San Francisco takes former Oakland Ballers pitcher Kelsie Whitmore as No. 1 overall pick in WPBL draft

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 crew s history-making draft class Whitmore already has strong Bay Area ties and has long been a pioneer for women in baseball In 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 s Two summers ago Whitmore became the first woman in the history of the independent Pioneer League to start a event as a pitcher playing for the Oakland Ballers Last season she played for the barnstorming Savannah Bananas Oakland Ballers' Kelsie Whitmore high-fives Oakland Ballers' Dondrei Hubbard before a championship against the Boise Hawks at Raimondi Park in Oakland Calif on Wednesday Aug Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group 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 gang s Bay Area fan base If you solicited a six-year-old version of me about this opportunity and that it s happening right now she would one seemingly not believe you but two just be so so so so excited for it Whitmore announced 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 organization 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 Gang USA women s baseball organization among its first six picks With the No 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 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 from Pennsylvania with the No overall pick Mo'ne Davis pitches during the first day of tryouts for the Women's Professional Baseball League Friday Aug at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington AP Photo Julia Demaree Nikhinson With the th 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 crew she enrolled at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she helped establish the school s first women s baseball club gang This spring the Mustangs won the national championship Thursday night McCullough was her hometown unit s th overall draft pick I m excited not only for my generation but especially for the younger girls the -year-old McCullough explained 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 th 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 This is biggest attempt at a full-scale women s league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that existed from to and was immortalized in the film A League of Their Own Justine Siegal throws live batting practice to various of the Oakland A's during spring training workouts at Papago Baseball Park Complex in Phoenix Ariz on Wednesday Feb Siegal was an assistant coach for the Springfield Mass College baseball group from - A Cleveland native and lifelong Indians fan Siegal is also the founder of Baseball For All an organization that aims to expand opportunities for women in baseball Dan Honda Staff Each of the four teams selected players on Thursday but current rosters will go just deep The seven-week season is scheduled to start August including an all-star competition and two weeks of playoffs There were more than players eligible for the draft representing ten countries That draft pool was reduced from more than 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 Organization USA veteran Amanda Gianelloni their second overall pick at second the Domincan s Leguizamon at shortstop and Japan s Ayaka Yamamoto at third Juliette Kladko center pitches during the third day of tryouts for the Women's Professional Baseball League Sunday Aug at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington AP Photo Julia Demaree Nikhinson Thursday s draft consisted of six rounds with each squad 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 group 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 -seat Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield The league reported the league preferred a central location for its first season Springfield also hosted one of the earliest paid women s games in according to a WPBL news release I exposed baseball when the Giants made the World Series in and and I inevitably craved to play it McCullough explained It s been my heart and my sport Summer Hill Celicia Wilken Amanda Gianelloni Denae Benites SarahBeaulieu and other players warm up during the third day of tryouts for the Women's Professional Baseball League Sunday Aug at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington AP Photo Julia Demaree Nikhinson San Francisco s draft class st pick Kelsie Whitmore RHP San Diego CA USA Amanda Gianelloni B New Orleans LA USA Joely Leguizamon SS Dominican Republic - Jill Albayati RHP UTL Anaheim CA USA Samantha Gutierrez C San Diego CA USA Ayaka Yamamoto B Fukuyama Japan Niki Eckert LHP Tarrytown NY USA - Andreanne Leblanc B Mont-Saint-Hilaire QC Canada Jua Park SS Hadong South Korea Alexia Jorge C Lyndhurst NJ USA Ela Day-Bedard IF Gatineau QC Canada Rosa Del Castillo CF Puebla Mexico Elizabeth Gilder LHP New Westminster BC Canada Skylar Kaplan LF Glen Burnie MD USA Hinano Beppu B Kitakyushu City Japan Jordan Eyster CF Royal Oak MI USA Katie Reynolds RHP Watertown MA USA Peyton Coria RHP Perris CA USA Hanna Miura B Sapporo Japan Kaija Bazzano SS Sebastopol CA USA Kaelei Kajitani B Madera CA USA Kiley Ingram RHP Ontario CA USA Scrappy Hopkins C Fort Walton Beach FL USA Flor Elena Valerio Montoya RHP Tijuana Mexico Esthela Segovia C Tijuana Mexico Bella Espinoza-Molina RF Ladera Ranch CA USA Arwen McCullough RHP Livermore CA USA Allie Lacey B La Crescenta CA USA Micaela Minner B Akron OH USA Kailyn Bearpaw B Sapulpa OK USA Related Articles ers Curtis Robinson knows Monday Night Football lights carry special meaning With million in hand and a president who cares Stanford GM Andrew Luck prepares to hire a coach and elevate the initiative NWSL commissioner on Saturday s championship match in San Jose Bay FC s success and bright future Group demands accountability after Antioch High School hazing occurrence Four things to know about the Earthquakes schedule