Big Ten Conference Player of the Year
Awarded forthe most outstanding college softball player in the Big Ten Conference
CountryUnited States
History
First award1985
Most recentTaryn Kern, Indiana

The Big Ten Conference Player of the Year is a college softball award given to the Big Ten Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1985 season, with both pitchers and position players eligible. After the 1992 season, the Big Ten Conference Softball Pitcher of the Year award was created to honor the most outstanding pitcher.

Key

* Awarded a College National Player of the Year award:
the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

Winners

Season Player School Position Reference
1985 Lisa Ishikawa Northwestern P [1]
1986 Barb Drake Minnesota P/C
1987 Vicki Morrow Michigan P/1B
1988 Michelle Bolster Michigan P
1989 Jenny Allard Michigan P/3B
1990 Terri McFarland Iowa P
1991 Kari Blank
Karen Jackson 		Minnesota
Iowa 		IF
P
1992 Patti Benedict Michigan OF
1993 Patti Benedict (2) Michigan OF
1994 Michelle Venturella Indiana C
1995 Sara Griffin Michigan U
1996 Sara Griffin (2) Michigan U
1997 Debbie Bilbao Iowa P
1998 Traci Conrad Michigan 1B
1999 Traci Conrad (2) Michigan 1B
2000 Brooke Siebel Northwestern DP
2001 Melissa Taylor Michigan OF
2002 Wendy Allen Ohio State U
2003 Marissa Young Michigan U
2004 Jessica Merchant Michigan SS [2]
2005 Garland Cooper Northwestern 1B [3]
2006 Garland Cooper (2) Northwestern 1B [4]
2007 Garland Cooper (3) Northwestern 1B [5]
2008 Tammy Williams Northwestern SS [6]
2009 Tammy Williams (2) Northwestern SS [7]
2010 Nikki Nemitz
Maggie Viefhaus 		Michigan
Michigan 		U
3B 		[8]
2011 Amanda Chidester Michigan 3B [9]
2012 Amanda Chidester (2) Michigan 1B [10]
2013 Sierra Romero Michigan SS [11]
2014 Sierra Romero (2) Michigan SS [12]
2015 Sara Groenewegen Minnesota P [13]
2016 Sierra Romero (3) Michigan SS [14]
2017 Kendyl Lindaman Minnesota C [15]
2018 Kendyl Lindaman (2) Minnesota C [16]
2019 Kayla Konwent Wisconsin 1B [17]
2021 Lexi Blair Michigan OF [18]
2022 Rachel Lewis Northwestern OF [19]
2023 Taryn Kern Indiana 2B [20]

Winners by school

School Winners Years
Michigan 19 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2021
Northwestern 8 1985, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2022
Minnesota 4 1986, 2015, 2017, 2018
Iowa 3 1990, 1991, 1997
Indiana 2 1994, 2023
Ohio State 1 2002
Wisconsin 1 2019
Illinois 0 —
Maryland 0 —
Michigan State 0 —
Nebraska 0 —
Penn State 0 —
Purdue 0 —
Rutgers 0 —

References

  1. ^ "Big Ten Conference Softball Record Book" (PDF). BigTen.org. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  2. ^ "Michigan's Jessica Merchant Named 2004 Big Ten Player Of The Year". BigTen.org. May 12, 2004. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  3. ^ "Northwestern's Cooper Named Big Ten Softball Player of the Year". BigTen.org. May 12, 2005. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "Northwestern Sweeps 2006 Softball Postseason Awards". BigTen.org. May 11, 2006. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Northwestern's Cooper Named Big Ten's First Three-Time Player Of The Year". BigTen.org. May 10, 2007. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "Big Ten co-champions Michigan and Northwestern Split Top Softball Individual Honors". BigTen.org. May 8, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "Michigan and Northwestern Split Top Softball Individual Honors". BigTen.org. May 13, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  8. ^ "Illinois, Michigan and Ohio State Share Top Softball Honors". BigTen.org. May 19, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  9. ^ "Big Ten Announces Softball All-Big Ten Teams and Individual Award Winners". BigTen.org. May 18, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  10. ^ "Big Ten Announces Softball All-Big Ten Teams and Individual Award Winners". BigTen.org. May 16, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  11. ^ "Big Ten Honors Softball All-Conference Teams and Individual Award Winners". BigTen.org. May 8, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  12. ^ "Big Ten Honors Softball All-Conference Teams and Individual Award Winners". BigTen.org. May 7, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  13. ^ "Softball Award Winners Named". BigTen.org. May 6, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "Softball All-Conference and Award Winners". BigTen.org. May 11, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  15. ^ "Big Ten Announces Softball Postseason Honors". BigTen.org. May 10, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  16. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2018 Softball Postseason Honors". BigTen.org. May 9, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  17. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2019 Softball Postseason Honors". BigTen.org. May 8, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  18. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2021 Softball Postseason Honors". BigTen.org. May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "Big Ten Conference Announces 2022 Softball Postseason Honors". BigTen.org. May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  20. ^ "Big Ten Conference Announces 2023 Softball Postseason Honors". BigTen.org. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
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