The USSSA Pride are a professional

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

team based in

Viera, Florida Viera (pronounced /vjɛrə/) is an affluent, master-planned community located in the central coastal region of Brevard County, Florida. It is part of an unincorporated section adjacent to the Melbourne, Florida area. For census purposes, it is divi ...

and a member of the WPF - Women's Professional Fastpitch League, U.S. Founded in 2009. They previously played in

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

(NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play their home games at

USSSA Space Coast Complex USSSA Space Coast Complex is a baseball stadium and 13 diamond multi-sports facility in Viera, Florida, owned by Brevard County, Florida. Under its original name, Space Coast Stadium, it served as the spring training facility for the Florida Marli ...

. The team was established to replace the folded

Washington Glory The Washington Glory was a women's softball team based in Fairfax, Virginia. They played during 2007 and 2008 as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. History The Glory won the 2007 NPF championship, defeating the Rockford Thunder in the final ga ...

, who played in NPF from 2007 to 2008. They are organized by the

United States Specialty Sports Association The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) is a volunteer, sports governing body and a nonprofit organization 3] based in Viera, Florida. Originally USSSA stood for United States Slowpitch Softball Association. However, in 1998, ...

(USSSA). The Pride won the Cowles Cup championship in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019.

History

2015

Of their selections in the 2015 NPF Draft, the Pride signed All-American and 2013 Big 12 Player of the Year Shelby Pendley of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, two-time All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year Emilee Koerner of Notre Dame, and All-American and 2012 Pac-12 Player of the Year Amber Freeman of

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. All-time NCAA Division I homerun champion

Lauren Chamberlain Lauren Nicole Chamberlain (born July 2, 1993) is an American retired softball infielder. Chamberlain played college softball for the Oklahoma Sooners softball from 2012 to 2015. A collegiate All-American, she was part of the 2013 Women's Colle ...

signed a three-year deal. The Pride also signed free agent All-American Chelsea Goodacre of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Caitlin Lowe Caitlin Faith Lowe-Nagy (born February 6, 1985) is the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats softball team. Lowe is a former collegiate four-time first team All-American and medal winning Olympian. She played college softball for Arizona and led h ...

announced her retirement as a player after the 2014 season. Subsequently, the Pride announced that Lowe would be inducted into the USSSA Hall of Fame, and that her jersey number 26 would be retired.

2016

2017

The Pride announced that former player and assistant coach

Megan Willis Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in W ...

was promoted to assistant general manager.

USSSA The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) is a volunteer, sports governing body and a nonprofit organization 3] based in Viera, Florida. Originally USSSA stood for United States Slowpitch Softball Association. However, in 1998, U ...

purchased

Space Coast Stadium USSSA Space Coast Complex is a baseball stadium and 13 diamond multi-sports facility in Viera, Florida, owned by Brevard County, Florida. Under its original name, Space Coast Stadium, it served as the spring training facility for the Florida Mar ...

and announced renovations to make it a center for amateur softball and baseball with 15 fields. It became the Pride's new home stadium, beginning in 2017. At the Pride's first home game at USSSA Space Coast Stadium, played on June 8, 2017, the team announced that it had retired legendary pitcher

Cat Osterman Catherine Leigh Osterman (born April 16, 1983) is a retired American softball player. Osterman pitched on the United States women's national softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Su ...

's jersey number "8," commemorating it with a banner on the outfield fence.

2018

The Pride announced the Mike Stith, head coach of the OC BatBusters, would be their coach for 2018. His assistants were Cody Dent, volunteer assistant coach of the

Florida Gators softball The Florida Gators softball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of softball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their h ...

team, and

Andrea Duran Andrea Jane Duran (born April 12, 1984) is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympic Games, Olympian, professional four-time All-Star softball player. She played college softball at the University of California, Los Angeles ...

, Olympic medalist and former Pride player.

2019

On September 13, 2019, the Pride announced they would not renew their partnership with

(NPF) for the 2020 season.

2021

On September 30, 2021, the Pride announced they are joining the WPF - Women's Professional Fastpitch league for the 2022 season.

General managers

Don DeDonatis Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...

(-present)

All-time head coaches

Season-by-season

, - , align=center,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , 16 , , 24 , , 0 , , 4th place National Pro Fastpitch , , Lost in NPF Semifinals , - , align=center,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , 28 , , 20 , , 0 , , 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch , , Won NPF Championship , - , align=center,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , 30 , , 9 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Lost in NPF Finals , - , align=center,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , 31 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Faced

Chicago Bandits The Chicago Bandits were a women's professional softball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington Gl ...

in NPF Finals , - , align=center,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , 34 , , 14 , , 0 , , 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch , , Won NPF Championship , - , align=center,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , 33 , , 15 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Won NPF Championship , - , align=center,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , 34 , , 14 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Lost to

in NPF Finals , - , align=center,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , 37 , , 13 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Lost to

in NPF Finals , - , align=center,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , 40 , , 9 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Lost to

Scrap Yard Dawgs The Scrap Yard Fast Pitch was an independent women's professional softball team based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston. Established in October 2015 as the Scrap Yard Dawgs, the team played in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) during the 20 ...

in NPF Finals , - , align=center,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, , 42 , , 5 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Won NPF Championship , - , align=center,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , 32 , , 13 , , 0 , , 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch , , Won NPF Championship , - !Totals , , 357 , , 148 , , 0 , colspan="2",

Retired numbers

The Pride has retired two jerseys: *

8 *

Current players

References

External links

Official Site
{{S-end Softball teams National Pro Fastpitch teams Sports in Kissimmee, Florida 2009 establishments in Florida Sports clubs established in 2009