The San Antonio Armadillos were a women's professional softball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They were part of the founding roster of National Pro Fastpitch teams in 2004.
History
The Armadillos's owner was Suzi Stauffer. The Armadillos were assigned to the NPF's West Division, along with the Colorado Altitude, Arizona Heat, and California Sunbirds. The East Division included NY/NJ Juggernaut, New England Riptide, Akron Racers and Texas Thunder.
The team announced in February that they had an agreement to lease San Antonio Independent School District's Spring Sports Complex for their games.
Veteran softball coach Phil Koehler was named the Armadillos' coach, to be assisted by Charles Dismuke of the San Antonio Fastpitch Academy and former Texas A&M softball player Gina Perez. By 2015, Koehler had more than 35 years of softball coaching, including 1989-96 as head coach of St. Edward's University
In March 2004, NPF released its inaugural schedule for the year and did not include the Armadillos and the Altitude. Sources reported that NPF felt the San Antonio ownership ""came in late and really just couldn't get everything together in time," while Stauffer, calling the process a "nightmare," claimed she had a stadium and sponsors signed up, but NPF doubted her ability to support the team and increased her fee substantially, on top of a dispute over whether the league owned the team name and logos.
Shortly thereafter, a letter of the team's website indicated that the Armadillos, with new owners, would apply to be an NPF expansion team in 2005. However, the only 2005 expansion team was the Chicago Bandits, and after the Texas Thunder moved to Rockford, Illinois, the NPF would not have a team in Texas until the Dallas Charge began play in 2015.
Players The Armadillos participated in NPF's inaugural Elite Draft and Senior Draft. The following players were drafted by the Armadillos:
Player Position College Draft Position NPF ExperienceStacey Phillips1BMichigan StateElite Draft: Round 1, pick 1 - SignedNever played in NPFKathy MortonOFSouthwestern LouisianaElite Draft: Round 1, pick 7 - SignedNever played in NPFLea MishlanSSSouth FloridaElite Draft: Round 2, Pick 9 Never played in NPFStormy HansonCIndianaElite Draft: Round 3, Pick 17Never played in NPFJessica WheelerSSSan Jacinto CollegeElite Draft: Round 4, Pick 25Never played in NPFCarri LetoIFNorthwesternSenior Draft: Round 2, Pick 16NY/NJ Juggernaut (2004–05), Philadelphia Force (2006), New England Riptide (2007–08)Tara KnudsenSSGeorgia TechSenior Draft: Round 3, Pick 24Arizona Heat (2005)LaDonia HughesOFLSUSenior Draft: Round 4, Pick 32Arizona Heat (2005–06), Washington Glory (2007–08), USSSA Pride (2009)Anissa MeashintubbyPOregonSenior Draft: Round 5, Pick 40 Never played in NPFMeghan Clark1BMercerSenior Draft: Round 6, Pick 48Never played in NPF
The following players also appeared on the team's roster, acquired via means other the draft (free agency, trade): Player Position College NPF ExperienceRobyn King2BBoston University Never played in NPFTobin Echo-Hawk3BNebraskaOrlando Wahoos (1997–98), Akron Racers (1999-00, 2005)Becky MansonUTCentral MichiganNever played in NPFAlicia SmithOFHofstraNY/NJ Juggernaut (2005)Monica TrinerPSouth FloridaTampa Bay FireStix (1999-00), Arizona Heat (2004)Tarrah BeysterPOregon State University NPF All-Stars (2003), Arizona Heat (2004), New England Riptide (2006–07)
References
External links
The Softball Channel