Kelsie Whitmore made more history on Thursday night when she was picked first overall by the San Francisco franchise in the Women’s Pro Baseball League inaugural draft.
Less than an hour later, Livermore’s Arwen McCullough had her dream come true when she also became part of her new hometown team’s history-making draft class.
Whitmore, 27, already has strong Bay Area ties and has long been a pioneer for women in baseball. In 2016, she and Stacy Piagno played for the independent Sonoma Stompers on the Pacific Association, becoming the first female teammates in a men’s league since the 1950s. Two summers ago, Whitmore became the first woman in the history of the independent Pioneer League to start a game as a pitcher, playing for the Oakland Ballers. Last season she played for the barnstorming Savannah Bananas.
The four-team WPBL, which also includes Los Angeles, Boston and New York, will be based out of Springfield, Illinois, this summer. But Whitmore wasted no time reaching out to the expansion team’s Bay Area fan base.
“If you asked a six-year-old version of me (about) this opportunity and that it’s happening right now, she would one, probably not believe you, but two, just be so so so so excited for it,” Whitmore said on the live stream of the draft. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity. And I’m excited to be representing the city of San Francisco. And where it all began for me. The first professional team I ever played for was in the Bay Area, for the Sonoma Stompers. I’m really excited to be able to go back there and kind of just represent the city of San Francisco.
“And y’all be ready because we’re going to win a championship for you guys.”
In addition to Whitmore, San Francisco selected two other members of last summer’s Team USA women’s baseball team among its first six picks. With the No. 9 overall pick, they selected shortstop Joely Leguizamon, who played for the Dominican Republic in the Pan American Games.
Los Angeles took Japanese ace Ayami Sato with the second overall pick. Sato, 36, has led Japan to five Women’s Baseball World Cup titles and was the first woman to play in a men’s league in Canada. Los Angeles also drafted Mo’Ne Davis, the Little League hero in 2014 from Pennsylvania, with the No. 10 overall pick.
With the 105th overall pick, San Francisco selected McCullough, a right-handed pitcher who grew up playing baseball in Livermore — and idolizing Giants stars Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey. After two seasons on the Granada High softball team she enrolled at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she helped establish the school’s first women’s baseball club team. This spring the Mustangs won the national championship. Thursday night, McCullough was her hometown team’s 27th overall draft pick.
“I’m excited not only for my generation, but especially for the younger girls,” the 21-year-old McCullough said earlier this week. “It gives them players they can look up to. Show them they can play baseball.”
San Francisco grabbed another Northern California product, Sebastopol shortstop Kaija Bazzano, with its 20th overall pick.
The WPBL was co-founded by Justine Siegal, who became the first woman to coach in MLB with the Oakland A’s in 2015. This is biggest attempt at a full-scale women’s league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that existed from 1943 to 1954 and was immortalized in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own.”
Each of the four teams selected 30 players on Thursday, but active rosters will go just 15 deep. The seven-week season is scheduled to start August 1, including an all-star competition and two weeks of playoffs.
There were more than 120 players eligible for the draft, representing ten countries. That draft pool was reduced from more than 600 players who participated in the league’s tryouts this summer at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Other players were identified through videos and in-person scouting.
San Francisco selected players from six different countries and could potentially field a United Nations Opening Day infield of Canada’s Andreanne LeBlanc at first base, Team USA veteran Amanda Gianelloni (their second overall pick) at second, the Domincan’s Leguizamon at shortstop and Japan’s Ayaka Yamamoto at third.
Thursday’s draft consisted of six rounds, with each team selecting five players per round. The San Francisco franchise received the first overall pick after a random draw. Los Angeles picked second, followed by New York and Boston. The draft operated in a snake-order format – the team that picked last in one turn picked first in the next.
The draft was streamed live on the WPBL’s website as well as the social media platform X and the league’s Instagram, TikTok and YouTube channels. There also were several several viewing parties around the country, including at Rikki’s Bar in San Francisco and the Milestone Tavern in San Luis Obispo, where McCullough also served as the host.
The first season of the WPBL will be played at 5,200-seat Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield. The league said the league preferred a central location for its first season. Springfield also hosted one of the earliest paid women’s games in 1875, according to a WPBL news release.
“I found baseball when the Giants made the World Series (in 2010, ’12 and ’14) and I always wanted to play it,” McCullough said. “It’s been my heart and my sport.”
San Francisco’s draft class
1st pick — Kelsie Whitmore, RHP (27) — San Diego, CA, USA2 – Amanda Gianelloni, 2B (28) — New Orleans, LA, USA3 – Joely Leguizamon, SS (26) — Dominican Republic4- Jill Albayati, RHP/UTL (21) — Anaheim, CA, USA5 – Samantha Gutierrez, C (22) — San Diego, CA, USA6 – Ayaka Yamamoto, 3B (21) — Fukuyama, Japan7 – Niki Eckert, LHP (22) — Tarrytown, NY, USA8- Andreanne Leblanc, 1B (24) — Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC, Canada9 – Jua Park, SS (20) — Hadong, South Korea10 – Alexia Jorge, C (22) — Lyndhurst, NJ, USA11 – Ela Day-Bedard, IF (20) — Gatineau, QC, Canada12 – Rosa Del Castillo, CF (26) — Puebla, Mexico13 – Elizabeth Gilder, LHP (24) — New Westminster, BC, Canada14 – Skylar Kaplan, LF (24) — Glen Burnie, MD, USA15 – Hinano Beppu, 2B (29) — Kitakyushu City, Japan16 – Jordan Eyster, CF (21) — Royal Oak, MI, USA17 – Katie Reynolds, RHP (24) — Watertown, MA, USA18 – Peyton Coria, RHP (19) — Perris, CA, USA19 – Hanna Miura, 2B (22) — Sapporo, Japan20 – Kaija Bazzano, SS (23) — Sebastopol, CA, USA21 – Kaelei Kajitani, 1B (21) — Madera, CA, USA22 – Kiley Ingram, RHP (18) — Ontario, CA, USA23 – Scrappy Hopkins, C (27) — Fort Walton Beach, FL, USA24 – Flor Elena Valerio Montoya, RHP (23) — Tijuana, Mexico25 – Esthela Segovia, C (31) — Tijuana, Mexico26 – Bella Espinoza-Molina, RF (23) — Ladera Ranch, CA, USA27 – Arwen McCullough, RHP (21) — Livermore, CA, USA28 – Allie Lacey, 2B (31) — La Crescenta, CA, USA29 – Micaela Minner, 1B (40) — Akron, OH, USA30 –Kailyn Bearpaw, 1B (22) — Sapulpa, OK, USA