There is a Sudbury connection to the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL), looking to launch their inaugural season in late summer / fall of 2026.

But to be fair, the true credit for this historic story should be doled out to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

That is the city where Braidy Birdsall, currently in her second year of Sports Psychology studies at Laurentian University first gained her bearings on the ball diamonds - well before being selected in the fifth round of the inaugural draft of the WPBL in recent months.

It was there that the young woman who was born to play sport decided to make the jump, at the age of just 12 years old, from the karate training that had garnered her a gold medal at World Championships as a youth to an athletic pursuit that boasts a rare claim, in Saskatoon specifically, within the landscape of Canadian female baseball settings.

“I was very fortunate that when I first got into baseball, we did have an all-girls team,” recalled Birdsall. Established in 2015, the Saskatoon Royals was founded to provide a comfortable environment for girls to play, the program grew from an initial single team to 18 teams within four years.

Competing against the boys, the Royals program provided the ideal breeding ground for the development of talent that would not only move on to represent their province as early as the age of 14 (Western Canadian Championships) and eventually at tournaments that assembled the very best in girls baseball talent from the Atlantic coast, right across to the Pacific.

Throwing herself at pretty much every available opportunity for growth, this talented third baseman suited up with organizations emblazoned with Blue Jays and Giants and, most importantly, Team Sask, as she made a name for herself on the national landscape.

A graduate of Bishop James Mahoney High-School, Birdsall was adamant that she wished to remain in her native land while pursuing post-secondary studies, all while acknowledging to herself that baseball was likely to be an “outside of the school year” option, beyond using that time off from the game itself to build a better athlete in the gym.

All of which merged in her decision to travel 2385 kilometres from home to tackle a university curriculum of interest in northern Ontario. “I didn’t even know Laurentian had a baseball team when I got here,” said Birdsall. “L.U. caught my eye because of Sport Psychology. I knew that I wanted to do something with the brain, maybe Psychology or Neuro-Science.”

“In almost every other place, I would have to do an undergrad in Psychology and then masters in Sports Psych. This was very tailored to what I am looking for.”

The Voyageurs’ tryouts of 2024 were a no-go, in part due to her unawareness of the team, in part due to her participation at yet another set of Canadian Girls Baseball Championships. Once at Laurentian, however, word spread quickly about this high level talent and Birdsall was quickly invited to the team training sessions.

The 19 year old with a younger sister (Brenna) that she claims may turn out to be an even better ball player would love to suit up in OUA league action. Problem is that as of just a few months ago, she might very well have much larger fish to fry.

For as much as most folks, including this scribe, had no idea that the PWBL even existed, word of the project did spread quickly within the realm of those athletes who aspire to don the Maple Leaf in international competition some day. Birdsall does not recall who exactly tipped her off regarding a four-team draft that would take place in late November, but she most certainly knew what her game plan would be.

“I started following them (the PWBL) to see what it was all about - and was obviously interested,” she said. Unfortunately, back issues had curtailed her on-the-field participation to nil as this driven competitor did what had to be done. “I figured I would sacrifice a couple of competitions and get healthy, get stronger, and this would be my year.”

That, of course, was prior to knowing of the existence of the PWBL.

But when you are talking about the kind of skill-set that Birdsall possesses at the hot corner (3B) and even more so at the plate, scouts of some sort will most always be looking in your direction - so best to plan for that.

“I was fortunate enough that before all of this, my coaches (in Saskatchewan) had wanted me to make a video for Team Canada to send in - so at least the PWBL would have something.”

More than just “something”.

Birdsall submitted her video and simply asked folks to keep her on the radar; no expectations. With friends and acquaintances likely to find out that teams in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Boston had identified them as prospects well worth the risk, Birdsall decided to take in the league draft, on-line, from the comfort of her dorm room in Sudbury.

In round five, she unleashed a scream that might well have been heard right across the nickel city. Though no exit velocity was formally recorded, it does seem likely this monumental shriek easily matched the very best of her bat on ball contact - and for Birdsall, that is saying something.

“I love hitting and can hit for hours and hours,” said the prairie girl who ranked right near the top of the top batting averages at her most recent national appearance. “I am good at driving in runs. I like when there are people on base and I have a purpose, I have a job to do.”

For now, the job for Braidy Birdsall is simple: continue to get healthy and train, with an eye towards what is expected to be training camp in August of 2026, with the entire six-week season set for Springfield (Illinois) directly following suit.

Being inked to a contract and competing in the very first season of the WPBL would be quite an accomplishment, one that would make family and friends quite proud, whether they be located in Saskatoon or Sudbury - or anywhere in between, for that matter.