FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                      

NPF Holds 2010 Senior Draft Live Presented by MIKEN

USSSA Pride selects Charlotte Morgan from University of Alabama for No. 1 Pick

KISSIMMEE, FL – National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) and its four-affiliate teams held the 2010 NPF Senior Draft Presented by Miken on Wednesday night which was broadcast for the first time in league history on MLB.COM, live from the Hermitage Key Resort.  This was the second consecutive year the NPF has broadcast the Draft live but the first time on MLB.com.

Each team had at least three selections in the five-round draft. The USSSA Pride held seven of the 20 overall picks due to a draft-day trade in 2009.

With the first pick in the draft the USSSA Pride selected University of Alabama’s Charlotte Morgan.  Charlotte Morgan has been a key impact Player for Alabama’s Offense.  She became the first Player in Alabama history with three 50 or more RBI seasons.  

The Tennessee Diamonds selected Molly Johnson of the University of Kentucky with the No. 2 pick in the draft. While USSSA Pride chose Melissa Roth of Louisville at No. 3 and Chicago picked Michigan pitcher Nicki Nemitz with the final pick of the first round.
 
USSSA Pride made the first selection of the second round and the fifth pick overall by choosing University of Oklahoma 1B/OF Amber Flores. The Diamonds selected Becca Heteniak of Depaul as the No. 6 pick of the Draft.  The Racers make their first pick of the Draft at No. 7 and chose Ohio State catcher Sam Marder. Chicago added Louisiana Tech shortstop Amberly Waits with the No. 8 pick to close out the second round.
 
Again the Pride led off the third round (No. 9 overall) by choosing Florida outfielder Francesca Enea. Tennessee Diamonds added another Texas Longhorn to their roster alongside of Cat Osterman and Megan Willis, Loryn Johnson as the No. 10 pick. For Akron Racer’s second pick of the night they have added UCLA Pitcher/1B Megan Langenfeld as the No. 11 pick.  With those final pick of the third round, the Chicago Bandits chose from the University of Oregon, Neena Bryant.
 
Pride continued a strong 2010 NPF Senior Draft by adding Stanford excellent-hitting outfielder Alissa Haber as their final pick of the 2010 College Senior Draft. Haber is one of four PAC-10 Players who were chosen in the Draft. The fourth round continued with the Tennessee Diamonds taking Carly Wynn of Florida State University (No. 14).  The Chicago Bandits had the No. 15 and No. 16 Pick overall to round out the fourth round.  With those selections, Chicago added Rachel Mitchell (No. 15) from LSU and lefty slapper Christine Knauer (No. 16).
 
After USSSA Florida Pride has led in every round, they have traded a Draft pick to the Akron Racers to lead off the fifth and final round.  The Racers selected Liane Horiuchi a shortstop from Purdue. Tennessee took Kristen Wadwell of the Louisville and the Australian National Team (No. 18) for their final pick. At No. 19 pick overall, the Akron Racers pick Kaila Shull Catcher from UCLA.  The final pick of the 2010 NPF College Senior Draft Presented by Miken went the Chicago Bandits in choosing, the University of Michigan Angela Findlay.
 
“It’s always exciting to see College’s top Players come to the next level and play professional fastpitch.  I would like to congratulate all 20 women,” says Commissioner Cheri Kempf.

The SEC and PAC-10 conferences led the way for the second consecutive year in this season’s draft with five and four picks, respectively. UCLA, Michigan, and Louisville each had two players taken from the draft.
 
Re-broadcast information can be found at www.profastpitch.com.

Due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete is not eligible to sign with her respective franchise until her 2010 season is completed.

Major League Baseball is the Official Development Partner of National Pro Fastpitch in the category of women's professional fastpitch softball. The partnership, which began the fall of 2002, is part of The Commissioner's Initiative on Women and Baseball, a league-wide effort to help Major League Baseball and the 30 Major League Clubs build stronger relationships with female audiences.

National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. The League, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL)
 
2010 NPF Senior Draft Results

Round 1 
1 (1) – USSSA Pride – Charlotte Morgan, Utility, Alabama
2 (2) – Tennessee Diamonds – Molly Johnson, Utility, Kentucky
3 (3) – USSSA Pride – Melissa Roth, Catcher, Lousiville
4 (4) – Chicago Bandits – Nikki Nemetz, Pitcher, Michigan

Round 2
1 (5) – USSSA Pride – Amber Flores, Utility, Oklahoma
2 (6) – Tennessee Diamonds – Becca Heteniak, Pitcher, Depaul
3 (7) – Akron Racers – Sam Marder, Catcher, Ohio State
4 (8) – Chicago Bandits – Amberly Waits, Shortstop, Louisiana Tech

 
Round 3
1 (9) – USSSA Pride – Francesca Enea, Outfield, Florida
2 (10) – Tennessee Diamonds – Loryn Johnson, Infielder, Texas
3 (11) – Akron Racers – Megan Langenfeld, Pitcher/1B, UCLA
4 (12) – Chicago Bandits – Neena Bryant, Outfielder, Oregon

 
Round 4
1 (13) – USSSA Pride – Alissa Haber, Outfielder, Stanford 
2 (14) – Tennessee Diamonds – Carly Wynn, Outfielder, FSU
3 (15) – Chicago Bandits – Rachel Mitchell, Outfielder, LSU
4 (16) – Chicago Bandtis – Christine Knauer, Shortstop, UNC

 
Round 5
1 (17) – Akron Racers – Liane Horiuchi, Shortstop, Purdue
2 (18) – Tennessee Diamonds – Kristen Wadwell, Pitcher, Louisville
3 (19) – Akron Racers – Kaila Shull, Catcher, UCLA
4 (20) – Chicago Bandits – Angela Findlay, Outfielder, Michigan

-NPF-