2023 Women's Professional Fastpitch season explained

2023 WPF season
League:	Women's Professional Fastpitch
Sport:	Fastpitch softball
Duration:	June 15, 2023 – August 13, 2023
No Of Teams:	4
Draft:	2023 WPF College Draft
Top Pick:	Alex Storako
Picked By:	OKC Spark
Season:	Regular season
Season Champs:	Texas Smoke
Mvp:	Janae Jefferson
Finals:	Championship Series and Playoffs
Finals Champ:	Texas Smoke (1st title)
Finals Runner-Up:	USSSA Pride
Finals Mvp:	Janae Jefferson
Nextseason Year:	2024
Seasonslistnames:	WPF

The 2023 WPF season was the first season of competition for the Women's Professional Fastpitch. Four WPF teams competed in this season:Smash It Sports Vipers, USSSA Pride, Oklahoma City Spark and Texas Smoke.

League Business

Team	City	Stadium	Head coach
Oklahoma City Spark	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium	Amber Flores
Smash It Sports Vipers	Oxford, Alabama	Choccolocco Park	Gerry Glasco
Texas Smoke	Austin, Texas	Roberts Family Field Concordia University Texas	Tori Tyson
USSSA Pride	Viera, Florida	USSSA Space Coast Complex	Kelly Kretschman

WPF announced the addition of Oklahoma City Spark as an expansion team for 2023.^[1] Seminole State College softball head coach Amber Flores will be their coach.^[2] On November 7 the Spark announced their home games would be played at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.^[3]

Jocelyn Alo was traded to Oklahoma City Spark by Smash It Sports Vipers in exchange for draft picks and cash considerations.^[4] Oh Jan 25, 2023, the Vipers announced their home stadium for the 2023 season will be Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.^[5]

WPF announced the addition of a second expansion team for 2023 in Texas. Former MLB player Brandon Phillips is their owner.^[6] The team name was revealed be the Texas Smoke, with their home in Austin, Texas. Professional wrestler Jade Cargill was later announced as co-owner of the Smoke.Howard Bison softball coach Tori Tyson was named the Smoke's head coach.^[7] On April 28, 2023, the Smoke announced their 2023 home field will Roberts Family Field at Concordia University Texas.^[8]

Transactions

Drafts

2023 WPF expansion draft

WPF held a expansion draft to help stock to rosters of the Smoke and the Spark with certain players from the Pride and Vipers. Following are the picks:^[9]

Expansion draft results

	Team	Player	Previous Team	Date Signed
1	Texas Smoke	Morgan Howe	Smash It Sports Vipers	March 9, 2023^[10]
2	Oklahoma City Spark	Keely Rochard	USSSA Pride
3	Texas Smoke	Samantha Show	USSSA Pride	March 9, 2023^[11]
4	Oklahoma City Spark	Fa Leilua	Smash It Sports Vipers
5	Texas Smoke	Shelbi Sunseri	Smash It Sports Vipers	March 9, 2023^[12]
6	Spark waived their pick
7	Texas Smoke	Ciara Bryan	Smash It Sports Vipers	March 9, 2023^[13]
8	Spark waived their pick

2023 WPF college draft

The 2023 WPF college draft took place on April 17, 2023 at the Yale Theatre in Oklahoma City. All four WPF teams participated in a six-round draft, claiming 24 players.^[14]

Key

Denotes player who has not appeared in a competitive WPF game

!Round!Pick!Player!!WPF team!College! class="unsortable"

Notes	Date signed
Round 1	1			P				June 13, 2023^[15]
	2			IF				June 11, 2023^[16]
	3			P				June 11, 2023^[17]
	4	^#	P
Round 2	5	^#
	6	^#
	7	^#
	8							May 31, 2023^[18]
Round 3	9							May 29, 2023^[19]
	10							June 1, 2023^[20]
	11	^#
	12	^#
Round 4	13
	14							June 6, 2023^[21]
	15							June 7, 2023
	16							June 8, 2023^[22]
Round 5	17							May 25, 2023^[23]
	18	^#
	19							June 7, 2023
	20	^#
Round 6	21							May 22, 2023^[24]
	22	^#
	23	^#
	24							June 4, 2023^[25]

Free agency

The table below shows the signings of free agents for the 2023 season.

