National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup.
The Chicago Bandits were a women's professional softball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington Glory in the final game of the championship series. The team won their second NPF championship following the 2011 season when they won the championship series two games to none over the USSSA Pride. Following the 2015 season the team won its third NPF championship defeating the USSSA Pride two games to none. They played their home games at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois. The team folded in 2021 when the NPF disbanded.
Megan Lynn Gibson-Loftin is an American, former collegiate All-American, professional softball pitcher and current pitching coach at Houston. Gibson-Loftin played college softball for Texas A&M where she is the career leader in offense walks and led them to a runner-up finish at the 2008 Women's College World Series. She also ranks top-10 in the latter category and home runs in the Big 12 Conference. She was selected by the Philadelphia Force as the second overall pick in the 2008 NPF Draft, eventually playing for four seasons. After the Force folded she was picked up by the Tennessee Diamonds in 2010.
Katherine Burkhart is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired professional All-Star softball pitcher and softball coach. She played college softball at Arizona State, and won a national championship with the team in 2008 and was named Most Outstanding Player. Burkhart holds the career records in wins, strikeouts, perfect games, WHIP, innings pitched and strikeout ratio for the school. She also ranks in several career pitching categories and the top-10 for strikeouts and perfect games for both the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA Division I. She has also pitched for the USA Softball team. She also helped remove snakes from a plane that was bound from Hawaii to Phoenix in 2023.
The Carolina Diamonds, formerly known as the NPF Diamonds, Tennessee Diamonds, Rockford Thunder and Texas Thunder, was a women's softball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). They were known as the Texas Thunder from 2004 to 2006, the Rockford Thunder from 2007 to 2009, and the Tennessee Diamonds in 2010. They relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2012.
The New York/New Jersey Comets were a women's professional softball team. In February 2013, National Pro Fastpitch announced the Comets as an expansion team, replacing the Carolina Diamonds which had folded at the end of the 2012 season. The team played home games at several sites in 2013: Provident Bank Park in Ramapo, New York, Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair, New Jersey, TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The 2014 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 11th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup. Play began on May 30 in Salisbury, Maryland, between the Pennsylvania Rebellion and the USSSA Pride.
The 2013 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 10th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2012 National Pro Fastpitch season was the ninth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). The 2012 season is especially notable because due to weather and scheduling issues, the NPF Championship Series was not completed and no Cowles Cup champion was named.
The 2011 National Pro Fastpitch season was the eighth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2010 National Pro Fastpitch season was the seventh season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2009 National Pro Fastpitch season was the sixth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2008 National Pro Fastpitch season was the fifth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2007 National Pro Fastpitch season was the fourth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2006 National Pro Fastpitch season was the third season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2005 National Pro Fastpitch season was the second season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2004 National Pro Fastpitch season was the first season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2018 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 15th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The Canadian Wild, officially the Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois, were a professional women's softball team based in Marion, Illinois. They were founded in 2019 as part of National Pro Fastpitch and are partnered with the Canada women's national softball team. The team is composed entirely of Canadian players and is essentially the Canada women's national softball team and allows the team to play against top competition for most of the year, although there are some other players from Softball Canada on the roster.
