Softball America, NPF Announce New Award

National Pro Fastpitch, in conjunction with Softball America, will grant the first-ever Softball America Legacy Award at this year’s NPF Awards Banquet. The banquet, which will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 14, will take place just ahead of the start of the 2019 NPF Championship Series in Rosemont, Ill.

“We are so pleased that Softball America has chosen this new award category that will recognize invaluable contributions made to the growth of professional softball that exist outside the game itself,” said NPF Commissioner Cheri Kempf. “In large part, it will be the efforts that often go unnoticed, that will eventually solidify this amazing game at the professional level and it is a proud moment for the NPF to be able to honor those people and their work, beginning with this award in 2019.”

The Legacy Award will be granted to a person associated with the NPF who exemplifies the qualities of leadership, perseverance and excellence in the realm of professional softball, with the ultimate goal of advancing the sport for current and future generations of players.

“Softball America is thrilled to team with NPF to present the Legacy Award,” said Baseball and Softball America editor and publisher B.J. Schecter. “We launched Softball America in February to shine a light on the wonderful and growing sport of softball. There are so many young women doing great things, and telling their stories so they can inspire the next generation is very important to us. This award aligns perfectly with our mission.”

The best-of-five NPF Championship Series will take place Aug. 15–19 and will feature the league’s top-two teams from the regular season: the Chicago Bandits and reigning-champion USSSA Pride.

ABOUT SOFTBALL AMERICA

Softball America is a comprehensive national website covering the sport on multiple levels, from high school to travel ball to college, professional and international. SA is the sister publication of Baseball America, which has chronicled the future of America’s pastime for nearly 40 years and is known to those in the industry as “the bible of baseball.”

ABOUT NATIONAL PRO FASTPITCH

National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), an Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball since 2004, provides elite female athletes with an opportunity to pursue a professional career in fastpitch softball beyond their collegiate and amateur success. The NPF affiliate teams consist of the Aussie Peppers of Minnesota, Beijing Shougang Eagles, Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois, Chicago Bandits, Cleveland Comets and USSSA Pride. National Pro Fastpitch players hail from the United States, Australia, Canada, China and Mexico, and represent the most accomplished and talented athletes in the sport of women’s softball.

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