Three Sooners Selected in NPF Draft

NORMAN — Oklahoma softball seniors Paige Lowary, Paige Parker and Nicole Pendley were all selected in the first two rounds of the National Pro Fastpitch League Draft on Monday night.

The Chicago Bandits selected Lowary with the No. 1 overall pick, making her the second player in Oklahoma history to be taken first in the draft. Lauren Chamberlain was also selected first in 2015.

Parker and Pendley were both drafted by the USSSA Pride. Parker joined Lowary in the first round, coming in as the No. 6 pick, while Pendley was selected No. 12 overall.

Three selections in the draft matches the second-most in one year in OU program history, also achieved in 2008. In 2013, four Sooners were drafted.

A left-handed pitcher from Dallas Center, Iowa, Lowary currently leads the Big 12 in ERA this season at 0.76. She holds the Oklahoma softball record for career saves with 18, including seven this year.

Parker is a three-time All-American at Oklahoma, holding 113 career wins to rank third in program history. She leads the conference with a .140 opponent batting average this season while ranking second in ERA at 0.85.

Pendley has been named to All-Big 12 teams twice and All-Region Teams twice in her career. At the plate, Pendley is batting .313 this season while slugging .589 and registering an on-base percentage of .444. She has driven 36 runs and scored 32 this year, drilling nine home runs.

The 2018 draftees join Sooner alumni Lauren Chamberlain, Shelby Pendley, Keilani Ricketts, Jessica Shults, Michelle Gascoigne, Brianna Turang, Amber Flores, Samantha Ricketts, D.J. Mathis, Savannah Long, Susan Ogden, Lauren Eckermann, Norrelle Dickson, Heather Scaglione, Kami Keiter, Christina Enea, Erin Evans, Christy Ring, Leah Gulla and Kristin Vesely who were all drafted by the league.

The NPF College Draft featured three rounds of six selections and one round of five picks for a total of 23 overall draftees in the 2018 rookie class.

Drafting an athlete gives an NPF affiliate team rights to that athlete for two full seasons.Due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete may not sign with her respective franchise until their 2018 college season is over.

National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. 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 of Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). NPF is the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball in the category of women's fastpitch softball since 2002.