Date	Player	Team
September 16, 2022	Michelle Moultrie^[26]	OKC Spark
December 19, 2022	Chelsea Alexander^[27]	OKC Spark
December 29, 2022	Chelsea Gonzales^[28]	SIS Vipers
		SIS Vipers
		SIS Vipers
December 30, 2022	Sydney Sherrill^[29]	OKC Spark
January 3, 2023	Lynnsie Elam^[30]	OKC Spark
January 18, 2023	Janae Jefferson^[31]	Texas Smoke
January 19, 2023	Keilani Ricketts^[32]	OKC Spark
February 8, 2023	Sierra Hyland^[33]	SIS Vipers
February 18, 2023	Alyssa Rivera^[34]	Texas Smoke
February 23, 2023	Jordan Dail^[35]	Texas Smoke
February 23, 2023	Shelby Pendley^[36]	USSSA Pride
March 9, 2023	Sahvanna Jaquish^[37]	Texas Smoke
March 11, 2023	Marta Gasparotto^[38]	Texas Smoke
March 13, 2023	AnaMarie Bruni^[39]	Texas Smoke
March 17, 2023	Ally Carda^[40]	USSSA Pride
May 15, 2023	Delaney Spaulding^[41]	USSSA Pride
May 17, 2023	Ellen Roberts^[42]	USSSA Pride
May 18, 2023	Rylee Bayless^[43]	OKC Spark
May 19, 2023	Ali Aguilar^[44]	USSSA Pride
May 23, 2023	Emily Watson^[45]	OKC Spark
June 4, 2023	Taylor Roby^[46]	USSSA Pride
June 5, 2023	Chloe Malau'ulu^[47]	OKC Spark
June 7, 2023	Kelli Godin^[48]	USSSA Pride
June 7, 2023	Meghan Schorman^[49]	SIS Vipers

Retired

Date	Player
August 6, 2022	Jordan Taylor^[50]
August 6, 2022	Chelsea Goodacre^[51]
April 7, 2023	Haley Cruse^[52]

Rosters

Standings

League standings

Source:^[53]

Team	GP	W	L	Pct.	RS	RA	DIFF
Texas Smoke	36	22	14	.611	177	129	+48
Oklahoma City Spark	35	21	14	.600	144	153	-9
USSSA Pride	34	18	16	.529	129	118	+11
Smash It Sports Vipers	35	9	26	.257	103	153	-50

Schedule

All stats come from

Legend
	Postponement
Bold	Winning team

Date	Visiting Team	Score	Home Team	Venue	Win	Loss	Save
6/15/2023	USSSA Pride	2-3	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
6/15/2023	SIS Vipers		OKC Spark	Edmond, OK
6/16/2023	USSSA Pride	0-6	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
6/16/2023	SIS Vipers	1-2	OKC Spark	Edmond, OK
6/17/2023	USSSA Pride	1-4	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
6/17/2023	SIS Vipers	3-4	OKC Spark	Edmond, OK
6/19/2023	SIS Vipers	3-5	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
6/19/2023	USSSA Pride	0-7	OKC Spark	Edmond, OK
6/20/2023	SIS Vipers	0-10	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
6/20/2023	USSSA Pride	3-6	OKC Spark	Edmond, OK
6/21/2023	SIS Vipers		Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
6/21/2023	USSSA Pride	3-6	OKC Spark	Edmond, OK
6/23/2023	Texas Smoke	6-2	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
6/23/2023	OKC Spark		USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
6/24/2023	Texas Smoke	0-6	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
6/24/2023	OKC Spark	6-3	USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
6/25/2023	Texas Smoke	6-5	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
6/25/2023	OKC Spark	1-3	USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
6/27/2023	Texas Smoke	3-4 (10 Innings)	USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
6/27/2023	OKC Spark	3-0	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
6/28/2023	Texas Smoke	2-1 (9 innings)	USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
6/28/2023	OKC Spark	1-4	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
6/29/2023	Texas Smoke	12-6 (10 innings)	USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
6/29/2023	OKC Spark	3-2	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL

