March 07, 2005
Texas A&M senior softball players Adrian Gregory and Nicole Robinson were drafted by the Texas Thunder, of the National Pro Fastpitch League, to participate in the 2005 season.
"This is a great opportunity and honor for Nicole and Adrian," A&M head coach Jo Evans commented. "I am really excited for them to get an opportunity like this. They are both great players that will make an impact in the NPF."
Gregory (Livingston, Texas) and Robinson (Kingwood, Texas), two of four seniors on this year's Aggie team, have helped lead the No. 11 Aggies to a 21--2 record including wins over No. 10 Washington and No. 1 California.
Former Texas A&M All-American Selena Collins was a member of the Texas Thunder during the NPF inaugural season in 2004.
The NPF consists of six teams including the Akron Racers, Arizona Heat, Chicago Bandits, New England Riptide, NY/NJ Juggernaut, and Texas Thunder. The California Sunbirds will remain a part of the league but is suspending play for 2005 while working this year to restructure with plans to field a team again in 2006 along with additional teams in other potential markets.
Due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete may not sign with her respective franchise until their 2005 college season is finished. Senior selection rights expire July 15, 2005.
The following is a list of college players in order of selection:
1st Round:
Chicago Bandits, Amy Harre, P, Southern Illinois University
Arizona Heat, Jackie Coburn, C/3B, University of Arizona
New England Riptide, Jessica Merchant, SS, University of Michigan
NY/NJ Juggernaut, Heather Scaglione, C, University of Oklahoma
Akron Racers, Jamie Southern, P, Fresno State
Texas Thunder, Kristen Rivera, C, University of Washington
2nd Round:
Chicago Bandits, Megan Ciolli, OF, Notre Dame,
Arizona Heat, pass
New England Riptide, Ashley Courtney, OF/C, University of Alabama
NY/NJ Juggernaut, Jessica Sallinger, P, Georgia Tech
Akron Racers, Kami Keiter, P, University of Oklahoma
Texas Thunder, Brooke Mitchell, P, Louisiana-Lafayette
3rd Round:
Chicago Bandits, Christina Enea, 1B, University of Oklahoma,
Arizona Heat, pass
New England Riptide, Kim Wendland, IF, University of Georgia
NY/NJ Juggernaut, Kaleo Eldredge, OF, Cal Berkley
Akron Racers, Ani Nyhus, P, University of Oregon
Texas Thunder, Adrian Gregory, SS, Texas A&M
4th Round:
Chicago Bandits, Anne Steffan, IF, University of Nebraska
Arizona Heat, pass
New England Riptide, Stephanie Best, SS, University of Central Florida
NY/NJ Juggernaut, Chelsea Spencer, SS, Cal Berkley
Akron Racers, Oli Keohohou, IF, Long Beach State
Texas Thunder, Nicole Robinson, C, Texas A&M
The 2005 NPF season will run from June 2nd through August 28th and will consist of a 48-game regular season schedule for each team, an all-star game, play-offs and Championship Series. NPF continues to be the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball and has recently developed a new alliance with ASA/USA Softball and the International Softball Federation (ISF). This alliance will help promote international play by inviting teams from China, China Taipei, Japan, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia and Venezuela to play against NPF teams. A finalized schedule will be released in March.
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. 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 Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL).