The Women’s Pro Baseball League is scheduled to start its inaugural season in August 2026, and announced that the inaugural season will take place in Springfield, Illinois, at Robin Roberts Stadium.
“Springfield is the birthplace of women’s pro baseball, with the first-ever pro women’s teams being formed there in 1875: the Blondes and the Brunettes,” read the league’s announcement on Instagram. “By selecting Springfield to host our first season, we’ll be taking women’s pro baseball back to where it began, giving Midwesterners and fans from across the country the opportunity to witness the best women in baseball going head-to-head for the first time since the Midwest-based All American Girls Baseball League played its final game.”
The league also announced that it will have complete and exclusive access to the stadium for the duration of the season. That is not something that players are taking lightly.
“We have the opportunity to have the facilities and stadium completely to ourselves,” said WPBL player Amanda Gianelloni, per the league’s Instagram post. “It’s something we’re very thankful for.”
According to WPBL’s Matt Warren, the stadium seats 5,200 and opened in 1925. It also received major upgrades recently, including a new LED video board.
“When we committed to a neutral site for 2026, Robin Roberts Stadium stood out immediately,” said WPBL co-founder Keith Stein, per Warren. “It provides a first-rate environment and the exclusivity we want for our players.”
The new league will feature four teams representing four major cities, San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles and Boston. The inaugural player draft will take place on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. EST. The draft will consist of six rounds. Each round will consist of 20 picks, five per team.
The draft order has San Francisco picking first, Los Angeles picking second, New York picking third and Boston picking fourth. Not all drafted players are guaranteed roster spots or contracts, and teams can trade players after January 1st.
There is still plenty of time before the league begins, but announcing the venue and the upcoming draft are two huge checkpoints.
Photo: Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois will host the WPBL’s inaugural season in 2026. (Photo via WPBL on Instagram)