Date	Visiting Team	Score	Home Team	Venue	Win	Loss	Save
7/1/2023	Texas Smoke	5-1	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/1/2023	USSSA Pride	8-3	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/2/2023	Texas Smoke	4-5	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/2/2023	USSSA Pride	6-1	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/3/2023	Texas Smoke	6-3	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/3/2023	USSSA Pride	8-0 (6 innings)	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/10/2023	Texas Smoke	5-6	USSSA Pride	Evansville, IN
7/10/2023	OKC Spark	7-4	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/11/2023	Texas Smoke	1-2	USSSA Pride	Evansville, IN
7/11/2023	OKC Spark	9-11 (8 innings)	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/12/2023	Texas Smoke	4-7	USSSA Pride	Evansville, IN
7/12/2023	OKC Spark	0-8 (5 innings)	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/14/2023	OKC Spark	2-5	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/15/2023	OKC Spark	2-0	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/16/2023	OKC Spark	4-1	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/16/2023	SIS Vipers	0-2	USSSA Pride	Shawnee, KS
7/17/2023	SIS Vipers	4-0	USSSA Pride	Shawnee, KS
7/18/2023	SIS Vipers	0-1	USSSA Pride	Shawnee, KS
7/20/2023	SIS Vipers	7-6	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/20/2023	SIS Vipers	0-5	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/20/2023	OKC Spark	4-2	USSSA Pride	Peoria, IL
7/21/2023	SIS Vipers	2-6	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/21/2023	OKC Spark	5-6 (10 innings)	USSSA Pride	Peoria, IL
7/22/2023	SIS Vipers	8-10	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/22/2023	OKC Spark	0-6	USSSA Pride	Peoria, IL
7/24/2023	USSSA Pride	11-5	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/24/2023	SIS Vipers	3-7	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/25/2023	USSSA Pride	1-4	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/25/2023	SIS Vipers	6-2	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/26/2023	SIS Vipers	1-7	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/26/2023	USSSA Pride	1-2 (9 innings)	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
7/26/2023	SIS Vipers	1-4	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/28/2023	Texas Smoke	6-5 (8 innings)	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/28/2023	USSSA Pride	3-4	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/29/2023	Texas Smoke	3-1	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/29/2023	USSSA Pride	6-4	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
7/30/2023	Texas Smoke	4-0	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
7/30/2023	USSSA Pride	15-4 (5 innings)	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK

Date	Visiting Team	Score	Home Team	Venue	Win	Loss	Save
8/1/2023	Texas Smoke	5-6	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
8/1/2023	SIS Vipers	4-5 (9 innings)	USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
8/2/2023	Texas Smoke	8-1	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
8/2/2023	SIS Vipers	1-2	USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
8/3/2023	Texas Smoke	8-9	OKC Spark	Oklahoma City, OK
8/3/2023	SIS Vipers	6-0	USSSA Pride	Viera, FL
8/5/2023	OKC Spark	5-10	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
8/5/2023	USSSA Pride	0-1	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
8/6/2023	OKC Spark	7-6 (10 innings)	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
8/6/2023	USSSA Pride	5-0	SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL
8/7/2023	OKC Spark	3-1	Texas Smoke	Austin, TX
8/7/2023	USSSA Pride		SIS Vipers	Oxford, AL

2023 WPF Playoffs and Championships

The 2023 WPF Playoffs and Championships were held at Signature Field at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama August 9–13. All four teams qualify and were seeded based on the final standings. The first seed played the fourth seed on a best-of-three series, and the second seed played the third seed in another best-of-three series. The winners played each other in a best-of-three series that determined the champion.

Source:^[54]

2023 WPF Semifinals USSSA Pride defeat Oklahoma City Spark 2-0
Game	Date	Score	Series
1	August 9	USSSA Pride 1, Oklahoma City Spark 0	1-0
2	August 10	USSSA Pride 2, Oklahoma City Spark 0	2-0

2023 WPF Semifinals Texas Smoke defeat Smash It Sports Vipers 2-1
Game	Date	Score	Series
1	August 10	Smash It Sports Vipers 2, Texas Smoke 0	1-0
2	August 10	Smash It Sports Vipers 4, Texas Smoke 6	1-1
3	August 11	Smash It Sports Vipers 1, Texas Smoke 2	1-2

2023 WPF Championship Series Texas Smoke defeat USSSA Pride 2-0
Game	Date	Score	Series
1	August 12	USSSA Pride 4, Texas Smoke 5	0-1
2	August 13	USSSA Pride 2, Texas Smoke 14	0-2

Women's Professional Fastpitch Awards Night

Source:^[56]

Award	Player	Team
Player of the Year	Janae Jefferson	Texas Smoke
Pitcher of the Year	Autumn Pease	Texas Smoke
Rookie of the Year	Kayla Kowalik	USSSA Pride
Defensive Player of the Year	Sydney Sherrill	Oklahoma City Spark
Offensive Player of the Year	Morgan Howe	Texas Smoke
Stolen Base Leader	Kayla Kowalik	USSSA Pride
Coaching Staff of the Year	Texas Smoke -- Tori Tyson (HEAD COACH), Monique White (ASSISTANT COACH), Cat Tavin (ASSISTANT COACH)

