Feb. 17, 2009
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IOWA CITY – University of Iowa senior pitcher Brittany Weil was one of 25 NCAA softball seniors chosen in the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) Draft Tuesday night. Weil, who wears No. 7 at Iowa, was the seventh overall pick in the draft (second pick of the second round).
“I am honored to be selected by the Akron Racers,” Weil said. “Playing professional softball has been a goal of mine since I started playing the sport. The Racers have a great organization and I am thrilled to be a part of it. We still have many goals at Iowa to achieve this spring, but I look forward to my time in Akron this summer.”
Weil is one of the most decorated pitchers to ever wear the Black and Gold. She is a two-time NFCA all-Mideast Region selection, including first team honors as a junior. She had been named all-Big Ten every season at Iowa, with two second-team selections and one third-team pick. Weil has also been named team MVP or co-MVP all three years as a Hawkeye.
In 2008, Weil became the first pitcher in school history to be named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week four times in a single season and has earned that award a total of five times in her career. Weil recently threw her first career no-hitter Feb. 17 against Kent State and struck out a career high 19 batters.
Weil is in the running to shatter nearly every school pitching record at Iowa. She currently ranks third in complete games (89), fourth in strikeouts (798), fifth in games pitched (142) and innings pitched (805.1), tied for fifth in shutouts (29) and sixth in wins (78).
Weil, who will join the Racers once the Hawkeyes finish their 2009 season, is the fourth Hawkeye to play in the NPF, and the third since 2005 to be drafted. Stacy May and Emily Nichols were both selected in the second round of the NPF Draft by the Chicago Bandits in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Kristin Johnson was also a member of the Akron Racers from 2003-07.
Former Hawkeyes Karin Wick, Karen Jackson, Kari Knopf and Christy Hebert also played professionally in the Women’s Professional Softball League (WPSL) before the NPF was created.