WPBL 101
An early reference guide to the new Women's Pro Baseball League, launching in May 2026.
Last Updated: October 13th, 2025
There’s a new league joining the baseball landscape in 2026: the Women’s Pro Baseball League, or WPBL.
If you’ve never heard of the league before, you’ve come to the right place. This is my unofficial Women’s Pro Baseball Fan Blog and this post is an initial reference guide of everything we know about the new league so far. Please chime in with a comment if there’s a specific question you don’t see answered here.
What is the WPBL?
The Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) is an upcoming baseball league for women launching in May 2026. During the inaugural season, the league will feature four to six teams of approximately 15 players with games played at one or two sites somewhere in the Northeastern United States.
Players will compete using aluminum bats across a seven-week season. From the League FAQ page: “4 weeks of regular season play, 1 week of all-star competition, and 2 weeks of playoffs. Games will be played from Thursday to Sunday with each team playing 2 games per week.”
WPBL players will be paid on a salary scale according to their position in the inaugural draft. They will receive housing during the season, plus translators and sponsored visas, if applicable.
Who will play in the league?
Over 600 women from 10 countries participated in the WPBL tryouts in Washington, D.C. in August 2025. Across four days of practice, the player pool was narrowed down to ~120 eligible for the inaugural draft in October 2025.
The tryouts featured players such as Kelsey Whitmore and Mo’ne Davis, plus a number of names from recent international women’s baseball tournaments. Alanis Thames from the Associated Press has a great article detailing some of the standout draft hopefuls here.
Why do we need a women’s baseball league? Isn’t there a new softball league out there?
Frankly, softball and baseball are different games! That’s like saying we don’t need 5 on 5 basketball because 3 on 3 exists. Some athletes and spectators prefer softball, others prefer baseball. The existence of the Women’s Pro Baseball League provides a pathway for girls and women to continue to play baseball if they so choose, instead of being siloed into softball.
Plus, baseball is awesome. We could always use more baseball.
This all sounds really cool. How can I stay up to date with the league?
I’d bookmark the official WPBL website on your favorite browser (https://www.womensprobaseballleague.com/) and follow the league on your preferred social media site (I’m particularly fond of their Instagram page.)
Then, be sure to click the button below to subscribe to my WPBL newsletter. And don’t forget to tell your friends!
Thanks for reading,
- Justin