With less than three hours to go until the 2010 National Pro Fastpitch draft on Wed., Feb. 10, it was announced that the USSSA Florida Pride had pulled off a draft-day trade with the Chicago Bandits.

The third pick in the fourth round of the NPF Senior Draft, or the fifteenth pick overall, originally belonging to the Pride , was traded to the Chicago Bandits in exchange for long-time Bandits outfielder Nicole Trimboli.
The outfielder joined the professional ranks after being drafted by the Akron Racers of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league in 2004. Trimboli was named an NPF All-Star as a rookie, before helping her team to the NPF Championship in 2005. Trimboli played her final three seasons in the league with the Chicago Bandits, where she garnered a spot on the NPF All-Star team and led her squad to the NPF Championship title both for the second time in her career in 2008. For her play during the Championship series that season, Trimboli was named the NPF Championship MVP.

Recently, Trimboli joined the UCF softball coaching staff in Oct. 2009 as an assistant coach, making her transition to the USSSA Florida Pride one that, simply stated, makes sense.

National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. 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).

The USSSA Florida Pride recently hosted the 2010 National Pro Fastpitch Draft here in Kissimmee, Fla. and has successfully added speed, strength, and versatility to this season’s Pride roster! The first round of the NPF draft began with University of Alabama standout Charlotte Morgan as the first pick for the USSSA Florida Pride. The senior All-American was named the SEC player of the year and was a strong opening pick for the Pride. The second Pride selection was the 2009 Big East Player of the Year, catcher Melissa Roth out of Louisville.  Round two of the draft started with the Pride picking up Amber Flores from Oklahoma. Flores’ speed will be a big contributor to the Pride this season.  The fourth choice for the USSSA Florida Pride was Francesca Enea from the University of Florida. With 41 career homeruns, Enea ranks eighth in the SEC record book and will be a strong hitter for the Pride. To complete their roster, the Pride picked up lefty Alissa Haber from Stanford University who will add tremendous versatility, offensive ability, and arm strength to the team.  The Pride’s 2010 season will kick off June 9^th  in Lubbock, Tex. when the team faces the Chicago Bandits at the stadium of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The opening game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. local time. For more information on the Pride, visit www.usssapride.com. Below are the final results of the 2010 National Pro Fastpitch draft:

First Round:

1. USSSA Pride- Charlotte Morgan-University of Alabama
2. Tennessee Diamonds- Molly Johnson-University of Kentucky
3. USSSA Pride- Melissa Roth-Louisville
4. Chicago Bandits- Nikki Nemitz-University of Michigan

Second Round:
5. USSSA Pride- Amber Flores-Oklahoma
6. Tennessee Diamonds- Becca Heteniak-DePaul University
7. Akron Racers- Sam Marder-Ohio State
8. Chicago Bandits- Amberly Waits-Louisiana Tech

Third Round:
9.  USSSA Pride- Francesca Enea-University of Florida.
10. Tennessee Diamonds- Loryn Johnson-University of Texas
11. Akron Racers- Megan Langenfeld-UCLA
12.  Chicago Bandits- Neena Bryant -University of Oregon

Fourth Round:
13. USSSA Pride- Alisa Haber-Stanford University
14. Tennessee Diamonds- Carly Wynn-Florida State
15. Chicago Bandits- Rachel Mitchell-LSU
16. Chicago Bandits- Christine Knauer-North Carolina

Fifth Round:
17.  Akron Racers- Liane Horiuchi-Purdue
18.  Tennessee Diamonds- Kristen Wadwell-Louisville
19.  Akron Racers- Kaila Shull-UCLA
20.  Chicago Bandits- Angela Findlay-University of Michigan

National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. 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).

The 2010 NPF Senior Draft is upon us. With the USSSA Pride hosting the Draft from Kissimee, Fla., there is already excitement building around the league for what is looking to be an eventful night. For a streaming live broadcast of the draft, visit http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/mediacenter/npf.jsp . Also tune into the NPF’s Twitter (profastpitch) and Facebook (Official National Pro Fastpitch) sites for more information.