National Pro Fastball 2005 The Chicago Bandits inaugural season took place at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. Chicago recorded an NPF-best 41–7 record, but lost to the
Akron Racers in the championship.
2006 Chicago posted a 30–12 record, which again was best in the NPF, but lost to the
Connecticut Brakettes in the championship series.
2007 The 2007 Chicago Bandits went 23–21, but failed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing in sixth place in the league.
2008 The Bandits began their first season in Elgin with a 4–7 record, playing without Jennie Finch and Vicky Galindo of the United States National Team, and Caitlin Lever of the Canadian National Team, due to the
2008 Beijing Olympics.
Jessica Sallinger and
Kristina Thorson each won 12 games and were Chicago's first duo to record double-digit victories since Jennie Finch,
Amy Harrein 2005. After moving to their new stadium, the Bandits recorded 61 home runs in 2008, which was more home runs than in the franchise's first three years combined. The team's home run leaders were
Stacy May (13), Rachel Folden (11),
Jamie Clark (11) The Bandits completed their season sweeping the Akron Racers,
New England Riptide and
Rockford Thunder to finish the regular season 32-16 and on a 12-game winning streak, earning the highest seed in the 2008 Championship Series. In the Championship Series, Chicago won all three games and earned the franchise's first NPF Championship with a victory over the Washington Glory in the title game.
2009 The Chicago Bandits began their second season at
Judson University in
Elgin, Illinois, with the return of Olympians
Jennie Finch,
Vicky Galindo, and
Caitlin Lever. Chicago finished the regular season with a 27–12 record, ranking first in the
National Pro Fastpitch standings and earning the top seed for the playoffs in
Akron, Ohio. Despite having the best record in the NPF in 2009, Chicago was upset in the NPF playoffs by the USSSA Pride two games to one, and lost the opportunity to repeat as league champions.
2010 In 2010, the Bandits once again won the regular season title, but once again, the
USSSA Pride ended the Bandits championship hopes, winning their first Cowles Cup title. After the season, standouts Stacy May-Johnson and
Jennie Finch announced their retirements from professional softball.
2011 The Bandits moved into their brand new home stadium,
Ballpark at Rosemont, in
Rosemont, Illinois in time for the beginning of the 2011 season. The team officially opened the stadium for NPF play on June 16, 2011, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to the Bandits 1–0 walk-off win over the
USSSA Pride.
Caitlin Lever drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 7th. Unlike the previous three years, the Bandits did not win the regular season title. They finished third in the four-team NPF with a 20–20 record, after losing six of their final eight games at home to close out the regular season. The Bandits opened the playoffs in Sulphur, LA against the second-seeded
Akron Racers and swept the Racers with two straight victories, capped off by a three-run walk-off home run in extra innings by Nikki Nemitz to advance to the finals. In the finals, they once again met the Pride. In the first game, the Pride took an early 2–0 lead, but rookie Megan Wiggins hit a three-run double off Pride starter
Cat Osterman. Two pitches later, Osterman went down with an arm injury, but the Pride came back to tie the game at 3 in the bottom of the 7th. In the 8th, Bandits right-fielder Amber Patton drove in the go-ahead run and NPF Co-Pitcher of the Year
Monica Abbott made it stand up for a one-game lead in the best-of-three series. The next afternoon, Chicago got on the board early and often, scoring five times in the bottom of the first. The Pride got two back, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the day, as the Bandits cruised to their second Cowles Cup championship with a 10–3 victory. They became the first NPF team to win multiple Cowles Cup championships.
2015 Before the season, the Bandits signed 2015 draftees shortstop
Sammy Marshall of
Western Illinois signed with the Bandits. and outfielder
Brenna Moss of
Fresno State AJ Andrews of
LSU signed with the Bandits on June 12. After tryouts, the Bandits signed free agents infielder
Megan Blank of the
Iowa Hawkeyes, and pitcher
Lacey Waldrop of
Florida State.
2016 The Bandits announced an agreement with radio station 1590
WCGO to broadcast all Bandits home and road games for the 2016 season. After finishing the regular season with a 23–25 record (the first sub-.500 regular season in franchise history), the Bandits won their second consecutive Cowles Cup title, and fourth overall in franchise history, defeating the
USSSA Pride 2–1 in a winner-take-all game three of the Championship Series finals.
2017 Head coach
Mike Steuerwald stepped down and became assistant general manager of the Scrap Yard Dawgs. On February 1, the Village of Rosemont announced it would be assuming ownership of the Bandits from previous owner Bill Sokolis. The transaction included a $50,000 licensing fee paid to the NPF. Rosemont employee Toni Calmeyn will take over as general manager and will hire a new head coach. Later that month the Bandits hired
University of Florida assistant coach
Sharonda McDonald as their head coach. McDonald was an
All-NPF player, playing with the
Philadelphia Force in 2007 and 2008, the Racers from 2010 to 2012, and 2014 with the USSSA Pride. Later, Chicago hired as their assistant coach
Kyla Holas, who coached
University of Houston from 1999 to 2016. On June 8, the Bandits announced the hiring of
Grinnell College alumna
Annie Smith as assistant coach.
2018 The Bandits announced that McDonald would not be returning for the 2018 season. On September 19, they announced that their new coach would be Olympian medalist and NCAA champion
Stacey Nuveman Deniz. Nuveman Deniz held the NCAA home run record of 90 from 2002 to 2015, when
Lauren Chamberlain broke it. She played in the NPF for the
Arizona Heat in 2005.
Athletes Unlimited The team was re-introduced by
Athletes Unlimited in
2025 during the inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). The franchise was brought to life again with new colors, although the team was officially referred to as the Bandits for the season before re-adopting the full Chicago Bandits identity for the 2026 season. ==General managers==