From August 22 to 25, the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) will have its historic summer tryouts at the Nationals Park and Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington, D.C. It is the first women’s professional baseball tryouts in more than 80 years, since the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943, and it marks a significant milestone in women’s sports.
More than 600 players signed up for the WPBL’s summer trials. Player assessments and cuts will occur during the tryouts, which will take place at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy from August 22–24. The sessions will be drill-focused and involve athletic performance testing. Final cuts will be made to decide which players will be eligible for the WPBL Draft during live game play at Nationals Park on Monday, August 25.
WPBL Co-Founder, Dr. Justine Siegal, appeared on CBS Mornings with Alex Hugo, EVP of WPBL Player Relations, for the breaking news announcement. “This is more than a tryout – it’s a moment of long-overdue recognition for the incredible talent that has gone unseen for far too long,” stated Siegal. “We are thrilled to work with the Washington Nationals organization for our tryouts and have them support our League and women’s professional baseball.”
Leading the tryouts will be women’s baseball star Alex Hugo, who was Team Captain at the 2024 WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup and is the only two-time USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year Award winner (2019, 2024). She also won a silver medal for Team USA. Up to 150 players will be invited to the WPBL’s draft in October after the League’s trials this summer.
This announcement follows the WPBL’s recent announcement of a strategic relationship with Fremantle, which unites the country’s newest and most vibrant sports league with one of the top entertainment businesses. In a historic relationship, Fremantle will help the league’s development, production, distribution, digital, sponsorship, licensing, and marketing partnerships. Prior to this, the WPBL announced that Assia Grazioli-Venier, a global pioneer in women’s sports, had been appointed Chair of the League and that Muse Sport, the sports consulting division of her company, Muse Capital, would be joining the League as an official advisory partner.
“We are really excited to see all of the players at tryouts this summer and see their incredible skills,” stated Alex Hugo, EVP of WPBL Player Relations. “We’re building a future where girls and women who love baseball can dream as big as they want and now, finally, have a league to call their own.”
For eleven years, Nationals Philanthropies’ flagship program, the Youth Baseball Academy, has provided school-age children east of the Anacostia River with comprehensive youth development, academic enrichment, wellness education, and youth sports experiences. With its weekly produce market and meal programs, the Academy has developed into a significant community asset, both as a center of support and a vital source of food for the surrounding area.
In the spring of 2026, six clubs will join the WPBL, the only professional women’s baseball league in America. The league will play a regular season, playoffs, and championship. The first woman to coach a professional men’s baseball club and to pitch batting practice in Major League Baseball is Dr. Justine Siegal, a baseball pioneer and league co-founder. The WPBL Advisory Board, which is made up of female trailblazers in business and sports, also appointed Maybelle Blair, a sports legend and former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League professional baseball player, as its Honorary Chair.
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