Updated: February 5, 2009, 2:11 PM ET

ESPN's 2009 softball preseason All-America team

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Hays By Graham Hays
ESPN.com
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Change became a buzzword in 2008, but it's always been a fact of life on the college softball diamond. Four years fly by in a hurry, and while opposing hitters are breathing sighs of relief, fans will miss a crop of departed aces that included Katie Burkhart, Angela Tincher, Megan Gibson, Amanda Scarborough and Anjelica Selden, to name a few. But even if the situation in the circle appears unsettled without a heir apparent to the royal throne, plenty of talent remains.

Whether armed with a bat or a ball, ESPN's 2009 preseason All-Americans represent change fans can savor.

CATCHER

Chelsea Bramlett, Mississippi State
Bramlett
Bramlett
With the likes of Ohio State's Sam Marder and Stanford's Rosey Neill in the mix, Bramlett takes this position in a photo finish. But this is about the only time this Bulldog doesn't run by the field like Usain Bolt sprinting to gold. Bramlett stole 46 bases as a sophomore, giving her 92 in 122 career games. She hit .450 last season, including .405 against a deep pool of SEC pitching and .506 with runners on base overall.

FIRST BASE

Charlotte Morgan, Alabama
Morgan
Morgan
Like Texas A&M's Megan Gibson a year ago, Morgan earns this spot solely with her bat, but it's worth pointing out she also went 18-2 with a 1.27 ERA in the circle in 2008. Crafty with her foot on the rubber, Morgan is less subtle at the plate, where she harnesses one of the game's most aggressive swings to produce a total hitting package. With 19 doubles and 19 home runs last season, nearly half her hits went for extra bases.

SECOND BASE

Amanda Kamekona, UCLA
Kamekona
Kamekona
Kamekona wasted little time making her mark in the Pac-10, not to mention nationally, emerging as a lineup cornerstone in her first season in Westwood after transferring from Cal State Fullerton. In addition to playing a part in UCLA's defensive improvement from her spot at second, Kamekona led the Bruins with 14 home runs, 46 RBIs and a 1.047 OPS. Her 14 RBIs in Pac-10 play were bettered by only Arizona State's Kristen Miller.

SHORTSTOP

Tammy Williams, Northwestern
Williams
Williams
Joining Katie Cochran as one of just two repeats from last season's first team, Williams keeps getting better at the plate. In 2008, she broke Northwestern's single-season records for both batting average (.440) and on-base percentage (.538), despite playing without lineup protection from former All-American Garland Cooper for the first time. She hit double-digit home runs in each of her first three seasons in Evanston.

THIRD BASE

Kelley Montalvo, Alabama
Montalvo
Montalvo
Inch for inch, she's the best player in the game. Listed at exactly 5 feet tall, Montalvo complements a patient approach with a quick, powerful swing that generates tremendous power (10 home runs and 15 doubles last season). But a third baseman has to be more than a hitter to earn top honors at the hot corner, and Montalvo is perhaps even better with the glove than the bat, overcoming any height disadvantage with quick reactions and a strong arm.

OUTFIELD

Katie Cochran, Arizona State
Cochran
Cochran
Not many hitters have been able to do the things Cochran does, a list that includes being the flashpoint for a philosophical debate at the Women's College World Series, where both Alabama coach Pat Murphy and UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez intentionally walked her to lead off innings. And if you think that's crazy, consider that when teams did pitch to her last season, she slugged .838 and struck out just 15 times.

OUTFIELD

Brittany Rogers, Alabama
Rogers
Rogers
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, Rogers will be on her way to second base. And if you stopped to reread that, she probably has already scored. Arguably the fastest player in the college game, Rogers has turned her abundant speed into a polished slap-hitting game that complements gap power when she chooses to use it. Also an outstanding defensive player, Rogers is the complete package and a threat to hit .500.

OUTFIELD

Brittany Lastrapes, Arizona
Lastrapes
Lastrapes
It wouldn't be an All-America team without someone from Tucson, and Lastrapes is more than qualified to represent the eight-time champions this season. As a freshman, she came as close as any human was going to come to replacing Caitlin Lowe at the top of Arizona's order. One of two Wildcats with more walks than strikeouts in 2008, she posted a .455 on-base percentage to go with a .556 slugging percentage.

UTILITY

Amber Flores, Oklahoma
Flores
Flores
Whether at second base, outfield or designated player, Flores makes herself a lineup cornerstone with one of the best bats in the game. Both patient enough in her own approach and feared enough by opponents to draw a program single-season record 43 walks last season, she still did enough with the pitches she saw to hit .381 with 15 home runs. Only a junior, it's scary to think how good Flores could be.

PITCHER

Stacey Nelson, Florida
Nelson
Nelson
Like Fernando Valenzuela looking to the heavens before each pitch, Nelson's ponytail flip in the circle has become one of the college game's most recognizable sights. She was nearly unhittable as a junior, allowing a grand total of 32 extra-base hits in 352.1 innings for the Gators, including just two home runs. She already owns most of the school's major pitching records, but bringing home its first championship would be a nice capper.

PITCHER

Danielle Lawrie, Washington
Lawrie
Lawrie
College softball missed Washington's ace last season, although the individual members of the community who were on the Huskies' schedule might not have felt quite the same way. But after a year away with the Canadian national team, Lawrie is back and ready to improve on her breakout performance in the 2007 Women's College World Series. With Angela Tincher gone, Lawrie is the front-runner to lead the nation in strikeouts.

PITCHER

Brooke Turner, Long Beach State
Turner
Turner
With Turner's fellow sophomores Ashley Brignac, Jordan Taylor, Morgan Melloh, Kelsi Dunne, Donna Kerr and others, it's scary to think what the competition for this team will look like in 2011. For now, Turner goes to the head of her class after a prolific debut in which she went 27-6 with a 0.80 ERA and 237 strikeouts. Her big-game productivity -- excelling against the likes of Florida, Northwestern, UCLA and Texas A&M last season -- puts her on top.

Second team

C: Sam Marder, Ohio State
1B: Samantha Ricketts, Oklahoma
2B: Aja Paculba, Florida
SS: Lauren Grill, Mississippi
3B: Brette Reagan, Baylor
OF: Alissa Haber, Stanford
OF: Laurie Wagner, Houston
OF: Samantha Camuso, UCLA
UT: Lisa Sweeney, Lehigh
P: Missy Penna, Stanford
P: Brandice Balschmiter, UMass
P: Tara Oltman, Creighton

Graham Hays covers softball for ESPN.com. E-mail him at Graham.Hays@espn3.com.

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