Hannah Campbell Goes Third Overall to Akron Racers, South Alabama’s First Pro Draft Pick
Senior pitcher Hannah Campbell became the first softball player and first female athlete in South Alabama history to be drafted professionally when the Akron Racers took her third overall in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft.
MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama senior pitcher Hannah Campbell was selected third overall by the Akron Racers in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft on Monday afternoon, becoming the first softball player and the first female athlete in school history to be drafted by a professional team.
Record-Setting Career
Campbell, a Satsuma native, is 76-30 with a 1.66 ERA in three and a half seasons at South Alabama. She became the program’s first All-American when the National Fastpitch Coaches Association named her to its second team.
She is a three-time NFCA All-South Region selection and was the Most Outstanding Player of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in 2012 and 2013. She has thrown the only two perfect games in South Alabama history, and she was named this season to USA Softball’s Top 50 watch list for its Collegiate Player of the Year award.
Campbell holds South Alabama career records in:
- Wins: 76
- Saves: 15
- Complete games: 85
- Shutouts: 26
- Strikeouts looking: 162
- Fewest walks allowed per seven innings: 1.28
About the Akron Racers
The Racers, based in Akron, Ohio, are the oldest existing franchise in National Pro Fastpitch. They played in the Women’s Pro Softball League in 1999 and 2000 and have been part of NPF since 2004. Akron finished third in the four-team league last season with a 16-32 record.
Clark: “Incredibly Impressive”
“If you look at her body of work from the time that she’s been here, it’s incredibly impressive,” South Alabama head coach Becky Clark said. “For us to come in as quickly as we did into a conference that has such a powerhouse in Louisiana-Lafayette and for Hannah to be the pitcher on the mound that breaks their streak of Sun Belt Conference championships is phenomenal.”
Clark pointed to Campbell’s no-hitter against Louisiana-Lafayette at the 2013 Sun Belt Tournament. “Her no-hitter last season against ULL was the crux of the tournament,” Clark said. “She’s worked incredibly hard for all of this. She’s not scared to compete. She’s a great teammate, she has a great mental game and she wants to be the best at what she does.”
