This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO -- Amira Hondras was part of the talented young baseball crew honored on the field prior to Game 2 of the 2025 World Series in Toronto after being named Most Valuable Player from MLB Develops.
At some point in the future, Hondras might find herself on a Major League Baseball field once again -- maybe even as an MLB player. No dream is too big for the first and only young lady to take part in the highly acclaimed White Sox Amateur City Elite youth baseball program.
“I would say my dream has always been to play baseball as long as I can,” Hondras told MLB.com during a recent phone interview. “Whether that be professional or college, however long I can. Then after that, pursue a career in sports.”
Hondras, 17, has been part of ACE since joining the 12U team. She currently plays for Thornwood High School in South Holland, Ill., located approximately 20 miles from Rate Field, as a second baseman and outfielder hitting .291 with a .461 on-base percentage in 22 games last season.
The question of softball vs. baseball has been mentioned numerous times as Hondras moves forward with her career. It’s a question Hondras has thought about and dissected, considering greater potential for softball scholarships at the collegiate level.
But a love for baseball keeps her going. That love, and a high level of talent.
After a showcase event attended with ACE this summer, where college coaches were present, Hondras was offered a baseball scholarship by Wiley University located in Marshall, Texas.
“It was something that was surprising for me,” Hondras said. “My whole mind was kind of shifted to trying to get softball scholarships and it just kind of completely changed the whole mindset on college. I never really expected this to happen. I dreamed it to happen. I wanted it to happen.”
“She’s the ultimate competitor,” said Troy Williams, the White Sox director of ACE and community baseball programs. “She can go out and hit for average, she can run, she’s flexible on defense. Overall, she’s a good baseball player.”
There’s more than college on the potential baseball horizon for Hondras. The Women’s Pro Baseball League will be holding its inaugural draft for the 2026 season virtually in mid-November, and Hondras is one of the players in consideration.
According to the WBPL website, over 600 players from 10 countries attended open tryouts in August at Nationals Park. From that pool, along with official video submissions, over 120 draft-eligible players were compiled. Hondras stands as one of five 17-year-olds, representing the youngest age among the players to be looked at over the six rounds, with each of the four teams selecting five players per round.
“That would definitely be something that I would love to do. Maybe pursuing that after high school,” said Hondras of the WPBL. “It’s all so new for everyone I feel like, even myself. This is something girls would dream of doing when they were younger. I always wanted to play professionally. So something like this is just crazy and amazing.”
“Girls are playing baseball at a high clip,” Williams said. “There are a lot of girls who have just been exposed to the game of baseball, whether it’s through their brothers or parents. They don’t want to be boxed into only being labeled softball players. To see girls going at a high level, it warms my heart as a girl dad.”
Baseball life has had a few snafus for Hondras as she’s grown older, things such as getting called names by the opposition, getting cleated or one time when she was run into playing third base although she wasn’t close to the basepaths. Overall, it’s been a tremendous experience.
Tre Hondras started the family path in baseball and with ACE, and his younger sister followed. That road took Amira to Toronto and the World Series for the first time, and that trip might only be the start.
“For me, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience: Being at the World Series, being in Toronto, a home game for them,” said Hondras, who stayed on the field through the national anthem, while also meeting CC Sabathia, Adam Jones and Dexter Fowler at a Play Ball event earlier that day. “Being a kid that just loves the game, that’s the best game of the whole year. It was definitely crazy and surreal.”
“She doesn’t like to be treated differently, especially growing up playing with boys. The boys never treated her differently,” Williams said. “They always treated her as a good teammate.”