2023 All-WPF Team
Position	Name	Team
Infield	Fa Leilua	Oklahoma City Spark
Infield	Janae Jefferson	Texas Smoke
Infield	Ali Aguilar	USSSA Pride
Infield	Charla Echols	Texas Smoke
Infield	Sydney Sherrill	Oklahoma City Spark
Outfield	Michelle Moultrie	Oklahoma City Spark
Outfield	Morgan Howe	Texas Smoke
Outfield	Kayla Kowalik	USSSA Pride
Pitcher	Samantha Show	Texas Smoke
Pitcher	Autumn Pease	Texas Smoke
Pitcher	Ally Carda	USSSA Pride
Pitcher	Hope Trautwein	USSSA Pride
At-Large	Baylee Klingler	Texas Smoke
At-Large	Jocelyn Alo	Oklahoma City Spark
At-Large	Makena Smith	Smash It Sports Vipers
At-Large	SilentRain Espinoza	USSSA Pride
At-Large	Suzy Brookshire	Smash It Sports Vipers
At-Large	Donnie Gobourne	Oklahoma City Spark
At-Large	Haley Lee	Oklahoma City Spark

Trade Notes

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Round 4:Round 5:Round 4:

References

Gamesheets

External links

WPF Official Site

Notes and References

1. Web site: WPF Adds OKC Spark as Newest Franchise . WPF . 2 May 2023 . 26 July 2022.
2. Web site: OKC Spark Names Amber Flores as Head Coach . WPF . 3 May 2023 . 2 May 2023.
3. Web site: Confirmed: The @okcityspark has announced USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium as their home field for the 2023 season. . Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 7 November 2022.
4. Web site: Jocelyn Alo Traded to OKC Spark . WPF . 2 May 2023 . 2 May 2023.
5. Web site: BREAKING: The Vipers have relocated to, ! . Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 25 January 2023.
6. Web site: MLB Legend Brandon Phillips Becomes Owner of Dallas Franchise . WPF . 2 May 2023 . 4 November 2023.
7. Web site: The Texas Smoke is Austin Bound with Tyson Leading the Way . WPF . 2 May 2023 . 2 May 2023.
8. Web site: The Texas Smoke partners with Concordia University Texas . The Texas Smoke . 8 May 2023 . 28 April 2023.
9. Web site: Howe, Rochard and More Selected in WPF’s First Expansion Draft . WPF . 3 May 2023 . 16 January 2023.
10. Web site: Sound the cannon because today we’re announcing the next signed player on The Texas Smoke, Morgan Howe! . Instagram . 13 June 2023 . 9 March 2023.
11. Web site: Welcome to Da (Sam) Show! . Instagram . 13 June 2023 . 9 March 2023.
12. Web site: We’re out of our minds excited to welcome another player to our team and family, Shelbi Sunseri! . Instagram . 13 June 2023 . 9 March 2023.
13. Web site: The Texas Smoke is THRILLED to welcome Georgia Bulldog, Ciara Bryan to the fam! . Instagram . 13 June 2023 . 9 March 2023.
14. Web site: Storako taken 1st in Women's Professional Fastpitch softball draft . ESPN . AP . 8 May 2023 . 17 April 2023.
15. Web site: #1 ... . Instagram. 15 June 2023 . 11 June 2023.
16. Web site: : Baylee Klingler is on her way to the Texas Smoke . Instagram. 15 June 2023 . 11 June 2023.
17. Web site: The 2023 NFCA Pitcher of the Year Ashley Rogers is officially a Smash It Sports VIPER . Instagram. 15 June 2023 . 11 June 2023.
18. Web site: DRAFTED -> SIGNED!! Chenise Delce is coming back to her home state!. Twitter. 12 June 2023 . 31 May 2023.
19. Web site: A roaring round of applause for the newest addition to the USSSA Pride family, the incredible @kswaggyyyy! . Twitter. 12 June 2023 . 29 May 2023.
20. Web site: With the 10th pick in the 2023 WPF Draft, The Texas Smoke have selected Autumn Pease from the University of Minnesota. . Twitter. 12 June 2023 . 1 June 2023.
21. Web site: With the 14th pick in the 2023 WPF Draft, The Texas Smoke have selected Charla Echols from the University of Florida. . Instagram. 15 June 2023 . 6 June 2023.
22. Web site: We are thrilled to announce that @allee_bunker has officially signed with the @usssafloridapride!!! . Instagram. 15 June 2023 . 8 June 2023.
23. Web site: DRAFTED -> SIGNED!! Donnie Gobourne is officially coming to OKC!! . Twitter . 12 June 2023 . 25 May 2023.
24. Web site: DRAFTED -> SIGNED!!!. Instagram . 12 June 2023 . 22 May 2023.
25. Web site: SIGNED ✍️! . Twitter . 15 June 2023 . 4 June 2023.
26. Web site: A special day in Oklahoma City!✍️ . Instagram . 3 May 2023 . 16 September 2022.
27. Web site: From Latta to Stillwater to Oklahoma City!! Please welcome Oklahoma’s own, Chelsea Alexander, to the Spark!⚡️. Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 19 December 2022.
28. Web site: The Vipers have been busy . Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 29 December 2022.
29. Web site: A 2018 National Champion and native of Moore, Oklahoma, Sydney Sherrill is coming back to her home state!!. Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 30 December 2022.
30. Web site: Your back-to-back National Champion and former Sooner captain is staying in Oklahoma! Let’s get hype for @lynnsieelam22 ‼️. Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 3 January 2023.
31. Web site: The Texas Smoke is on to have 2022 World Games Gold Medalist Janae Jefferson lead the way as our first player announcement in our new branding!. Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 9 March 2023.
32. Web site:

