[Litty]

2025

With the no. 1 pick of the 2025 draft, Huntington selected centerfielder Jayla Van Iderstine out of Maryland. The 2024 no.1 pick, Keesha DeWilliams, had become the first no.1 pick to win Rookie of the Year. Two-time no.2 pick Irina Rybkin, Ukraine’s “White Dragon”, had a decent rookie year, hitting .250 in 49 games for New York.

Oh and in the annual game of “Is Joan Shea in Charlotte or New York this year?” Shea signed with the Valiant after being a free agent at the end of the 2024.
After the draft, Charlotte, still trying to find their place in the league, made a bevvy of trades to acquire 3 ranked prospects (#14, 74 and 140) in exchange for a number of their middling veterans. Meanwhile, Roanoke traded for 5-time Best Defensive first basewoman Antonio Peres. It was a big move for the new team, and one that could pay off if Peres kept her form.

The league’s first All Star Game was held on July 22nd, 2025. Up to that point, New York had broken out to a dominant start to the season, going 19-1 through the first 20 games of the season. This included a 16-game win streak to begin the season. In the All Star Game, the South beat the North 6-4.

In a shock twist, the Valkyries cooled in the months after the All Star break and were eventually passed by Cape Cod as New York were unable to keep their pace up over the new 100-game season. In fact, New York finished outside of the playoffs were a record of 62-38, tied for second in the north with Bristol. While Cape Cod finished 70-30, they were outdone by the top two teams in the south, with Richmond finishing 78-22 and Salisbury going 71-29. Charlotte made their first postseason after going 66-34. The four expansions teams flagged, with Huntington winning 28; Asheville winning 25 and Hamilton and Roanoke each getting 19 Ws.

The Valiant began their postseason in style as in their first ever playoff game, they stunned the top seed in extras. Keesha DeWilliams hit a solo bomb to left field in the top of the tenth to clinch a 3-2 win that had seen Charlotte trail by 2 until the 8th inning. The Valiant then won game two before dropping games three and four. Game 5 was almost an exact mirror of game 1. However, it was the Valiant jumping out to a 6-4 lead before Storm tied it up in the 8th with a two-run homer from Lucia Acosta. The game went to extras but this time it was reliable southpaw closer Jo Boylan who gave up the winning runs as Belle Leachy hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th. In the other series, Salisbury jumped out to a 2-game lead before allowing Cape Cod to tie things up. Cape Cod would go onto win in the rubber match in a 16-8 rout. The WBLA Cup went the distance and Richmond won the cup for the second time.

Keesha DeWilliams began to show her prowess as she lead the league in batting average with .396. Meanwhile, it was a home run/RBI double for Salisbury’s Louisa Garcia, who hit 42 home runs and batted in 119 runs. Garcia also finished second in batting average with .390. On the mound, it was coming up purple as a Richmond pitcher lead in every category. Jay Bell had the best ERA with 2.02 while Terri Been finished with 14 wins in 20 starts. Finally, rounding out the trio was Andrea Maas who finished the year with 179 Ks.

No. 1 pick Jayla Van Iderstine won Rookie of the Year with a .250 batting average and 10 home runs. Meanwhile Andrea Maas earned her second Pitcher of the Year award while Louisa Garcia became the 5th MVP.

The end of the season also marked the end of Mako Iwasaki’s career. While never a star, Iwasaki was a reliable hitting, earning a .249 career average in 319 games over 7 seasons. She primarily played for Richmond but did spend a season in Bristol. She will be missed by many on and off the field.