11 Canadians set to make history in first WPBL season
Eleven Canadian women are on the Opening Day rosters of WPBL teams. Photo: Baseball Canada
July 31, 2026
Baseball Canada
OTTAWA, ONT. – History will be made on August 1 when the Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) launches its inaugural season in Springfield, Ill., with 11 Canadians set to take part.
The Canadian contingent includes nine members of Canada's Women's National Team that recently secured a berth in the 2027 WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals with a third-place finish at the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Group Stage in Rockford, Illinois.
The four-team league features the Boston Hunters, Los Angeles Queens, New York Heights and San Francisco Firebells, with all games being played at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield.
Canadians in the WPBL
Boston Hunters wpbl_hunters
Raine Padgham (Burnaby, B.C.)
Alli Schroder (Fruitvale, B.C.)
Maïka Dumais (Québec, Que.)
San Francisco Firebells wpbl_firebells
Andréanne Leblanc (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.)
Ela Dy-Bédard (Gatineau, Que.)
Liz Gilder (Port Moody, B.C.)
Los Angeles Queens wpbl_queens
Michelle Roche (Burnaby, B.C.)
New York Heights wpbl_heights
Jaida Lee (St. John's, N.L.)
Madison Willan (Edmonton, Alta.)
Claire Eccles (Surrey, B.C.)
Elodie Ciamarro (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.)
Padgham, Schroder, Leblanc, Dy-Bédard, Gilder, Roche, Lee, Willan and Eccles all represented Canada at the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Group Stage in Rockford, where Canada posted a 3-2 record to earn one of three qualifying berths for the 2027 WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals, which will also be held in Rockford.
Fans in the United States can watch every regular season and playoff game on ESPN Select, while the Scripps Sports Network will broadcast a select schedule of regular season games.
For fans in Canada and around the world, every WPBL game will be streamed live on YouTube, making it easy to follow Canada's professional players throughout the inaugural season.
The season opens on Saturday, August 1, with the New York Heights taking on the Los Angeles Queens. The Boston Hunters and San Francisco Firebells, featuring six Canadians, will begin their seasons on Sunday, August 2, at 7:30 p.m. E.T.