ORLANDO, Fla. – National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) and its four affiliate teams held the 2011 NPF Senior Draft Presented by Miken from the Amway Center in Orlando Florida, home of the Orlando Magic. For the second consecutive year, the NPF Draft was broadcast on MLB.com. Each team had at least three selections in the five-round draft. The NPF Diamonds held seven of the 20 overall picks. This was due to several trades that were made prior to the draft.
The first pick in the draft went to the NPF Diamonds who selected University of Alabama’s Kelsi Dunne. This marked the second year in a row that the first selection overall was a University of Alabama player. Dunne has been a key impact on Alabama’s pitching staff as she became the second Player in Alabama history to be named SEC Pitcher of the Year in 2010. The Akron Racers selected Taylor Schlopy of the University of Georgia with the No. 2 overall selection. The USSSA Pride chose Jenn Salling of Washington at No. 3 and Chicago picked Michigan power hitter Dorian Shaw with the final pick of the first round.
USSSA Pride began the second round with the fifth pick overall by choosing University of Florida outfielder Kelsey Bruder. The Akron Racers selected Megan Bush of the University of Florida as the number 6 choice. With the No. 7 pick, the NPF Diamonds chose University of Indiana pitcher Morgan Melloh. Chicago added University of Georgia outfielder Megan Wiggins with the No. 8 selection to close out the second round.
The Diamonds led off the third round with the number 9 overall selection by choosing Kentucky catcher Megan Yocke. Akron Racers added East Carolina’s Pitcher Toni Paisley for the number 10 pick. USSSA Pride’s had their third and final pick of the night and selected University of Michigan Pitcher Jordan Taylor as the No. 11 overall selection. With the final choice of the third round, the Chicago Bandits selected Alisa Goler, from the University of Georgia.
NPF Diamonds continued a strong 2011 NPF Senior Draft by adding Alabama’s versatile Whitney Larsen. The fourth round continued with the Akron Racers taking Morgan Childres of South Carolina Upstate at number 14 and the NPF Diamonds had the No. 15 pick overall by adding Brittany Hile from the University of Kansas. The Chicago Bandits finished out round four by naming Kristin Shifflet from Radford University as the 16th selection.
For the final round of the Draft, the NPF Diamonds chose second basemen Aja Paculba from the University of Florida. The Racers chose Kelly Grieve from the University of Tennessee as the number 18 selection. The Diamonds named Texas A&M standout Rhiannon Kliesing in the number 19 slot. Kliesing will join former A&M teammates Megan Gibson and Jami Lobpries. The final pick of the draft went to the Chicago Bandits who chose Illinois State’s, Kara Nelson.
NPF Commissioner, Cheri Kempf stated, “It has been another impressive draft year for the League. I say over and over again that the NPF is the ultimate challenge for a women’s fastpitch softball player. In light of that, I extend my sincere congratulations to each of the 20 women who have been selected in this year’s draft.”
The SEC Conference led collegiate softball with 10 overall athletes chosen in the 2011 Draft. University of Florida and the University of Georgia each had 3 players selected in this years 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 2011 season is complete.
2011 NPF Senior Draft Results
Round 1
1 (1) NPF Diamonds - Kelsi Dunne
2 (2) Akron Racers - Taylor Schlopy
3 (3) USSSA Pride - Jenn Salling
4 (4) Chicago Bandits - Dorian Shaw
Round 2
1 (5) USSSA Pride (2011 Trade with Diamonds) - Kelsey Bruder
2 (6) Akron Racers - Megan Bush
3 (7) NPF Diamonds (2011 Trade with Pride) - Morgan Melloh
4 (8) Chicago Bandits - Megan Wiggins
Round 3
1 (9) NPF Diamonds - Megan Yocke
2 (10) Akron Racers - Toni Paisley
3 (11) USSSA Pride - Jordan Taylor
4 (12) Chicago Bandits - Alisa Goler
Round 4
1 (13) NPF Diamonds - Whitney Larsen
2 (14) Akron Racers - Morgan Childres
3 (15) NPF Diamonds (Draft Day Trade with Pride) - Brittany Hile
4 (16) Chicago Bandits - Kristin Shifflet
Round 5
1 (17) NPF Diamonds - Aja Paculba
2 (18) Akron Racers (Draft Day Trade with Pride) - Kelly Grieve
3 (19) NPF Diamonds - Rhiannon Kliesing
4 (20) Chicago Bandits - Kara Nelson
- Courtesy of the NPF
