McFarland: See Her, Be Her Soon
The Team Albera 14U Girls team won gold at the Western Canada championships in Spruce Grove, Alta., in August. Photo: Baseball Alberta
*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on January 20, 2025. You can read it here.
January 21, 2025
By Joe McFarland
Alberta Dugout Stories
Hockey has one. So does basketball. Soccer as well. And now, it’s baseball’s turn.
The Women’s Pro Baseball League is set to take to the field in 2026 with six teams in the northeastern United States.
The circuit was founded by the first female coach employed by a Major League Baseball team and Baseball for All founder Justine Siegal, along with Keith Stein, a Canadian businessman and owner of the Intercounty Baseball League’s Toronto Maple Leafs.
They have received some major backing in the form of Toronto Blue Jays World Series-winning manager Cito Gaston, legendary Japanese pitcher Ayami Soto and women’s baseball icon Maybelle Blair.
With the female game continuing to grow in Alberta and provincial teams performing well at national tournaments, more than a few athletes have turned their attention to not only representing Canada at international events but now a dream of playing professional baseball.
We’ve asked a few questions of those involved in the game to provide some of their thoughts, which we present to you now in the form of a roundtable discussion.
Read more from Baseball Alberta Bighorns players Cassie Matlock (Edmonton), Tyra Stanich (Calgary) and Sydney Barry (Fort McMurray), as well as girl’s/women’s director Barb Northcott.
First of all, what went through your mind when you heard the news of the Women’s Pro Baseball League?
Barb Northcott: Honestly, I watched the “See Her Be Her” documentary trailer many times; every time Ichiro Suzuki says “the circle is quite small and needs to expand,” and big names in baseball are part of the project – Ferguson Jenkins, Cal Ripken, Jr. – and THEN when it was announced, prior to the documentary airing, that Billie Jean King had joined the team as an executive producer, I had a very strong premonition that there was going to be a league. So, I was ecstatic when the league was announced a couple days after the documentary aired! There has been a lot of interest in women’s sports in general lately, so it only makes sense that a women’s professional baseball league is formed.
Cassie Matlock: I was definitely a bit shocked. I’m relatively new to the baseball scene and never thought I would see a pro league in my career. I am so thankful to be proved wrong!
Tyra Stanich: I was absolutely thrilled when I first heard the news about the new women’s league. It feels like a long-awaited dream is finally becoming a reality, and I can’t wait to see it unfold!
Sydney Barry: I was so surprised! When the news came out, I honestly had to double-check that it was real because I didn’t think there would be a league for women this soon. I’m so happy that we finally have a league for us and that we can show the world what women can do with the game of baseball.
I know for many athletes, the goal is to one day make the national team. How cool would it be to go pro one day as well?
Matlock: Playing for the national team this summer was a dream come true, so to have even a chance to play professionally has given new life to my future in sport. Existing in a male-dominated field can become really discouraging and exhausting, so to have this next step to strive towards has really helped bolster my desire to stay involved.
Stanich: If I ever get the chance to go pro, it would be a dream come true. Ever since I was a little girl, all I’ve ever wanted was to compete at a higher level.
Barry: The national team is at the top of my goals list but now that there is a pro league for women I can’t even begin to express how cool it would be to play in an all women’s league.
As a coach and long-time advocate for the women’s game, how big could this be for women’s baseball in general but also the game in Alberta?
Northcott: Every opportunity that is available for girls/women’s baseball is important; for example, the fact that 16U Girls Baseball is included in the multi-sport Canada Summer Games in 2025 is game-changing for keeping young girls in baseball.
Our young athletes that are committed to growing the Baseball Alberta Girls League now have another competition to strive for. If young athletes want to play because they love the game, and not necessarily aspire to high performance, having another national championship and now the Women’s Professional Baseball League will bring much needed promotion of girls in baseball, and I anticipate growth, not only in Alberta, but Canada, in females registering to play baseball.
Similar to the new professional women’s hockey league, the Women’s Professional Baseball League will entice our women to keep playing. Now that the World Cup is only every four years (rather than every two years), the Women’s Professional Baseball League will provide an opportunity for high performance females to keep playing in between the World Cup competitions. This league will affect women’s baseball in Alberta in a positive way – perhaps we will see an Alberta women’s senior league emerging sooner rather than later!
As athletes, how big do you think this will be for getting girls to dream bigger?
Matlock: This is huge for girls baseball. I always said I would play as long as possible, but I had reached a point where it felt like the opportunities were beginning to dwindle. The WPBL has given new life to my dreams just as much as it should give new life to the dreams of the next generation of girls.
Stanich: This is such a monumental achievement for women’s and girls’ baseball, providing a platform where we can truly showcase our talents and play the game we love. I believe this will inspire many girls to stick with baseball as they grow up, knowing there’s a real chance to make it to the PWBL one day.
Barry: Before the announcement of the league, the furthest women could go in baseball was the national team. Now that we have our own league, we can strive to achieve the biggest goal any little girl has ever had by playing in a professional league. I honestly have no words to express how much of an accomplishment this is in the world of women’s baseball. I’m so grateful that girls now have a chance to play in a pro league just like any other baseball player in the world.
What will be key, in your eyes, to making sure Alberta’s talent gets seen and noticed by those recruiters looking to fill rosters on those six teams and beyond?
Northcott: Equal opportunity at tryout camps; scouting of our Alberta talent; communication – all women who are interested in pursuring a position on a WPBL team should be aware of tryout locations and dates, not just those who are currently on a provincial team for example. Scheduling tryouts camps in Canadian locations that our athletes have easy access to.
It’s an exciting time for the women’s game in Alberta and across the country. We look forward to shedding more light on the athletes and teams in this province in 2025 and beyond!