Expectations for a historic shift in women’s sports are growing in the United States with the announcement of the creation of the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL), set to begin operations in 2026.
The launch marks an unprecedented moment in professional baseball: for the first time, an exclusively women’s league for adult players will be offered, an opportunity long awaited by several generations.
The league has opened its first tryouts in Washington D.C., where players from across the country are attending with hopes of joining the professional competition.
The news has drawn the attention of historical figures and young prospects, as well as women who previously saw their dreams cut short due to the lack of opportunities beyond youth leagues.
One of the most recognizable faces in this new era is Victoria Ruelas, who at age 12 made history as the first American girl to play in the Little League World Series in 1989. More than three decades later, Ruelas laments the slow pace of progress. “We keep talking about the advances we’ve made, but they take too long. It should happen faster.”
She emphasized that seeing girls in the Little League World Series encourages her, but finding only isolated cases reflects the scale of the gap that still needs to be closed. “It thrills me to see them, but it’s still just one here, another there. That bothers me because there are so many more of us who play,” Ruelas added.
The WPBL tryouts are open and allow players of all ages to participate. Among the confirmed figures for the league are former youth star Mo’ne Davis and U.S. national team member Kelsie Whitmore.
“I never imagined seeing this. As a kid, you were told you had to switch to softball because baseball had no future for women. So you just accepted it,” said Monica Holguin, 45, from Burbank, California.
Holguin spent much of her life raising her children before showing up to the tryouts in Washington as a third baseman. “I just want to show my kids that age doesn’t stop you from pursuing a dream,” she said.
Legacy and Persistence
The presence of aspiring players of different ages highlights the breadth of the legacy and the persistence of barriers for women in U.S. baseball. Ruelas, now 48, played college softball and was part of the U.S. team for the Women’s World Series in 2001. She traveled from Honolulu to the capital to join the tryouts and insists, “As long as my body allows it, I want to keep playing.”
Another standout profile is Micaela Minner, co-founder of a sports training company in Akron, Ohio. Minner stayed connected to baseball until age 15 and achieved success in softball at the school and professional levels, but baseball still holds a special place in her story.
“When I was little, my skin color affected me in a predominantly white town. My stepfather got me into baseball so I wouldn’t get into trouble,” she told the U.S. media. “I found belonging, and that helped me accept myself. Baseball saved me,” emphasized Minner, who competed as a first baseman and left-handed pitcher in the tryouts.
The Women’s Professional Baseball League emerges after decades during which hundreds of female players had to migrate to other sports, like softball, or remain in mixed-gender spaces with a predominantly male presence.
Now, for many of them, making the transition to a genuine professional league represents the chance to settle a historical debt. “The goal now is to show girls that they can play after high school and that they can even get paid for it, just like men. We need this to grow, to become an achievable goal for the next generations,” Minner said.
Image: Infobae
