Now 24, Little League phenom Mo'ne Davis will be one of 600 women trying out to earn a place in the Women's Professional Baseball League, which is launching in 2026.
Mo'ne Davis is ready to play baseball again, she told Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Davis, who was 14 when she became an international star after being the first girl to pitch a team to victory — a shutout — during the 2014 Little League World Series, is set to try out for the Women’s Professional Baseball League.
Next month, over 600 players will attempt to make an impression and make themselves eligible to be one of 150 players that will be part of the October draft.
Davis plans to be one of them.
“I like to try things,” Davis, now 24, told the Inquirer. “And this was something that I was like, ‘You know what, why not give it a try? Why not help the league grow?’ I’m just not done playing at all.”
A conversation with league founder Justine Siegal, who has been a coach in professional baseball since 2009, ended with Davis pondering two options: serve as a WPBL broadcaster or suit up and play again.
“I was like, ‘I’m just gonna try it out,’” Davis said. “I’m just going to play. I don’t have anything to lose. It’s not like I’m older, and it’s my last [season to play]. I have plenty of years that I can keep going, so I’m just going to give it a try.”
A middle infielder while playing for Hampton's softball team, Davis is planning to try out all over the field.
Davis' performance in Williamsport for Philadelphia's Taney Youth Baseball Association led to her winning an ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete and being on the cover of Sports Illustrated, among numerous other opportunities. She went on to graduate from Hampton University in 2023, earn a graduate degree from Columbia University, intern for the Los Angeles Dodgers and serve as a broadcaster for ESPN's Little League coverage.
She told the Los Angeles Times in 2023 while working with the Dodgers that she was eyeing a future where she was working for a team.
“Hopefully, I can work my way up to a front-office position," Davis said. "Maybe a GM. We’ll see where it takes me.”
Category: General Sports
