The Women’s Professional Baseball League is set to kick off its first season at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois. The league is scheduled to commence play on August 1, following the Women’s Baseball World Cup taking place in Rockford, just a few hours north of Springfield, from July 22-26.
For the 2026 season, the league comprises four teams based in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Boston. San Francisco will have the first pick in a draft conducted in a snake-style format on Thursday evening, with Los Angeles, New York, and Boston to follow suit. In the draft, each team will participate in six rounds, selecting five players per round. Notable players expected to be chosen in the draft include former Little League standout Mo’ne Davis, USA Baseball’s Kelsie Whitmore, and Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato.
Robin Roberts Stadium was chosen as the league’s home venue due to its central location among the founding clubs. Springfield has a historical connection to women’s baseball, having hosted one of the earliest paid women’s games in 1875. The stadium, which can accommodate 5,200 spectators, recently upgraded its facilities with the installation of an LED videoboard.
The Women’s Professional Baseball League was co-founded by Justine Siegal, who made history as the first woman to coach for an MLB team, the Oakland Athletics, in 2015. Upon its launch, the league will be the first professional women’s baseball league since the disbandment of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1954, famously depicted in the movie “A League of Their Own.”
