5'4'', 130 lbs, home to B1 < 2.8, pitch: +50, GPA: 3.4

Despite receiving far less attention (and funding) than Div-I and Div-II schools, there are some truly competitive Div-III softball programs out there. Unfortunately, yours is not one of them. Tough luck, kiddo.

5'6'', 140 lbs, home to B1 < 3.1, pitch: +58, GPA: 2.9

You're good enough to not only have earned a spot on a top Div-II team, but you were also awarded a sizable scholarship for your wind-em-up, strike-em-out pitching skills. But the NPF employs fewer than 20 pitchers total (source), and many of them have been on the roster for several years (which means there's not exactly a huge turnover). To add insult to injury, all of the current NPF players come from D-I schools. There's a place for you…somewhere a place for you…but not in professional softball.

5'9'', 167 lbs, home to B1 < 3.0, pitch: +57, GPA: 3.2

You're an important infielder and big bat for a Div-I school, where you've been in the starting lineup since your freshman year. You've also been selected to the All-American team. But your school isn't one of the top-ranking Div-I institutions, which is where about 50% of players for the NPF come from. Toss a coin at this point, because your odds are literally fifty-fifty.

5'8'', 158 lbs, home to B1 < 2.9, pitch: +60, GPA: 3.4

You have a loyal following of fans at your top-ranking Div-I school, where you've earned the distinguished Catcher of the Year award. You're All-American and your sharp pitch calls and sticky mitt have earned you national media attention. There's an opening for a catcher on the NPF's Chicago Bandits team. If you want a professional career, you've got a chance.

5'9'', 160 lbs, home to B1 <2.7, pitch +63, GPA 2.9

You are not only the best softball player in college, you're also the number one athlete in all of college sports—you've got the Honda Cup to prove it. Sports Illustrated is calling you the next big thing and sponsors are lining up to endorse you once you graduate. Offers from all five NPF teams are in your pocket. The hard part is choosing which team is lucky enough to have you.

(Source)

Ever hear the phrase, ''one in a million''? Well, you'll need to be exactly that if you want to go pro. Think about the best high school athlete in your district of 10 high schools. The absolute Big Woman in the area. She gets headhunted so hard by collages that she can barely spare time for her school work, let alone friends. Then, she gets into college and is a total all star there…one of the twelve best all stars on her team that year. Well, guess what? Only one of those ladies will be a pro in five years…if this is a top class of athletes out of the past several years.

So, even if you're in the 95th percentile of all NCAA athletes in your sport, you've still got a snowball's chance in a microwave of going pro. Not to mention actually mattering at all. More than likely, you'll still be struggling to eke out a living on the bench for a year or stuck on a farm team until you're forced to look for other work. We could bludgeon you with more data and stats, but as you dream about success, just make sure you're hedging your bets.

In other words: enjoy that "alternative" career, Shmooper. (#realtalk)