The last time women played organized professional baseball in America was 1954. That changes Saturday when the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) gets underway at the 5,200-seat Robin Roberts Stadium.
Throughout the next six weeks, 60 women from 11 countries between the ages of 19 and 37 will compete for four teams—the Boston Hunters, San Francisco Firebelles, New York Heights, and Los Angeles Queens—across a 15-game regular season, played entirely in Springfield, Illinois.
These players got there by navigating varying levels of amateur women’s baseball infrastructure in their home countries, participating in an open-call tryout in Washington, D.C. last summer that drew more than 600 hopefuls, and ultimately getting signed via the league’s inaugural draft in November 2025.
The WBPL has already shown flashes of big potential: Before its first game, the league amassed around 600,000 social-media followers across platforms, launched a trading card program, and secured broadcast deals with ESPN and Scripps. Opening day sold out. The players—who are all temporarily stepping away from their homes and responsibilities as students, professionals, and parents—are ready to put women’s baseball firmly on the map.
