During World War II, the creation of the All-American Women’s Pro Baseball League allowed women to play professional baseball. The league ran from 1943 to 1954, and the 1993 movie A League of Their Own provided a fictional storyline of the most successful AAGPBL organization, the four-time champion Rockford Peaches.
Now, after 70 years without a professional baseball league for women in the United States, the Women’s Pro Baseball League announced on Tuesday the launch of its first season in the summer of 2026.
According to a release on the WPBL’s website, the league will have six teams, mainly based in the Northeast, during the first season. The announcement of the WPBL’s launch includes hopes of finalizing a national television deal to broadcast the regular season, postseason, and championship.
One of the co-founders of the WPBL is Justine Siegal, who became the first female coach for a professional men’s baseball team, accepting a position with the Brockton Rox of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball in 2009. Internationally, Siegal was a member of the Israel coaching staff in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers.
“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 said in the release on the WPBL’s website. “We have been waiting over 70 years for a professional baseball league we can call our own. Our time is now.”
Former Major League Baseball player and manager Cito Gaston and Japan Women’s Baseball League legend Ayami Sato will be special advisors to the WPBL. Gaston became the first African-American manager to win a World Series in 1992 with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sato has won several gold medals pitching for Japan in international tournaments, most notably the Women’s Baseball World Cup. In August, Japan won its seventh consecutive Women’s Baseball World Cup, defeating the United States 11-6 in the World Championship Final. Japan is the No. 1 country in the WBSC Women’s World Baseball rankings.
WPBL co-founder Keith Stein believes the recent growth of other women’s professional sports leagues is a promising sign that baseball fans would show great support and excitement for women in professional baseball.
“We believe the success of other women’s professional leagues, such as the WNBA and NWSL, demonstrates the incredible interest and support for women’s sport,” Stein said in a statement on the WPBL website.
The anticipation of the WPBL’s inaugural season in 2026 will only grow as the time to throw out the first pitch in league history draws closer. The first game in the WPBL will be a historical moment for women in professional sports and a moment of great importance for all girls and women who love to play and watch baseball.
