitzel, ranked No. 7, bounced back from his first loss of the season versus Iowa State to record a fall against No. 14 Brent Chriswell of ASU.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/m-wrestl/recaps/020108aaa.html

MEN’S GYMNASTICS

Last Week: Sophomore Ian Jackson won his first all-around title of the season as the Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team defeated No. 12 Nebraska 355.500-337.750 Friday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners claimed team titles on all six events and OU gymnasts won at least a share of each individual event crown. Oklahoma set team season highs on the floor exercise (60.250), pommel horse (55.850), still rings (60.800) and vault (63.200) en route to the victory.

This Week: Five Sooner gymnasts will compete in the 2008 Winter Cup Challenge, Feb. 7-9 in Las Vegas, Nev. Jonathan Horton, Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Steven Legendre, Ian Jackson and Jacob Messina will participate in the USA Gymnastics re-ranking event which helps determine spots on the U.S. Senior National Team. Joining the OU quintet at the competition will be former Sooners Jamie and David Henderson.

Notes: With Friday night’s win against Nebraska, the Sooners moved to 3-0 on the season against their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rivals. OU also defeated the Huskers at the Rocky Mountain Open, Jan. 12 in Colorado Springs, Colo., and in a tri-meet with the Air Force Academy in Lincoln, Neb., on Jan. 20 … Oklahoma gymnasts swept the top four spots on the floor exercise, still rings, vault and high bar against NU … OU’s six individual event champions Friday night were Russell Czeschin (floor), Jason Laughton (pommel horse), Jonathan Horton (rings and h-bar), Ian Jackson (vault, all-around) and Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons (p-bars).

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-gym/recaps/020108aaa.html

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

Last Week: The No. 6 OU women’s gymnastics squad bested Big 12 rival and 12th-ranked Nebraska 195.275-194.950 on Feb. 1, in Oklahoma’s home opener. Leading the charge was Ashley Jackson who bested 2007 co-Big 12 Gymnast of the Year Emily Parsons 39.275-39.250 for the all-around title in front of 1,238 fans at the Lloyd Noble Center. It was the first career all-around title for the Hudsonville, Mich., native as the junior bested her previous best all-around score by 0.4 points.

This Week: The Sooners hit the road for the fifth time in six meets as OU travels to Denver, Colo., on Feb. 9 to face DU. The meet against the Pioneers is slated for a 7 p.m. (CST) start.

Notes: OU has won 22 of its last 23 regular-season matchups dating back to Jan. 19, 2007. Winners of all regular season meets on the year, the Sooners last regular season defeat was to Stanford on March 9, 2007 in Palo Alto, Calif.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/w-gym/recaps/020108aaa.html

TRACK & FIELD

Last Week: Competing at home, Oklahoma’s Shardae Boutte won two events, while five teammates also picked up individual titles at the eighth annual J.D. Martin Invitational at the Mosier Indoor Facility.

This Week: The Sooners will split up next week as a number of sprinters and distance athletes head to New York City for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational while jumpers, vaulters and multi-event athletes compose the majority of an Oklahoma group competing in the Adidas Classic in Lincoln, Neb.

Notes: Senior sprinter Marcus Pugh posted an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 6.69 to win the 60-meter dash. OU swept the event as Scottesha Miller claimed the title in the women’s division with a time of 7.47 … Two other Sooners defended J.D. Martin Invitiational titles as Chip Heuser finished first in the pole vault with a top mark of 16-10.75 (5.15) and Sheldon Leith took top honors in the 60-meter hurdles with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.83 … OU finished 1-2 in the 60-meter hurdles as freshman D’Andre Fisher set a personal record, 8.17, en route to a second-place finish … Sophomore Kevin Snyder rounded out the OU title race with a win in the high jump. Snyder edged Langston’s William Moses with a best jump of 6-8.75 … Latoya Greaves finished second in the 60-meter hurdles, but more importantly, bested the NCAA provisional qualifying mark with a time of 8.28.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/c-track/recaps/020208aaa.html

MEN’S TENNIS

Last Week: Went 1-1 this weekend as they competed against Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth. Saturday the Sooners defeated ODU, 5-2. Sunday OU was defeated by VCU, 5-2.

This Week: The Sooners continue on the road next weekend when they travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to face Minnesota on Feb. 9, and Wisconsin-Green Bay on Feb. 10.

Notes: OU’s No. 1 singles player, Andrei Daescu, won two matches over the weekend, pushing his season record to 3-0.

Web: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-tennis/recaps/020208aaa.html; http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-tennis/recaps/020308aaa.html

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Last Week: The University of Oklahoma women’s tennis team increased its series record against Oklahoma Baptist to 12-0 Friday, Feb. 1 at Willow Creek Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma City. The teams played two duals, with the Sooners twice defeating the Bisons, 7-0.

Notes: In the first round of play, Oklahoma took an early 1-0 lead, sweeping doubles play. In singles action, the Sooners were victorious at all six positions, dropping only nine total games. Freshman Ana-Maria Constantinescu continued to roll improving her spring record to 4-0 at the No. 1 singles position.

Web: http://soonersports.com/sports/w-tennis/recaps/020108aaa.html

Ricketts led the nation in RBI (81) last season and became OU’s first player to be named one of three finalists for the National Player of the Year award. As a sophomore last season Ricketts earned second team All-America honors and set a Big 12 and OU record for RBI in a single season.

Eckermann returns for her senior season in 2008 after being named the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year last season. The right-handed pitcher earned third team All-America honors last season after recording a 37-5 record and leading the Sooners to a Big 12 Postseason Championship and Super Regional.

The 2008 Pre-Season Watch List is comprised of 50 players representing 34 schools and 14 different NCAA Division I Conferences.

The ASA will announce the 25 finalists on April 9. A player does not have to appear on the initial watch list to be considered as a Top 25 finalist, but once the Top 25 is named the remaining finalist must be selected from that list.

Just days before the start of post-season play, a list of 10 finalists will be named and released on May 7. The final three finalists will be announced May 21 while the winner of the 2008 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced prior to the start of the 2008 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

The No. 5 Oklahoma softball squad will open the season against No. 10 UCLA in Westwood, Calif., on Feb. 8.