OU Softball: Three Sooners Selected in WPF Draft
A trio of current Oklahoma stars were taken in Monday night’s Women’s Professional Fastpitch draft.
Sooner pitcher Alex Storako was taken with the No. 1-overall pick by the Oklahoma City Spark, but she’s not the only OU player who could continue their softball career with the Spark.
The Spark then selected Haley Lee with the 13th pick in the draft.
Lee has fit right into the Sooners’ lineup this season after transferring from Texas A&M, pacing the team with 12 home runs in 2023.
She’s also third on the team with a .426 batting average, and has driven in 38 runs through OU’s first 40 games.
Grace Lyons was also selected in Monday’s draft.
The Texas Smoke, who will play in Austin, drafted Lyons with the No. 22-overall pick.
A stalwart at shortstop for Oklahoma, Lyons is batting .366 and has hit five home runs in 33 appearances this year.
The OU captain has continued to dazzle in the field, flashing incredible range to help Oklahoma’s pitching staff keep runs off the board.
Though all three players will have the option to sign with the WPF, NCAA rules prohibit athletes from signing with their teams until after the 2023 season has concluded and the OU trio have exhausted their NCAA eligibility.
The WPF is just one of two professional softball leagues that will hold a draft over the next month, as Athletes Unlimited will hold its draft on May 8.
Part of the draft process with the WPF is evaluating the interest level of each current player in eventually joining the league, but organizations are only permitted very limited contact with current student athletes.
“It’s a fine line,” OKC Spark owner and general manager Tina Floyd said on 107.7 The Franchise earlier this month. “... We’re able to talk and ask, ‘Do you want to play professionally after you graduate. Is that something that you’re interested in?’
“Then after that, that’s about all we can negotiate with because of NCAA rules. So we kind of just have to see if their interested, yes or no, and then we just have to go after who we think is best and hope they want to sign a deal with us. It’s a weird space but I hope to navigate that in the future for these women and moving forward.”
If Storako and Lee decide to join the Spark, they’ll play alongside fellow OU alumni Jocelyn Alo, Lynnsie Elam and Keilani Ricketts, as well as playing under head coach Amber Flores.
The WPF season begins on June 15.
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the AllSooners message board community today!
Sign up for your premium membership to AllSooners.com today, and get access to the entire Fan Nation premium network!
Follow AllSooners on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest OU news.