NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The 2016 National Pro Fastpitch College Draft presented by Bownet will take place on Thursday, April 14, at 8 p.m. ET at the CMA Theater in Nashville, located directly within the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The draft will be televised live on CBS Sports Network and updated on the NPF website.

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The NPF College Draft, the 13th in league history, has become a marquee event for the league, showcasing the current and future stars of an increasingly popular professional sport that is rapidly gaining fans across the country. The 90-minute televised draft will feature NPF team representatives selecting college seniors to join the ranks of the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Dallas Charge, Pennsylvania Rebellion (Washington, Pa./Pittsburgh), Scrap Yard Dawgs (The Woodlands, Tex./Houston) and USSSA Florida Pride (Kissimmee/Orlando).

The 2016 Draft is slated for a total of 40 selections, divided up with Akron, PA, USSSA, and Scrap Yard Dawgs each with eight and Chicago and Dallas with only four each. Overall order is based on team finish in the overall standings of the previous year. Trades can also affect the order and total number of available picks. Scrap Yard Dawgs were awarded 10 original college draft selections along with five selections from an expansion draft held at the end of 2015.

The complete draft order can be found below.

Draft History
Throughout the first 12 years, 283 college players from 78 different colleges and universities have been drafted into the league.

Draftees are predominantly chosen from the NCAA Division I ranks to the tune of over ninety-nine percent. Only twice in the history of NPF drafts have draftees been named from anywhere other than a Division I program. However, this year’s draft certainly seems to have at least a few non-Division I prospects.   Among the 78 different colleges and universities, schools who have the distinction of having the most players drafted are Oklahoma, Tennessee, UCLA, California and Washington. Oklahoma stands alone in the lead with 16 total draftees to date. UCLA and Tennessee share second place with 12 each, followed closely by California and Washington who have both had 10.   

Twenty-five of the 78 separate institutions have had only one player drafted. The 2016 draft appears to have more than a dozen draftees in consideration that hail from schools who have not previously had an NPF draftee. Of the intercollegiate conferences that exist in college softball, only the Southeastern Conference can boast at least one draftee from every participating institution.   

The 12 players drafted No. 1 overall, have come from eight different schools. Three schools, Alabama, Arizona State, and LSU have had multiple No. 1 selections. Arizona State owns bragging rights with a total of three - Katie Burkhart (2008), Katie Cochran (2009), and Dallas Escobedo (2014). Alabama’s Charlotte Morgan and Kelsi Dunne snagged back-to-back No. 1’s in 2010 and 2011 respectively, before the LSU duo of Brittany Mack and Rachele Fico did the same in 2012 and 2013, respectively.   

The SEC leads No. 1’s as a conference with six total. In addition, the SEC holds the distinction of being home to the NPF’s first ever draft selection, which was Mississippi State’s Iyhia McMichael in 2004. Although no No. 1 overall selection has ever been voted Rookie of the Year, McMichael was Player of the Year in 2004.
Only college seniors are eligible for the draft.

FIRST ROUND 
1. Pennsylvania Rebellion
2. USSSA Pride (Trade with Dallas Charge – 3/17/2015)
3. Akron Racers
4. Akron Racers (Trade with Chicago Bandits – 11/18/2016)
5. USSSA Pride
6. Scrap Yard Dawgs  

SECOND ROUND
7.  Scrap Yard Dawgs
8.  Pennsylvania Rebellion
9.  Dallas Charge
10. Akron Racers
11. Chicago Bandits
12. USSSA Pride  

THIRD ROUND
13. USSSA Pride (Trade with Scrap Yard Dawgs – 4/7/2016)
14. Pennsylvania Rebellion
15. Dallas Charge
16. Pennsylvania Rebellion (Trade with Akron Racers – 1/27/2015)
17. Chicago Bandits
18. USSSA Pride
19. Scrap Yard Dawgs  

FOURTH ROUND
20. Akron Racers (Trade with Scrap Yard Dawgs – 1/17/2016)
21. Pennsylvania Rebellion
22. Chicago Bandits (Trade with Dallas Charge – 2/4/2015)
23. Akron Racers
24. Chicago Bandits
25. USSSA Pride
26. Scrap Yard Dawgs  

FIFTH ROUND
27. Scrap Yard Dawgs
28. Pennsylvania Rebellion
29. Dallas Charge
30. Akron Racers
31. Akron Racers (Trade with Chicago Bandits – 11/18/2016)
32. USSSA Pride
33. Scrap Yard Dawgs  

SIXTH ROUND
34. Scrap Yard Dawgs
35. Pennsylvania Rebellion
36. Pennsylvania Rebellion (Trade with Dallas Charge – 6/11/2015)
37. Akron Racers
38. Dallas Charge (Trade with Chicago Bandits – 2/6/2016)
39. USSSA Pride
40. Scrap Yard Dawgs

- Information courtesy of NPF


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