2009 NPF COLLEGE SENIOR DRAFT RESULTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17,  2009
 
NPF Holds 2009 Senior Draft Live on  Internet
Akron  Racers selects Cochran from Arizona State for No. 1 Pick
 
AKRON –  National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) and its five-affiliate teams held the 2009 NPF Senior Draft on Tuesday night which was broadcast for the first time  in league history at The Softball Channel.com, live from the Cambria Suites Akron-Canton Airport location, official  host of the event.
 
Each  team had at least three selections in the five-round draft. The Akron Racers held eight of the 25 overall picks due to  a draft-day trade with the Washington Glory for the  No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, which gave Akron the top two  picks in the draft. The Rockford Thunder, Philadelphia Force and Chicago Bandits rounded out the first  round.
 
With the first pick in the draft the Racers  selected Arizona State’s All-American Kaitlin Cochran, making her the  second Sun Devil in as many seasons to be selected with the No. 1  overall pick. In the 2008 draft, the Force selected Katie Burkhart with  the first pick. Akron followed up the selection of Cochran with another  All-American in Oklahoma pitcher D.J. Mathis.
 
The Rockford  Thunder selected University of Houston outfielder Laurie Wagner with the  No. 3 pick in the draft. While Philadelphia chose Baylor’s Brette Reagan  at No. 4 and Chicago picked UMass pitcher Brandice Balschmiter with the  final pick of the first round.
 
Rockford made the first  selection of the second round and the sixth pick overall by choosing  Arizona Wildcat third baseman Jenae Leles. The Racers made their third  pick of the draft at No. 7 and chose Iowa pitcher Brittany Weil.  Southeastern Conference (SEC) outfielders Kim Waleszonia and Lillian  Hammond were selected at No. 8 and No. 9 by the Washington Glory and  Philadelphia Force, respectively. Chicago added Northwestern infielder  Tammy Williams with the No. 10 pick to close out the second  round.
 
The Thunder led off the third round (No. 11 overall)  by choosing Washington infielder Ashley Charters. Rockford’s final  selections of the night came in the fifth round at No. 21 and No. 24.  With those final selections, the Thunder chose Alabama catcher Ashley  Holcombe and North Carolina outfielder Breanna Brown.  
 
Akron continued a strong 2009 NPF Senior Draft by adding  Oklahoma power-hitting first baseman Samantha Ricketts. Ricketts became  the second Sooner selected on the night by the Racers, joining Mathis,  who was selected at No. 2. The fourth round of the draft belonged  primarily to the Racers as they held three of the five picks. With those  selections, Akron added Melissa Pura (No. 17) from Cal-Poly, utility  player Micaela Minner (No. 18) from Missouri and Oregon outfielder  Sari-Jane Jenkins (No. 19). Akron’s draft ended in the fifth round with  the selection of Stanford Cardinal pitcher Missy Penna.    
 
After Akron selected Rickett’s in the third round,  Washington selected the Florida Gators’ Stacey Nelson with the No. 13  pick in the draft. The Glory’s draft night concluded at No. 23 with the  selection of Stanford infielder Maddy Coon.
 
Philadelphia’s  final selection came in the fourth round and No. 16 overall. They chose  Penn State outfielder Danielle Kinley. Like the Washington Glory, the  Force had only three selections in the draft, which tied for the fewest  amongst the five teams.
 
The Bandits had two selections in  the third round and they added Sacramento State catcher Jamie Schloredt  with the No. 14 pick and University of Houston shortstop Jessica Valis  with the No. 15 pick. Chicago drafted another local player in the fourth  round when they selected DePaul third baseman Amber Patton with the 20th  selection. They added another Sacramento State product with the final  pick of the draft when they chose outfielder Izmena  Cabrera.
 
“I believe that we have seen another extremely  competitive draft in the National Pro Fastpitch League," commented  Cheri Kempf, NPF President/Commissioner and announcer for the draft. "I  look forward to seeing the rookies selected tonight, make their mark  among the already extraordinarily talented athletes that compete in this  League. I would like to especially thank the Akron Racers and Cambria  Suites in Akron for their hospitality and generosity in hosting this  event and I sincerely thank Jim Urban and his staff at The Softball  Channel for their expertise and partnership in making this a live  event.”
 
The Pac-10 and SEC conferences led the way in this  season’s draft with six and four picks, respectively. Sacramento State,  Oklahoma University, Stanford University, University of Florida, and  University of Houston each had two players taken from the  draft.
 
Unlike years past where pitching was most dominant,  there were a total of nine outfielders chosen in the 2009 draft.   Re-broadcast information can be found at The Softball Channel.com.
 
Due  to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete is not eligible to  sign with her respective franchise until her 2008 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  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).
 

2009 NPF  Senior Draft Results

 
Round  1
1 (1) – Akron Racers – Kaitlin Cochran, Outfielder, Arizona  State
2 (2) – Philadelphia Force – DJ Mathis, Pitcher, Oklahoma
3  (3) – Rockford Thunder – Laurie Wagner, Outfielder, Houston
4 (4) –  Philadelphia Force – Brette Reagan, Infielder, Baylor
5 (5) – Chicago  Bandits – Brandice Balschmiter, Pitcher, Massachusetts  
 
Round 2
1 (6) – Rockford Thunder – Jenae Leles,  Infielder, Arizona
2 (7) – Akron Racers – Brittany Weil, Pitcher,  Iowa
3 (8) – Washington Glory – Kim Waleszonia, Outfielder, Florida  
4 (9) – Philadelphia Force – Lillian Hammond, Outfielder, Tennessee  
5 (10) – Chicago Bandits – Tammy Williams, Infielder, Northwestern  
 
Round 3
1 (11) – Rockford Thunder – Ashley Charters,  Infielder, Washington
2 (12) – Akron Racers – Samantha Ricketts,  Infielder, Oklahoma
3 (13) – Washington Glory – Stacey Nelson,  Pitcher, Florida
4 (14) – Chicago Bandits – Jamie Schloredt,  Catcher, Sacramento State
5 (15) – Chicago Bandits – Jessica Valis,  Infielder, Houston
 
Round 4
1 (16) – Philadelphia Force  – Danielle Kinley, Outfielder, Penn State  
2 (17) – Akron  Racers – Melissa Pura, Infielder, Cal Poly
3 (18) – Akron Racers –  Micaela Minner, Utility, Missouri
4 (19) – Akron Racers – Sari-Jane  Jenkins, Outfielder, Oregon
5 (20) – Chicago Bandits – Amber Patton,  Infielder, DePaul
 
Round 5
1 (21) – Rockford Thunder –  Ashley Holcombe, Catcher, Alabama
2 (22) – Akron Racers – Missy  Penna, Pitcher, Stanford
3 (23) – Washington Glory – Maddy Coon,  Infielder, Stanford
4 (24) – Rockford Thunder – Breanna Brown,  Outfielder, North Carolina
5 (25) – Chicago Bandits – Izmena Cabrera,  Outfielder, Sacramento State
 
-NPF-