Rosters announced for 2026 Girls Baseball Development 'Trailblazer Series'
MLB-Hosted Event Aimed to Grow Talent Pool of Female Youth Baseball Players
Participants to Meet Pro Female Baseball Players from the Women’s Baseball League That Inspired “A League of Their Own”
The ‘Trailblazer Series,’ Major League Baseball’s annual youth girls baseball development experience, continues for the ninth year as a two-day event hosted April 17th – 18th, featuring opportunities for girls (ages 12-14) to compete and develop their skills. The 2026 event will feature more than 90 participants representing 23 states, three Canadian provinces and Panama. (Full athlete roster attached) The development opportunity, centered around honoring Jackie Robinson’s legacy, will take place in Vero Beach, Florida at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex and will be held the weekend following Jackie Robinson Day on April 15th.
Opportunities, both on and off the field, are set to feature panel discussions involving former professional baseball players Maybelle Blair and Jeneane Lesko who starred in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), the pioneering women’s pro sports league from 1943 to 1954 that was the inspiration of the hit film “A League of Their Own.” The event will feature guest coaches including MLB Girls Baseball Ambassador Veronica Alvarez, along with National Team alumni Michelle Cobb, Amanda Gianelloni, Alex Hugo and Meggie Meidlinger, among others.
2026 Trailblazer Series Coaches
Veronica Alvarez: MLB Girls Baseball Ambassador, Athletics Player Development Coordinator for Latin America; Former USWNT Manager
Olivia Bricker: USA Baseball Women’s National Team Development Program Participant
Michelle Cobb: USA Baseball Women’s National Team Alumni
Karavin Dew: Former Cincinnati Reds Affiliate Performance Coach; Former Lafayette College Softball Head Coach
Chelsey Falzone: Minnesota Twins Manager of Youth Engagement
Amanda Gianelloni: 2024 USA Baseball Women’s National Team Silver Medalist, USAB Women’s National Team Alumni
Jade Gortarez: USAB Women’s National Team Alumni; Former Los Angeles Dodgers Affiliate Development Associate
AJ Hamilton: USA Baseball Women’s National Team Alumni; Member of Inaugural Trailblazer Series Coaching Staff
Rachelle Henley: San Mateo County Sports Hall of Famer; Former Colorado Silver Bullets and San Jose Spitfires Player
Alex Hugo: USA Baseball Women’s National Team Alumni; 2019 & 2023 USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year
Alexia Jorge: USA Baseball Women’s National Team member, USA Baseball Women’s National Team Development Program Participant
Anna Kimbrell: USA Baseball Women’s National Team Alumni
Meggie Meidlinger: 2024 USA Baseball Sportswoman of the year; USAB Women’s National Team Alumni
Bree Nasti: Former New York Mets Affiliate Development coach
Alex Oglesby: Former USA Baseball Women's National Team Coach; President of Evolution Girls Baseball
Naya Olacio: NIKE RBI Alumni; NJ Thunder Fastpitch Head Coach
The two-day development event will provide the athletes with daily development, on-field games and off-field programming. In addition, the athletes will volunteer as coaches alongside MLB PLAY BALL Ambassador Justin Sherman for over 200 kids from local Indian River County for a special Jackie Robinson Day PLAY BALL event held at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex on Saturday. Over 30 of the participating athletes are currently members of an MLB Youth Academy or Nike RBI program or have participated in a previous MLB Develops event.
In 2017, USA Baseball and Major League Baseball launched a new baseball event for girls built around Jackie Robinson Day in celebration of baseball’s quintessential “trailblazer.” The objective of the event is to provide playing, development and educational opportunities to girls who play baseball. For more information about the Trailblazer Series, please visit: mlb.com/trailblazer-series, x.com/MLBDevelops, or Instagram.com/mlbdevelops.