NASHVILLE – Senior University of South Alabama pitcher Devin Brown became the fourth Jaguar player to be drafted in program history Tuesday night as the right-hander was the 20th overall selection by the Cleveland Comets, formerly the Akron Racers, in the fourth round of the 2018 National Pro Fastpitch College Draft presented by BLAST and held at the ACME Event Center.

"There were only 24 picks in this year's draft and I was really worried about whether or not I would be selected.  There are some really amazing players in this year's graduating class," said Brown of having to wait to hear her named called.  "Whenever I did hear my named though, I was really excited."

The Cleveland Comets are scheduled to open their first season on May 31 against the Chicago Bandits in Rosemont, Ill.

Brown joins former Jaguars Hannah Campbell (3rd overall – 2014 – Akron Racers), Farish Beard (33rd overall – Dallas Charge – 2015) and Emily Messer (31st overall – Akron Racers – 2016) to be selected by the NFP.

"It's an amazing feeling to be just the fourth player drafted in program history," said Brown.  I'm very excited to be able to represent our program in a positive way.  I'm also thankful for Hannah [Campbell], [Emily] Messer and Farish [Beard], who was drafted before me, as well as the other player who came before me."

The league will open on May 19th, when the Aussie Spirit plays host to the Beijing Shougang Eagles. The 120-game regular season will go through August 12th.  Oklahoma pitcher Paige Lowery was the No. 1 overall selection by the Chicago Bandits.  Texas State's Randi Rupp (Cleveland Comets) was selected fourth in the first round as well.

Along with Rupp, Brown joins fellow collegiate pitchers Kelley Hansen (Florida State, 5th overall), Carley Hoover (LSU, 9th overall), Alexis Osorio (Alabama, 16th overall), and infielders Vanessa Shippy (Oklahoma State, 11th overall) and Jenna Lilly (Oregon, 22nd overall) in Cleveland's draft class.
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The Mobile, Ala., native is 16-12 this season with a 1.85 earned-run average to go along with 197 strikeouts.  She has 21 complete games on the year and holds seven shutouts – six solo and one combined.  Brown recorded her sixth double-digit strikeout game of the season in the series opener against Appalachian State last weekend and extended her program mark to 38 with her 16 strikeouts, which was one shy of tying her career high.

This season, she is second in the league in innings pitched (189.2), strikeouts looking (56) and strikeouts. Her strikeout tally is 17th in the latest NCAA rankings.  Brown is also 28th in the nation in shutouts.

Entering play this week, Brown is just two strikeouts away from becoming the fifth Sun Belt pitcher to eclipse the 900-strikeout mark for their career.  

Brown became the program's all-time strikeout leader earlier this season on Feb. 18 with her eight strikeout performance against Murray State as she passed former Jag Beth Pilgrim's (2007-10) previous mark of 735.  Against Western Kentucky, Brown became the first Jaguar to eclipse the 800-strikeout mark for her career with her strikeout of WKU's Brittany Vaughan in the top of the second.  

Brown tied Hannah Campbell's (2011-14) program mark with her 28th career shutout of the Toppers and then in the series finale against Georgia Southern (3/18), the senior recorded the 29th of her career to become the program's all-time leader in an 8-0 win over the Eagles.

For her career, Brown has 898 strikeouts, 31 shutouts and ranks third in program history in starts (101) and complete games (73).

Earlier this season, Brown was named to USA Softball's Top 50 "Watch List" for the 2018 Collegiate Player of the Year award and was one of 30 candidates for Senior CLASS Award (2018).  She has been a preseason all-Sun Belt selection each of the last three seasons and was a First-Team All-SBC selection in 2016 and 2017.   During her career, Brown has been a 12-time SBC Pitcher of the Week selection.

The Jaguars will take on 15th-ranked LSU on Tuesday night at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La., at 6 p.m.  The contest can be seen on SECNetwork .

About the Cleveland Comets
The Cleveland Comets, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, became a new franchise in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) League in 2018.  The Team became the most recent addition to the NPF and is owned by Craig Stout the former majority owner of the Akron Racers, a team that existed since the NPF began in 2004.  The Cleveland Comets will embrace the Racers' fan base, while also introducing the attractive and popular product of fastpitch softball to the greater Cleveland area.

About National Pro Fastpitch (NPF)
National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), an Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball since 2004, provides elite female athletes with an opportunity to pursue a professional career in fastpitch softball beyond their collegiate and amateur success.  The NPF affiliate teams consist of the Aussie Spirit, Beijing Shougang Eagles, Chicago Bandits, Cleveland Comets, and USSSA Florida Pride for the 2018 season. National Pro Fastpitch players hail from the United States, Australia, Canada and China among which are the most accomplished and talented athletes in the sport of women's softball.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_Jags. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
    
Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear.  All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub

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