With the 37th overall pick, University of Missouri-St. Louis senior Hannah Perryman became the first NCAA Division II player ever selected in the National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Akron Racers on Thursday night in the CMA Theater in Nashville, Tenn.
“I am beyond excited to be a Racer!” said Perryman. “To even be selected, let alone to be the first Division II player, is a dream come true. This is something I’ve always dreamed of and have worked so hard for. To be able to say that I am a professional softball player is the most amazing feeling.”
Perryman, who was selected in the sixth round, will get the opportunity to continue playing for her UMSL head coach Brian Levin, who also serves as field manager for the Racers. This season will be his third at the helm.
“It means everything to be able to still play for Coach Levin,” Perryman said. “He has believed in me from day one and has been the one to take my career to that next level. I would not be the player I am today if it were not for him.”
“I am so excited for Hannah. She has been such a tremendous performer for us at UMSL,” said Levin. “This is every young girl’s dream, to go on and play the sport they love at a professional level. Her hard work has paid off and she deserves this opportunity. I am really interested to see how her dominance in Division II translates to the professional level. There have been some mid-major, and even a DIII pitcher, have success in the NPF, so there is no reason Hannah should not be able to be a productive pitcher in the league. We wish her nothing but the best!”
Perryman has left her mark not only on the UMSL softball program, but in NCAA Division II softball during her stellar four-year career. She owns NCAA DII career records for strikeouts (1,603) and perfect games (nine) and is on track to own the career record for strikeouts per seven innings (currently at 12.62). Perryman also ranks third in DII in career no-hitters (15), 10th in shutouts (57) and 13th in victories (119).
This season she is 36-2 in the circle with a career-best 0.94 ERA. Perryman ranks first in the NCAA statistics with 20 shutouts and stands at 445 strikeouts, which also ranks seventh on the NCAA DII single season charts. In 261.2 innings pitched, she has issued only 38 walks and ranks fifth nationally with 3.26 hits allowed per seven innings. Perryman has tossed five no-hitters, including two perfect games.
A three-time All-American and a three-time Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, Perryman was a Schutt Sports/NFCA DII National Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist a year ago, in which she threw an NCAA Division II record six perfect games. Perryman has also been named GLVC Pitcher of the Week a league-best 16 times in her career and has earned NFCA/Louisville Slugger DII Pitcher of the Week four times, including twice this season.
The National Pro Fastpitch season runs from May to August; Perryman will be eligible to sign with the Racers upon the expiration of her collegiate eligibility.
NPF 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.
