Batter Up, Lesbians: Women’s Professional Baseball League Unveils Inaugural Teams
Yeah, we’re going to need all the merch now.
As the countdown to the first pitch of the Women’s Professional Baseball League’s inaugural season ticks down to Aug. 1, anticipation continues to grow. While we’ve known since last October that the league would launch with four teams — New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco — today we learned what those teams would be called and what inspired their names.
Lesbian sports fans, get ready to root for the Boston Hunters, New York Heights, Los Angeles Queens, and San Francisco Firebells. Best of all, each team name is inspired by a “trailblazing, female pioneer,” according to the league’s press release.
“Today marks a historic milestone for professional baseball, and all of women’s professional sports, as we introduce four team identities that honor the legacies of specific women who chose to forge new paths for themselves and generations of women who followed,” said Justine Siegal, commissioner of the WPBL, via a press release. “The WPBL stands on the shoulders of these incredible women who fought for their place in history and on the diamond long before us. These names are not just symbols, they represent the grit, audacity, and excellence that our athletes will bring to the field this August.”
Here’s what we know about each new team’s name and identity.
New York Heights
The team’s name takes inspiration from civil rights and women’s rights leader Dorothy Irene Height and is meant to invoke the city’s “ambition, intensity and relentless standards associated with New York, the Heights identity reflects a city that expects excellence and rises to meet it.”
The team’s brand aesthetic features graphic lines that are “Graphic lines inspired by the speed of a fastball form both the New York skyline and the shape of the “H,” creating a mark rooted in movement, precision and audacity.”
Los Angeles Queens
Across the country, Los Angeles’ team is taking inspiration from the legendary “Queen of the Diamond,” Lizzie Murphy, who made baseball history as the first woman to play against major league players.
The brand’s black-and-gold diamond design “reflects a brand that is bold, modern and unapologetic.” And the crown mark “reimagines four baseball diamonds into a minimalist symbol of power, prestige and the game itself.”
Boston Hunters
The Boston Hunters take their intimidating name from Harriot K. Hunt, who was the “first woman to apply to Harvard Medical School and establish a successful medical practice in the U.S. A pioneering physician and activist from Boston who challenged convention and opened doors for future generations of women.” The name is meant to evoke the city’s “culture of resilience, toughness and relentless drive,” as well as its “grit and determination.”
The team’s logo takes inspiration from the osprey, “a focused and fearless coastal predator, the Hunters mark represents precision, instinct and action.”
San Francisco Firebells
And finally, the San Francisco Firebells take their name from Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who was known as “Firebelle.” Coit was both a champion of San Francisco’s volunteer firefighters and a benefactor of the city’s iconic Coit Tower.
“Rooted in the grit and reinvention that define San Francisco, the Firebells identity reflects a city that has always rebuilt stronger than before,” reads the press release. The team’s identity reflects that with its phoenix logo, expressing how, when San Francisco is down, it always comes back, just like the phoenix. “The Firebells mark fuses a bell and phoenix into a single form—the alarm and the answer.”
This spirit of lifting up inspiring women will continue throughout the season, with the WPBL planning to honor “legendary female icons who have broken barriers, inspired generations, and helped shape culture, sports and society. At historic Robin Roberts Stadium, fans will witness these trailblazing stories celebrated as part of the league’s monumental 2026 inaugural season debut.”
Like we needed another reason to be hyped for the season’s first pitch on Aug. 1.
