★ Inaugural 2026 · Historic First Season
United States · Women's Pro Baseball League · Founded 2024
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WPBL
Women's Pro Baseball League · Inaugural 2026 Season
The first professional women's baseball league in the United States since the AAGPBL folded in 1954 — seventy-two years of history closing in a single summer. Six franchises, a hub in Springfield, Illinois, co-founded by Olympic gold medalist softball star Justine Siegal (the first woman to coach for an MLB organization) and business operator Keith Stein. The inaugural season begins in August 2026. The rosters include women who've played NCAA baseball, professional softball in Japan, and international team competitions.
⚡ When to Watch WPBL
The inaugural 2026 season runs August through October — deliberately scheduled around the NCAA women's softball calendar and the MLB playoff window. Games at 6:05 PM CT on weekdays (7:05 PM ET), 2:05 PM CT on weekend afternoons. Hub-and-spoke model means most games played at Springfield's shared facility during Year One, with road trips to participating host cities.
7:05 PM ET
Weekday 18:05 CT
3:05 PM ET
Weekend 14:05 CT
Year 1 Hub
Springfield, IL
01
Where to Watch WPBL
Evolving for inaugural season
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2026 Inaugural Season Key Dates
Jan 2026
Player Combine
Multi-day tryout at Kansas City facility · 300+ athletes invited.
Apr 2026
Inaugural Draft
First-ever WPBL player draft · televised event.
Jul 2026
Training Camp
All six teams report to Springfield for preseason.
Aug 2026
OPENING DAY
Historic first game · First pro women's baseball game in the US since 1954.
Sep 2026
All-Star Game
Mid-season showcase · sponsor activation target.
Oct 2026
Championship Series
First WPBL champion crowned.
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The Inaugural 6 Teams
Franchise identities evolving
WPBL · 6 Franchises · 2026 Season
Team names and brand identities — Being finalized ahead of the August 2026 launch · Watch for franchise reveals in coming months
Springfield, IL — Primary hub city · Shared facility model for Year 1
Midwest concentration — Year 1 focuses on Illinois-centric hub-and-spoke travel
Expansion cities — Identified for Year 2: Boston, New York, Washington DC rumored
Roster pipelines — NCAA baseball, international softball, Japan women's pro, Team USA
Name your WPBL team? — Fan voting contests rumored for franchise naming ahead of launch
The Fact
The First Professional Women's Baseball League in 72 Years
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) — the league that inspired "A League of Their Own" — played its final game on September 5, 1954. For 72 years, women in America had no path to professional baseball. They had softball — a different sport with a different ball, different pitching, different fields. The WPBL launching in August 2026 ends that drought. Co-founder Justine Siegal has been building toward this for decades — she became the first woman to coach for an MLB organization (Oakland A's, 2015), the first to throw batting practice for a major league team, and she founded Baseball For All, which ran girls' baseball clinics in all 50 states. The WPBL's opening day will be the most historically significant moment in American women's team sport since the WNBA's inaugural game in 1997. It's not exhibition. It's not softball. It's professional women's baseball. And it launches this August.
⚡ Follow the Inaugural Season
World Baseball Network will be covering every WPBL story from player signings through Opening Day through the first Championship Series. Historic first season. Daily updates as we approach August 2026 launch.
WPBL Coverage on WBN →