What Might the Women's Pro Baseball Teams Be Named?
Unrivaled Basketball and Athletes Unlimited Softball may offer clues
The Women’s Pro Baseball League is launching in May 2026 and more than 100 players will be drafted to their new teams sometime in October. This new reel from the league’s social media is getting me pretty hyped.
Here’s what we know about those teams so far:
There will be six of them.
They will all play at one or two neutral sites somewhere in the Northeast.
They will operate under a “single entity ownership model.”
Here’s what we don’t know about those teams:
What they will be called.
During the WPBL press conference at Nationals Park, co-founder Keith Stein said team identities would be shared sometime in September. As we eagerly await the announcement, I thought some speculation on the future branding would be fun.
Two new women’s sports leagues launched earlier this year: the Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball league in January and the Athletes Unlimited Softball League in June. The approach of these two leagues might offer clues to WPBL’s future team branding.
In 2025, Unrivaled and AUSL teams did not have specific city affiliations like MLB, WNBA, PWHL, etc. The six Unrivaled teams played at a beautiful custom-built facility and court in Miami, while all four AUSL teams traveled between different cities and fields gathering exposure in Illinois, Louisiana, Kansas, Texas, and Nebraska.
When a team has a permanent home base in a particular city, their branding can reflect some connection to that city. They can own their local history (however weird it may be) and leverage their brand identity to gain a following before a single pitch is thrown – “that’s my local team.”
When a team doesn’t have a permanent home base, it’s a little tougher. The WPBL will be in the same situation as Unrivaled and AUSL: cityless teams playing at neutral site(s). So how did those leagues handle their inaugural branding?
Both leagues took the “single name” approach. The logos are colorful, albeit slightly generic. Pick whichever name calls to you, or see where your favorite player gets drafted, and you’re off to the races as a new fan.
Unrivaled incorporated the phrase “Basketball Club” onto the end of each of their team names, which I like. It lengthens the formal name of the team and gives it the tenor of something with a city affiliation even though it doesn’t have one. Perhaps WPBL could go with a “________ Baseball Club” approach?
There doesn’t seem to be any deeper meaning to Unrivaled team names besides “it sounds cool.” Athletes Unlimited, on the other hand, features a bit more intentionality with their team branding. The Talons “About” page discusses the speed of the peregrine falcon, the deliberate shape of their team crest, and the focus on “grabbing” victory each time they take the field.
Some are predicting (and hoping) the new league will simply adopt the old team names of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The Peaches, the Comets, the Blue Sox, these names are all well-known amongst baseball fans and movie fans alike and would play well in the press.
I just don’t think this is the approach the new league will take. They honor the past, of course, and the trailblazers who came before – the AAGPBL ran so WPBL could sprint and stick around for decades to come. Plus, the All-American Women’s Baseball Classic historically uses those retro names for their annual showcase. It feels to me like this new league will want to go in a new direction.
(That being said, one classic name I could see them reusing is the Peaches. AUSL features the Bandits, seemingly a reincarnation of the Chicago Bandits who won six National Pro Fastpitch championships in Rosemont. WPBL could bust out the “Peaches” moniker with the intention of moving them to Rockford in a few years.)
If the WPBL follows the structure of Unrivaled and AUSL, what might the new teams be called? Until the announcement comes, all we can do is wildly guess. For fun, I have a few ideas/predictions below.
🍃 Ivy
On May 17th, 1943, future players of the AAGPBL gathered at Wrigley Field to see if they would make the final cut for the new league. Naming one of the teams after Wrigley’s famous ivy would be a great and subtle nod to women’s baseball history.
⚾ Stitches
Most Unrivaled teams have a basketball somewhere in the logo. The Laces take things a step further with a basketball-themed team name, referencing the laces of basketball sneakers. Similarly, a WPBL team could be named after the stitches on a baseball.
9️⃣ Nine
Nine is a holy number in baseball. The jersey number 9 was worn by legends such as Rogers Hornsby, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio. There are 9 defensive players on the field at a time. And of course, Title IX helped change the sports landscape for the better back in 1972.
💎 Rubies
I acknowledge this one’s a bit of a stretch. Not every team name might have a deeper meaning like the three above, but a gemstone as your team identity could lead to some cool branding opportunities. Plus, it kind of sounds like “ribbies.”
👑 Crown
Similar to Rubies, you could have a lot of fun branding a team named the “Crown.” Players on this team would be queens of the baseball diamond, prime to win a league championship or chase Triple Crown honors.
🥪 Submarines
Pitchers threw underhand in the early years of the AAPGBL before the league evolved into more traditional baseball like we know today. There’s a notable submarine base in Groton, Connecticut. Depending on where in the Northeast the inaugural season is played, perhaps there’s some punny connection to be made here.
Those are my ideas. Ivy/Stitches/Nine feel solid, but I’m not quite sold on Rubies/Crown/Submarines. What would you call the new teams? Drop it in the comments below!