A new standard in softball is set in 2023 with Women's Professional Fastpitch. The league opens its historic campaign on June 15 with four squads: Oklahoma City Spark, Smash It Sports Vipers, Texas Smoke, and USSSA Pride. 

The regular season extends into August with games at the University of Central Oklahoma; Choccolcco Park in Oxford, Alabama; Concordia University in Austin; USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City; and USSSA Space Coast Complex in Melbourne, Florida. 

WPF action will also go across the pond in July when the Oklahoma City Spark takes part in the Royal Spark Challenge. The July 6-7 series pits Oklahoma City against the Great Britain Women's Senior National Fastpitch Team in an opportunity "critical for growing this sport," as Spark owner and general manager Tina Floyd said in the official release. 

Growing the game abroad and domestically is a potential theme for the entire WPF season, starting with league ownership like former Cincinnati Reds standout Brandon Phillips and All Elite Wrestling star Jade Cargill of the Texas Smoke. 

But more than name recognition among ownership, the WPF embarks on 2023 with star power on the rosters. 

The sport's absolute best come together in the WPF, including NCAA home-run record-setter Jocelyn Alo. Alo headlines the Oklahoma City Spark lineup, a group that also includes Olympic Silver medalist and Florida Gators legend Michelle Moultrie; and former Tulsa Golden Hurricane pitching phenom Emily Watson. 

The Texas Smoke roster includes Oklahoma State All-American Samantha Show, an all-time great collegiate two-way player. Smoke owner Brandon Phillips talked in his interview with KHOU 11 of the franchise "putting on a show," and the player with the name Show is a leading candidate to do just that throughout the WPF season.

Former James Madison All-American pitcher Jailyn Ford is part of the USSSA lineup, joining a group that also features Oklahoma Sooners alum and two-time national champion Hope Trautwein in the circle, and the first-ever SEC Player of the Year representing the University of Kentucky, Abbey Cheek, at the plate. 

The Smash It Sports Vipers rounds out the league and features its own impressive roster, including Mexican National Team product and San Jose State/Long Beach State star Suzy Brookshire. 

The Vipers also have Chelsea Gonzales in the mix, one of the best hitters in Arizona State softball history. 

Gonzales also represented Team Mexico, playing for the squad in the 2020 Olympics, before becoming a mother just this past winter. 

"I am mostly looking forward to her being there in the stands watching her mama play," Gonzales said in an interview for WProFastpitch.com. "For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to be a mom and still playing. I think it is such an inspiration to women that even though you have a baby, you don’t have to give up the game you love."

In Gonzales' story is encapsulated the underlining prospects for this WPF season: spreading the inspiration of the game to fans and perhaps a new generation of players by combining the sport's premier athletes under one banner.