Oklahoma's Lauren Chamberlain at Center of Professional Softball Revival

As Commissioner of the WPF, the former Sooners slugger will help players such as Jocelyn Alo pursue professional and Olympic softball dreams.

For seven years, former Oklahoma star Lauren Chamberlain has been known as college softball’s Home Run Queen.

This weekend, at the Mary Nutter Classic in California, it’s likely she will pass off the crown to current Sooner slugger Jocelyn Alo. The pair of legendary hitters currently sit tied with 95 homers each, and Alo and Chamberlain are expecting the Hawaiian to take the record to new heights.

But Home Run Queen isn’t the only title preceding Chamberlain’s name these days.

On Sept. 30, 2021, Chamberlain accepted a new title, Commissioner of a new professional softball startup: Women’s Professional Fastpitch.

USA Softball and USSSA have combined forces to launch another professional softball league with the intention of giving the sport’s premier athletes a path to continue their playing career beyond college, and the former OU star is at the heart of the venture.

“When I got the call to become Commissioner, I was like absolutely,” Chamberlain said Tuesday during a Zoom press conference. “Like, this is probably gonna be the hardest thing that I've done in my life, but yeah, I feel like I'm built for it.”

As the popularity of college softball continues to grow year over year, one of the questions that has often puzzled collegiate softball players, including Chamberlain, is why hasn’t a professional league become established like the WNBA has for women’s basketball players?

Softball’s popularity cannot be denied, however.

Last year, ESPN saw the sport as enough of a draw to place Oklahoma and Washington on ABC, the first college softball game to be broadcast on the major network, during Super Regional play.

Oklahoma punched their ticket to last year's WCWS in the first collegiate softball game to be broadcast on ABC / OU Athletics

Each year, the viewership numbers for the Women’s College World Series increase, outdrawing their male counterparts at the baseball College World Series.

Yet, a women’s professional softball league hasn’t taken hold across the country.

“That's been the age-old question that we've always wondered,” said Chamberlain, “Why is there such a drop off? Why can't we continue, you know, to follow these players?

“And I think branding has to do everything with it. I think visibility has to do everything with this.”

That’s where Chamberlain comes in. On top of her fabled career on the diamond, Chamberlain has been incredibly successful off the field. Working both behind the scenes on the business side of the sport and in front of the camera with Major League Baseball, the former Sooner has parlayed her playing career into a successful second act.

Through her experiences, Chamberlain said she hopes she’s properly placed to help set the WPF to find success where other leagues have failed.

“Getting somebody in the commissioner spot and getting people involved that have a little bit more visibility and can really connect the right people, it's exciting,” Chamberlain said. “I understand the opportunity that I have ahead of me to really build something and make it last and make it viable. So it's exciting.”

Breaking Chamberlain’s record has been a dream of Alo’s from when she was much younger. If Chamberlain is successful helping launch the WPF in 2022, then she could play a major role in helping Alo achieve another dream.

When Alo is done at Oklahoma after the 2022 season, she’ll set her sights on donning the Red, White and Blue of Team USA.

Though she wasn’t initially selected for Team USA after the team trials earlier this season, Alo was steadfast that she would one day represent her country.

“The Olympics aren't for another seven years, and hopefully I'll make it then,” Alo said before the season. “I know for sure I'll be playing then. To be an Olympian is definitely one of my dreams and one of my goals. And I'm going to accomplish that.”

Softball returned to the Olympics in Tokyo last year for the 2020 Games, but an entire generation of stars were deprived of living out their Olympic dreams.

Team USA won the Silver Medal at the 2020 Olympics :: Kareem Elgazzar / USA TODAY Sports

“Not being able to be in the Olympics in my prime,” said Chamberlain, “and like, when I was ready to go and wear the USA jersey and not having that opportunity to play on that stage, that was hard.

“I mean, that's what you work for. I mean, that's on your third grade project, right? It's like, 'I'm going to play for Team USA,' and I'm sure a lot of women out there have the same type of project.”

Next time the Olympics roll around in 2024, Paris will host the Games. As the French opt to not field a softball team, so the sport will again be absent from the Olympic stage.

To be able to stretch a career over the next seven years, players like Alo need a healthy and thriving professional league to continue to hone their skills and stay at the top of their game.

“With Jocelyn and her opportunity to have a place for them to play,” said Chamberlain, “to have somewhere for them to strive to that's that's bigger than college, right? Because think of college and it's like your MVPs of college, they're all going to play pro.

“That's who I played with was all of our World Series MVPs. When we face them every single weekend, and then same with the Olympics, it should be the best of the best going out. So if we can have a place for them to play, to showcase their abilities and not have the drop off and not have them just completely like, hop off the cliff and no one hears from them again.”

The WPF is headquartered in Oklahoma City, so Chamberlain said there are plenty of familiar faces working behind the scenes to make her dreams for the league a reality.

“Honestly, shout out to Oklahoma,” Chamberlain said. “We've been moving with conversations and just getting people on board and it seems like the people that support OU softball are really, really invested in this professional development.”

With a foot in both doors, Chamberlain is doing what she can to help make the league a success, not just for the career prospects of the current college softball stars, but for the next generation who will dominate the growing sport.

“The most challenging part is thinking as an athlete versus thinking as a businesswoman,” Chamberlain said. “Thinking as an athlete, you wonder why aren't people supporting us?' Like, why isn't the money coming out? Why aren't people just jumping at the opportunity to make this the biggest thing ever, right? And as a player, you're like, 'I know my worth, I know my worth.' But then as as a businesswoman on the side, you're like, man, there's just so many other things that go into it.

“It's not that easy. And there's a lot of layers and levels to it. So it's hard. It's challenging, but it's like, such a good challenge. And I know that when this bites, it's gonna go and the people that are getting in on it now are going to be really cool.”

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