    The best will be back on the mound at HOF Stadium this summer

    . Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 19 January 2023.
33. Web site: BREAKING: The Vipers sign veteran pitcher Sierra Hyland. Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 8 February 2023.
34. Web site: Texas WPF snags former Auburn star Alyssa Rivera for the 2023 season✍️ . Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 18 February 2023.
35. Web site: Texas WPF investing in the ⭕️ with the signing of Oregon standout Jordan Dail✅. Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 23 February 2023.
36. Web site: Pride star and former Oklahoma slugger Shelby Pendley will return to the field once again in 2023. Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 23 February 2023.
37. Web site: Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 9 March 2023.
38. Web site: Our next player has us saying, Mamma Mia! . Instagram . 13 June 2023 . 11 March 2023.
39. Web site: Make some noise with us as we celebrate our newest Texas Smoke player, AnaMarie Bruni,. Instagram . 15 June 2023 . 13 March 2023.
40. Web site:

    USSSA Pride ink Team USA and former UCLA pitcher Ally Carda!

    . Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 17 March 2023.
41. Web site: Welcome back to the Pride tribe, @DelaneyyLyn! . Instagram . 15 May 2023 . 15 May 2023.
42. Web site: Another season, another chance to dominate with Ellen Roberts on our side. Twitter. 12 June 2023 . 17 May 2023.
43. Web site: Surpriseeeee!! The newest addition to our roster: Rylee Bayless! . Twitter. 12 June 2023 . 18 May 2023.
44. Web site: USSSA Pride proudly welcomes back Ali Aguilar . Twitter. 12 June 2023 . 19 May 2023.
45. Web site: Big news! Let's welcome Emily Watson to the Spark!! . Twitter. 12 June 2023 . 23 May 2023.
46. Web site: We are excited to announce the signing of @taayyroby13, another amazing addition to the @USSSAPride family! . Twitter. 15 June 2023 . 4 June 2023.
47. Web site: You thought we were finished? . Twitter. 15 June 2023 . 5 June 2023.
48. Web site: You thought we were finished? . Instagram. 15 June 2023 . 7 June 2023.
49. Web site: Meghan Schorman (UL), Makena Smith (Cal) and Karly Heath (UL) have all officially signed with the Vipers . Instagram. 15 June 2023 . 7 June 2023.
50. Web site: Jordan Taylor announces her retirement from professional softball after 11 years. . Instagram . 3 May 2023 . 6 August 2022.
51. Web site: Chelsea Goodacre announces her retirement from professional softball. . Instagram . 3 May 2023 . 6 August 2022.
52. Web site: Haley Cruse #10 - . Instagram . 8 May 2023 . 7 April 2023.
53. Web site: 2022. Ballclubz.com. 4 April 2023.
54. Web site: Women's Profession Fastpitch 2023 Championship . Ballclubz.com . 13 August 2023. 8 September 2023.
55. Web site: Briar Napier . WPF Championship Recap: How The Texas Smoke Won Inaugural League Title . FloSoftball . 8 September 2023 . 14 August 2023.
56. Web site: RECAP: 2023 WPF Awards NIGHT . wprofastpitch.com . 8 September 2023. 9 August 2023.