We’re not entirely sure what this means, but it sounds pretty prestigious: sophomore pitcher Brooke Turner has been named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) announced last week.  The honor comes after a stellar freshman campaign in 2008 as she earned second-team All-America, first-team All-West Region and first-team All-Big West Conference honors. The Buena Park, Calif., native was also tabbed the Big West Pitcher of the Year.  In other words, yeah, she’s probably a player to watch.

Turner won a conference-record eight Big West Pitcher of the Week awards, was 27-6 with an unblemished 12-0 mark in league action. She had a BWC-leading 0.80 earned run average, while establishing a 49er single-season record with 237 strikeouts.

The preseason Watch List is comprised of 50 players, representing 32 schools and 13 different NCAA Division I conferences. The ASA will announce the top 25 finalists on April 1, and just days before the start of postseason play, a list of 10 finalists will be named and released (May 6). That group will be narrowed down to three finalists on May 20 with the winner of the 2009 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award being announced prior to the start of the NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

From LBSU reports