The Future of Women's Baseball and Softball Is Here: Inside The WPBL and AUSL
· Yahoo Sports
Just within the last year, women now have the option to compete in both professional baseball and softball. The Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) was officially announced in October 2024 and concluded its inaugural season on September 22, 2026. The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) wrapped up its second season this July.
What Is the WPBL?
For the first time since 1954, women have the opportunity to compete in professional baseball. Professional women's softball has been growing through leagues like the AUSL, but women have been eager to play professional baseball for years. According to an article by Larry Shenk on the official MLB website, “It is the first pro league for women since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – immortalized in ‘A League of Their Own’ – dissolved 52 years ago.”
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With the addition of this league, four cities are now the home of a women’s professional baseball team. These cities are Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. All WPBL games are held at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Ill, which serves as a central location for all four teams.
Over 600 women were in attendance at tryouts in Washington, D.C., for the inaugural season. Charles Walton discusses the details of the league’s tryout process, stating, “Many of the women in attendance had never played on a team with other females before.” Out of the 600 women,
The first four-week, 30-game season began on August 1, 2026. At the end of the regular season, the San Francisco Firebells led the league with ten wins and five losses. However, the Los Angeles Queens claimed the championship title after defeating the Firebells 2-0, becoming the first women’s team to win a professional baseball title in 70 years.
In the postseason, the Queens were led at the plate by Isabella Villarreal. The infielder appeared at the plate 22 times and ended the playoffs with a .476 batting average and a .472 average over the regular season. Ayami Sato pitched 16 innings in the postseason with a 3.94 ERA, leading the Queens to victory.
Aug 2, 2026; Springfield, IL, USA; San Francisco Firebells pitcher Kelsie Whitmore (3) delivers from the mound during a WPBL game with the Boston Hunters at Robin Roberts Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn ImagesWhat is the AUSL?
The AUSL’s inaugural season took place in the summer of 2025. The original four teams were the Chicago Bandits, Carolina Blaze, Utah Talons, and the Texas Volts. Due to the popularity and success of its first season, two new teams were added to the league: The Oklahoma City Spark and the Portland Cascade.
Some of the most well-known names in all of softball have competed in the AUSL. Jocelyn Alo is widely considered one of the best hitters in softball history. In her professional career for the Bandits, Alo has recorded 12 home runs and a .944 slugging percentage. The Volts have Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canady, a USA softball pitcher who throws up to 75 miles per hour. For the 2026 season, the Portland Cascade drafted Megan Grant. Grant set the new NCAA record for home runs in a single season in 2026 for UCLA.
With the popularity these players bring to the league, the AUSL is rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing professional women’s sports leagues. The Portland expansion team sold out all but one of its home games during its inaugural season in 2026.
The Differences and Similarities
While baseball and softball share many similarities, they are two very distinct sports. Both the WPBL and the AUSL, however, provide women with opportunities to compete professionally and pursue careers in the sport they love.
The WPBL has a few rules that differ from traditional baseball and MLB. Like softball, women’s baseball plays to seven innings, not the traditional nine. These women have the option to use either wood, composite, or aluminum bats. The MLB and WPBL have the same dimensions for base paths (90 feet), but men’s baseball has 330 to 360-foot fences; the women’s field is 290 feet. The AUSL’s fences are typically set between 200-235 feet with 60-foot base paths.
The women’s baseball pitching distance is 60 feet six inches, while softball is 43 feet. The reason for these drastic differences in dimensions has to do with the balls they are using. A regulation softball is significantly larger, measuring 12 inches in circumference (and weighing about 6.25 to 7 ounces), whereas a regulation baseball measures 9 to 9.25 inches in circumference (weighing about 5 ounces). Due to the weight and circumference, a baseball is able to travel faster and farther than a softball.
The Future Is Here. End Of My Women’s Sports Rant
The growth of women's professional baseball and softball is more than the creation of new leagues. It is creating opportunities for the future generation of athletes. As the WPBL and AUSL continue to grow, young girls can look at these players and see that playing professionally is becoming an attainable dream. The future of women's sports is still being written, and these leagues are giving the next generation a chance to be part of it.
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