Members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League exercise in 1948. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Katelyn Auty
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A professional women’s baseball league is set to debut in 2026. The organizers of the new Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) hope to have six teams of women on the field by the summer of 2026.
The WPBL’s co-founders are Keith Stein, a lawyer and businessman, and Justine Siegal, founder of Baseball for All, a nonprofit that provides girls with opportunities to play and coach baseball. In 2015, Siegal became the first female coach in Major League Baseball when she was hired as a guest instructor for the Oakland A’s club in the Arizona Instructional League.
Siegal shared with NBC News that the explosive growth of women’s college and pro basketball, along with the popularity of women’s soccer, played a role in boosting baseball at this moment.
“This is definitely a great time for women’s sports and pro sports as men and others have finally figured out how great women are as athletes,” Siegal said.
The announcement of this league comes soon after the conclusion of what the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) commissioner Cathy Englebert called “the most transformational year in the WNBA’s history.” The season was capped by a Game 5 that was the most-viewed WNBA Finals game in 25 years.
The announcement also comes after the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) announced that it is preparing to expand beyond its inaugural six teams. The expansion could possibly be as early as the 2025-2026 season. The PWHL’s second season is set to begin Nov. 30.
There is still lots of work to be done before the WPBL can begin, but Stein and Siegal have outlined a plan to keep the league’s development on track. The WPBL hopes to hold a draft in November of next year. The league aims to play 40 games from May to August in college and minor league stadiums. Siegal shared she is leaning towards seven-inning games, which is standard for international women’s baseball. Decisions about more intricate details of play, such as the pitch clock, are still being talked out. Stein shared that any decisions about rules will likely be driven by how those choices affect the game’s appearance on television and streaming.
“The Women’s Pro Baseball League is here for all the girls and women who dream of a place to showcase their talents and play the game they love,” Siegal shared. “We have been waiting over 70 years for a professional baseball league we can call our own. Our time is now.”