With just over a month until the start of the 2026 Maria Pepe Little League Baseball® Legacy Series, an all–girls baseball event played at the home of the Little League Baseball World Series on June 5–7, Little League® International is proud to announce the female coaches and umpires who will serve at this year’s event.
Coaches for the event are identified with the support of Justine Seigal and Baseball for All, while the umpires are recommended and selected by local Little League programs across the country. Throughout the weekend, these coaches and umpires provide guidance, mentorship, and a positive experience for the 96 players participating in the three–day event.
Meet the Coaches:
- Brittany Apgar – Greensboro, N.C.
- Kaija Bazzano – Sebastopol, Calif.
- Kate Blunt – Ladera Ranch, Calif.
- Olivia Bricker – Cincinnati, Ohio
- Trinity Curtis – Oakhurst, Calif.
- Taylor Daniels – Winnetka, Ill.
- Katlyn Drescher – Baltimore, Md.
- Joey Eckstein – Brookville, Ind.
- Cassandra Froio – Tewksbury, Mass.
- Rachelle Henley – San Francisco, Calif.
- Bonnie Hoffman – Reston, Va.
- Carly Mitchell – San Diego, Calif.
- Lena Park – Oakland, Calif.
- Karen Reynold – Belmont, Mass.
- Katie Reynold – Belmont, Mass.
- Sabrina Robinson – Chicago, Ill.
- Rebecca Stern – Cabin John, Md.
Meet the Umpires:
- Pamela Brooks – Leesburg, Va.
- Veronica “Ronnie” Geyer – Lewes, Del.
- Brooke Hummer – Mishawaka, Ind.
- Erin Layton – Trenton, N.J.
- Jayne Lee – Cottonwood, Ariz.
- Rachel Pauwels – Moline, Ill.
- Gabrielle Potts – St. Johnsburry, Vt.
- Jessi Vikara – Pace, Fla.
With the event scheduled for the anniversary of the first–ever Little League game played on June 6, 1939, the event will also once again lead into the start of National Little League Week, which will be celebrated by communities across the United States from June 8-14, 2026.
The event is named in honor of Maria Pepe, an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of females across generations, who was enshrined in the Little League Hall of Excellence during the inaugural event in 2024. During her own childhood, Pepe helped spearhead a movement in the 1970s that would lead to girls having the opportunity to participate in the Little League program, changing the game forever and opening doors to provide opportunities that had never been available before. A native of Hoboken, New Jersey, where her Little League journey first began, Maria Pepe’s name is inscribed on the community’s batting cages, cementing her name in history as she remains committed to inspiring girls all around the world to get involved with sports.
Thanks to the perseverance that Pepe showed over the past 50+ years, girls from all around the world continue to shine on their own community baseball fields each year, which has resulted in a total of 24 individuals who have gone on to compete at the highest stage in the Little League Baseball World Series, including in each of the last six events. Inspired by her efforts, the Maria Pepe Legacy Series is one of the many examples of Little League’s continued strategic efforts to encourage and empower the girls and women within its program, with an ultimate goal of providing equal participation opportunities for girls by 2032.
To learn more about the Maria Pepe Legacy Series, including a recap of the 2025 event, visit LittleLeague.org/LegacySeries.