Farish Beard Becomes Second Female Student-Athlete Drafted In Jaguar History
Farish Beard was selected in the sixth round of the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch Draft. She becomes only the second female student-athlete in school history to be selected in a professional draft. Former Jaguar Hannah Campbell was the first last season. | Photo usajaguars.com
For the second consecutive season the South Alabama Jaguar softball team has a player drafted in the National Pro Fastpitch Draft. Farish Beard was selected in the sixth round of the 2015 draft by the Dallas Charge on Wednesday.
Beard is only the second Jaguar softball student-athlete selected in the draft and only the second female in school history to be selected in a professional draft. Hannah Campbell was the first to accomplish that feat last season when she was selected third overall by the Akron Racers.
Beard, a Fairhope, Alabama native, has a 56-11 career record at South Alabama and is a two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region selected. She was a 2014 Top-25 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player-of-the-Year award. She currently holds program records in Lowest ERA (1.34), Lowest Opponent Batting Average (.144), and Most Strikeouts per Seven Innings (9.46).
The NPF College Draft features four rounds of five selections, one round of six and one round of seven picks for a total of 33 overall draftees in the 2015 rookie class. Drafting an athlete give an NPF affiliate team rights to that athlete for two full seasons.
However, due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete may not sign with her respective franchise until after their 2015 college season is over.
“This is truly an honor, and it goes to show that hard work does pay off,” Beard said after the announcement. “[South Alabama head] Coach [Becky] Clark has helped me grow in my time here, both mentally and physically, and this honor brings much-deserved publicity to the Jaguar softball program.”
“This is a great honor for both Farish and our program,” head coach Becky Clark stated. “When you look at her body of work, it’s obvious what she has meant to South Alabama softball and shows she is definitely deserving of being drafted. She is such a competitor and plays the game with so much heart. I am extremely proud of her and all of her hard work; she has definitely earned her success.”
The National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch and Women’s Pro Softball League. NPF is the official development partner of Major League Baseball in the category of Women’s fastpitch softball since 2002.
Congratulations Farish! Go Jags!