2026 Women's Pro Baseball League season
Professional baseball season in the United States
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The 2026 Women's Pro Baseball League season began on August 1 with the inaugural game in league history where the New York Heights hosted the Los Angeles Queens. The regular season ended on September 6. The postseason began on September 9.[1][2] The WPBL Championship Series will begin on September 16 and will end with Game 5 (if necessary) on September 22.[1][3]
- August 1 – September 6, 2026
- September 9–22, 2026
| 2026 WPBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's Pro Baseball League |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 15 |
| Teams | 4 |
| TV partner | ESPN+ |
| Streaming partner(s) | ESPN Select Scripps Sports Network YouTube |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Kelsie Whitmore |
| Picked by | San Francisco Firebells |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | San Francisco Firebells |
| Postseason | |
Schedule
The Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) released its 2026 schedule on April 30, 2026.[4] Each team played 15 regular season games, in a triple round-robin format, playing all other teams five times. From Saturday, August 1 through Sunday, September 6, with the exception of Mondays and Tuesdays, one game was played at 6:30 PM CDT, though three Saturdays (August 8, 15, and 27) featured two games, at 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM CDT.[1] All four teams are competing in the playoffs. The semi-final round began on September 9 and will end on September 14. The WPBL Championship Series starts on September 16.[3]
The regular season started on August 1, with the New York Heights hosting the Los Angeles Queens.
Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Firebells | 10 | 5 | .667 | — | 6–2 | 4–3 |
| New York Heights | 8 | 7 | .533 | 2 | 2–5 | 6–2 |
| Los Angeles Queens | 8 | 7 | .533 | 2 | 5–2 | 3–5 |
| Boston Hunters | 4 | 11 | .267 | 6 | 1–7 | 3–4 |
Source[5]
New York clinched second place in the league and home advantage in the first round of playoffs following its 3–2 season series win over Los Angeles.[6]
Postseason
The postseason started on September 9 and end by September 22. The semifinals are a best-of-three-games series and the WPBL Championship is a best-of-five-games series.[7]
Bracket
| Semifinals | Championship | |||||||
| 1 | San Francisco | 2 | ||||||
| 4 | Boston | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | San Francisco | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | New York | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||
Managerial changes
In-season
| Team | Former manager | Reason for leaving | New manager | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Hunters | Keith Foulke | Fired | Jemile Weeks | On August 9, after a 1–2 (.333) start to the season, the Hunters replaced Keith Foulke with Jemile Weeks, effective immediately, 30 minutes prior to their fourth game of the season.[8][9] |
League leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Denae Benites1 (NY) | .552 |
| OPS | Denae Benites (NY) | 1.752 |
| HR | Denae Benites1 (NY) Kelsie Whitmore (SF) |
11 |
| RBI | Denae Benites1 (NY) | 38 |
| R | Denae Benites (NY) | 25 |
| H | Denae Benites (NY) | 32 |
| SB | Denae Benites (NY) | 15 |
1 WPBL batting triple crown winner
Milestones
- Denae Benites (NY):
- Hit the first home run in league history, on August 1.[10]
- Won the regular season triple crown, leading the league in batting average, runs batted in, and home runs, sharing the lead with Whitmore in home runs.[11]
- Kelsie Whitmore (SF):
- Had the first three-home-run game in league history, in a San Francisco win over Los Angeles on August 12.[12]
- Andréanne Leblanc (SF):
- Had the first walk-off hit in league history, a go-ahead grand slam in a win over New York on August 30.[13]
Venue
Every game this season is taking place at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.[14]
Uniforms
Along with team identities, all team uniforms were announced on July 8, 2026. Each team has a home, away, and an alternate uniform inspired by their team namesakes.[15]
Broadcasting
On July 30, 2026, ESPN announced that they secured media rights for all regular season and postseason games in the United States and U.S. territories, while Scripps Sports Network announced they will broadcast 11 games on their network.[16][17]
On July 31, the WPBL announced that outside the United States, all games will be streamed for free on YouTube.[18]