Girls 'Breakthrough Series' opens with softball hosted July 28th–30th
Major League Baseball today announced the rosters and coaching staff for the first girls’ event in the three-part 2026 Breakthrough Series. The softball Breakthrough Series is a joint effort on behalf of MLB and USA Softball which features 32 elite athletes identified from June’s Elite Development Invitational, the Jennie Finch Classic presented by Arm & Hammer, and Nike RBI teams and MLB Youth Academies across the country. The participants, ages 13-17, represent 14 states and feature 2026 Jennie Finch Empowerment Award winners Alina Elias of Houston and Amarianna Hill of Forney, Texas (full roster attached). Now in the 20th year since its inception, the MLB Compton Youth Academy will host the three-day on- and-off-field development event for a third consecutive year after previously being held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and at the historic Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Florida. Along with development opportunities, six games are slated for the event, with the athletes set to compete against the MLB Compton Youth Academy and outside organizations (game schedule attached).
The nine-person coaching staff of returning MLB Develops coaches features three MLB Ambassadors, two Olympic medalists, and combines for over 20 years of experience on the USA Softball National Team. The coaching staff is as follows:
- Casey Cromwell - Washington University of St. Louis head softball coach
- Skylynne Ellazar - Philippines Softball National Team member
- Jennie Finch - MLB Ambassador; two-time Olympic medalist; former USA Softball National Team member
- Lauren (Chamberlain) Gipson - MLB Ambassador; former USA Softball National Team member
- Jessica Jacobson - NJ Thunder Nike RBI softball instructor
- Ronnie Lopez - University of Nevada Assistant Director of Strength & Conditioning
- Dorian Shaw - University of Delaware Assistant Athletic Director, Talent, Character, & Culture Development
- Natasha Watley - MLB Ambassador; two-time Olympic medalist; former USA Softball National Team member