Photograph: Brown Athletics
SUPERWOMAN!
In 2024, Jillian Albayati, Cal State San Marcos DII Softball Player (IF) and U.S. Women's Baseball Team (P/3B) became the first DII player to play softball and baseball in one day. When the CSSM baseball team was down 4 pitchers, they called on Jillian for help. Jillian played a softball game, changed and ran over to the baseball field to come in as a relief pitcher in the 9th inning, then ran back to play the 2nd game of her softball double-header!
Photo: Greg Siller, Active7Media
CLUB BALL
Women also play baseball in college club teams which participate in the annual Baseball For All (BFA) Women’s College Club Baseball Championships - part of the larger BFA Women’s College Baseball initiative to establish Women’s College Baseball as an official NCAA Emerging Sport. BFA offers support to college students wanting to start a women's baseball club.
In 2024, the 3rd annual BFA Women's Club Baseball Championships, BFA welcomed six teams: Cal Berkeley, Cal Poly Technical Institute, UC Davis, Occidental College, the University of Washington and Western Washington University.
BFA offers guidance and support to anyone interested in starting a women's college club team.
College Baseball
NCAA
The NCAA does not currently offer women's baseball at the college level, but women can and do play on men's teams. According to the NCAA's demographics database, nine women played on men’s baseball teams in 2024 - including Olivia Pichardo of Brown University (pictured here), who is the first female to make an NCAA Division I baseball roster. During the same time period, around 21,000 women played college softball.