Women’s Pro Baseball League will play inaugural season in Springfield, IL

The GIST: The first-ever draft of the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) isn’t until tomorrow, but the emerging league is already making headlines after announcing its surprising location for the inaugural season. Let’s dive in.

• 👋 ICYMI, women’s pro baseball is so back, with the WPBL making its four-team debut in August 2026. At tomorrow’s draft, each team can choose from a pool of more than 120 players selected from last summer’s open tryouts. Now you know.

🏟️ The WPBL’s first season will be played in the Midwest: Its four teams are named after bi-coastal, baseball-loving cities — NY, Boston, LA, and San Francisco — but the WPBL announced yesterday that the entire inaugural season will be played at a neutral (and unexpectedly remote) location: Springfield, IL.

• The WPBL said that with teams on both coasts, it’s best to play in the middle of the country. Don’t worry, The GIST Plus members are already planning a group trip in the Discord channel.

• Plus, the league’s new home, Robin Roberts Stadium, can seat 5.2K fans and will be used exclusively by the WBPL during its seven-week season. Nice.

👀 And now, it’s time for the draft: The six-round, snake-style draft begins tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET and will stream live on the WPBL’s socials. San Francisco will make the first pick, followed by LA, NY, and then Boston.

• Expect a few major names, like Sports Illustrated cover star and Little League World Series sensation Mo’ne Davis, Savannah Banana Kelsie Whitmore, and groundbreaking pitcher Ayami Sato to go early.