TEMPE – Arizona State University softball senior pitcher Dallas Escobedo was selected as the first overall pick of the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch League draft while Cheyenne Coyle was selected 13th overall on Monday at the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn.
Escobedo was selected by the Pennsylvania Rebellion, becoming the third Sun Devil player in NPF history to be taken with the first overall pick of the draft. Katie Burkhart was selected first overall in 2008 by the Philadelphia Force while Kaitlin Cochran was selected first overall in 2009 by the Washington Glory.
Coyle was selected by the defending NPF Champion Chicago Bandits, marking the first time in program history that two Sun Devils were selected in the same draft class.
“We did our homework with all of this,” said Rebellion Owner Stuart Williams on drafting Escobedo, “In high school she was hit by a pitch in the first inning of a game and went on to strikeout 16 or 17. She comes from a good strong family. She has had the right kind of support. We feel like we drafted a family.”
Pennsylvania is a hotbed of softball, being the third largest area in the country with young women playing the game. The Rebellion will be entering their inaugural season of NPF action this season.
Escobedo is currently second in ASU history in victories and strikeouts, ranking behind Burkart in both categories. The Valley native led the Sun Devil softball team to an NCAA Championship in 2011 and the team has returned to Oklahoma City in all three seasons with her as the team’s ace.
Escobedo currently has 105 wins with the Sun Devils and 1,091 career strikeouts, becoming just the 14th player in Pac-12 history to reach 1,000 K’s earlier this season and is tied for 55th in NCAA Division I history in the category.
The senior ace is a three-time All-Pac-12 First Team selection and a two-time NFCA All-American. She has pitched four no-hitters for the Sun Devils and has a career ERA of 1.94.
Coyle, who transferred to the Sun Devils from Florida last season, has made the most of just over a year-and-a-half of action in Tempe.
Last season, Coyle tied the ASU single season school record with 20 home runs on the year on her way the NFCA All-American accolades. She has 28 home runs in her career, ranking 14th in program history despite the fact that she hasn’t even spent two years in Arizona yet.
At the time of the draft, Coyle had a career batting average of .352 at Arizona State with 96 RBI and an exceptional .739 slugging percentage.
Escobedo and Coyle are the fourth and fifth Sun Devils to ever be selected in the NPF Draft behind Burkhart, Cochran and Hilary Bach in 2012.
The Sun Devils return to action on Friday for at three-game series against the Cal Golden Bears with all games schedule to be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
About National Pro Fastpitch
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.