There were 16 sets of eyes were glued to the projected screen at the back of Milestone Tavern’s party room. All 16 were gathered for a watch party of the inaugural draft of the Women’s Professional Baseball League playing on the screen Friday evening. 

The group had been there for nearly an hour, patiently waiting as names were continuously called and assigned to the four teams: Boston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. Chatter was lively but the atmosphere was heavy with unspoken tension.

Of the 16 individuals, Cal Poly event planning and sports management senior Arwen McCullough was especially tense, her head nervously resting on her hands. McCullough was one of approximately 130 women, of the 600 total applicants who tried out for the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL), who were available for the draft.

At 5:57 p.m., all at once, the room exploded with loud screams and cheers. McCullough was drafted to the unnamed team in San Francisco with the fifth pick of the sixth and final round.

Hometown Hero

The moment seemed almost destined for McCullough in particular.

McCullough is a from Livermore, Calif. native, a city located on the eastern edge of San Francisco’s Bay Area.

McCullough made her first true connection with baseball during the 2010 World Series, watching her hometown team, the San Francisco Giants, perform a gentleman’s sweep of the Texas Rangers for the title. 

The Livermore native remained loyal to the sport; beginning to play Little League baseball at the age of 7 with primarily boys, which proved to be a difficult experience that only furthered her love for the sport. 

“You always had to prove yourself on the team,” McCullough said. “They’re gonna throw harder at you, and every little mistake sticks out like a sore thumb. But once you gained the respect, they were like your brothers.”

If she earns a spot on the team, McCullough will kick off the inaugural WPBL season on Aug. 1, 2026 Credit: Arwen McCullough | Courtesy

McCullough briefly pivoted to softball in high school, trying out what would be a two-year stint with her high school team. 

Upon arriving at Cal Poly, McCullough made her return to organized baseball and established the Cal Poly SLO Women’s Club Baseball team, having been inspired by similar clubs at colleges across the nation.

“I wanted to play in college, and I thought that making this club would be a great opportunity,” McCullough said. “The idea really spoke to me when I saw people create club teams at Berkeley, Davis and the University of Washington.”

Professional-Bound

McCullough set her sights on the WPBL and tried out for the new league in late August, becoming one of more than 600 total applicants to try out for the new league. She survived two rounds of elimination over the course of three days, and watched the draft pool whittle down to approximately 130 athletes, 120 of which were selected on draft night.

McCullough joins Cal Poly alum and co-founder of Cal Poly SLO Women’s Club Baseball, Kaija Bazzano, as the two Mustangs in the league and on the San Francisco squad. She joins the Bay Area team as a right-handed pitcher.

The draft selection is a dream come true for the righty.

“It’s a huge full-circle moment, especially since I’m able to play for my home team with someone from Poly,” McCullough said. “I grew up wanting to be a professional baseball player. Now I can say that I am.”

The Inaugural Season

The WPBL was co-founded by Justine Siegal and Keith Stein in October of 2024. It is the first professional women’s baseball league in the United States in over 70 years, after the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League threw its final pitch in 1954.

The inaugural WPBL season will kick off on Aug. 1, 2026, following the conclusion of the Women’s Baseball World Cup. The entire season will be played at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Ill., with the intent of providing a stadium central to each of the league’s four teams, according to the league website.

The season will be approximately seven weeks total, consisting of four weeks of regular season play, one all-star week and two weeks of postseason play. A four-day training period will be held prior to the start of the regular season to get players acclimated.

Each team will have approximately 15 active players on the roster at the beginning of the season, as opposed to the larger pool of 30 players selected by each team on draft night. 

McCullough will have to prove her worth to those at the helm of her San Francisco team prior to the league opener in order to cement her currently temporary spot on the roster.