New professional women's baseball league to launch in 2026

A new women's professional baseball league is set to launch in the United States.

The Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) announced Tuesday in a press release that it will serve as the only professional women's baseball league in America. Competition is planned to begin in the summer of 2026 with six teams in the northeastern United States.

The WPBL is co-founded by Justine Siegal, the first female coach employed by an MLB team, and Keith Stein, a Canadian businessman and owner of the Intercounty Baseball League's Toronto Maple Leafs.

The league's website says that team owner selection is underway.

“I am so excited that there will finally be a professional women’s baseball league – it is a dream come true for all the girls and women who play America’s Pastime,” Siegal said in the release.

“The Women’s Pro Baseball League is here for all the girls and women who dream of a place to showcase their talents and play the game they love. We have been waiting over 70 years for a professional baseball league we can call our own. Our time is now.”

Siegal is also the founder of Baseball For All, a non-profit that creates opportunities for girls to "play, coach and lead" in the sport.

Along with Siegal and Stein leading the creation of the league, legendary Japanese pitcher Ayami Soto and Toronto Blue Jays World Series-winning manager Cito Gaston will serve as special advisors to the WPBL.

With the WNBA just having finished its most-consumed season ever, the NWSL recently adding a franchise in Boston and the PWHL announcing its intention for expansion earlier on Tuesday, the WPBL will have multiple examples to follow from other successful women's professional leagues.

“We believe that the success of other women’s professional leagues such as the WNBA and NWSL demonstrates the incredible interest and support for women’s sport,” said Stein in the release.

The WPBL also announced that it plans on securing a national broadcast deal for its inaugural season, which will include a regular season, playoffs and championship.

The 2024 Women's Baseball World Cup was hosted in Thunder Bay, Ont., featuring six countries. Japan beat the United States in the gold medal game to secure its seventh consecutive world championship and Canada beat Mexico to win the bronze.