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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.
Angelique "Angel" Bunner is an American, former professional softball pitcher. Bunner pitched collegiately for Auburn from 2008 to 2012. In the 2012 NPF Draft, she was drafted seventeenth overall by the Carolina Diamonds. During her professional career in the National Pro Fastpitch, she played for the USSSA Pride, Chicago Bandits, Pennsylvania Rebellion, Carolina Diamonds, NY/NJ Comets and most recently the Beijing Eagles. She currently ranks in career innings pitched and won a Cowles Cup championship with the Bandits in 2016.
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 2015 NPF College Draft is the twelfth annual collegiate draft for NPF, and was held on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 5:30 pm CST at the CMA Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Draft order was determined by regular season standings from 2014, but subsequent trades and transactions altered the overall draft order. The draft was broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
The 2015 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 12th 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 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 2009 NPF Senior Draft is the sixth annual NPF Draft. It was held February 17, 2009 7:00 PM EST, hosted by the Akron Racers at the Cambria Suites Akron-Canton Airport location for the 2009 season. It was streamed live on TheSoftballChannel.com. The first selection was Arizona State's Kaitlin Cochran, picked by the Akron Racers.Athletes are not allowed by the NCAA to sign professional contracts until their collegiate seasons have ended.
The 2016 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 13th 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 Scrap Yard Fast Pitch was an independent women's professional softball team based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston. Established in October 2015 as the Scrap Yard Dawgs, the team played in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The Dawgs were the first NPF team to be based in the Houston area since the Texas Thunder became the Rockford Thunder in the 2007 season. In 2017, the Dawgs won their first NPF title against Pride in the best of three game series.
Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) is a professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. The new league began its promotional campaign in 2021 and launched its first official season in 2023.
The 2017 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 14th 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 USSSA Pride is a professional softball team based in Viera, Florida and a former member of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). Founded in 2009, they previously played in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play their home games at USSSA Space Coast Complex.
The 2019 NPF College Draft was the 16th annual collegiate draft for the National Pro Fastpitch. It took place April 15, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee at Acme Feed & Seed, a downtown entertainment venue. It was available for internet viewing via NPFTV, the league's streaming platform. The Chicago Bandits selected Kelly Barnhill from Florida with the first overall pick in the draft.
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 was composed entirely of Canadian players and was essentially the Canada women's national softball team which allowed the team to play against top competition for most of the year, although there are some other players from Softball Canada on the roster.
The 2020 NPF College Draft was to have been the 17th annual collegiate draft for the National Pro Fastpitch. It was scheduled to take place on March 30, 2020 in Rosemont, Illinois, however, on March 16, 2020, the draft was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The California Commotion were a professional women's softball team based in California. They were founded in 2019 as part of National Pro Fastpitch to be an expansion club for the 2020 National Pro Fastpitch season.
Kirk Walker is an American softball coach, currently serving as associate head coach of the UCLA Bruins softball team. He previously served as the head coach for the Oregon State Beavers softball team, where he is the winningest softball coach in program history.
References
- ↑ "National Pro Fastpitch Announces New Schedule Format for 2020". National Pro Fastpitch . August 27, 2020. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019.
- ↑ Lombardo, Kayla (November 14, 2019). "What The Addition Of The California Commotion Means For NPF". Softball America.
- ↑ "Commotion Leads National Pro Fastpitch Expansion to West Coast". National Pro Fastpitch . November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020.
- ↑ Grossman, Hillard; Berman, Dave (September 16, 2019). "Viera-based USSSA Pride depart from pro softball league". Florida Today .
- ↑ Martorano, Dion (May 26, 2020). "Chicago Bandits Look Forward to 2021 After 2020 Canceled". Journal & Topics.
- ↑ "National Pro Fastpitch Update". National Pro Fastpitch . March 16, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020.
- ↑ "COVID-19 Complications Sideline Aussie Peppers for 2020 NPF season". National Pro Fastpitch . March 31, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020.
- ↑ "Canadian Wild Becomes Latest NPF to sit out 2020". National Pro Fastpitch . April 13, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020.
- ↑ "National Pro Fastpitch Cancels 2020 Season due to COVID-19". National Pro Fastpitch . May 15, 2020. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020.