Mo'ne Davis and women from around the world chase pro baseball dreams at WPBL tryouts

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mo'ne Davis admitted she was nervous ahead of her tryout for the Women's Pro Baseball League.

The former Little League sensation was among 600 players who arrived at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy on Friday to compete for roster spots in the six-team circuit, which is set to launch next year.

Davis, the first girl to earn a win as a pitcher in the Little League World Series, is no stranger to the spotlight. Now 24, she hasn't played competitively in about five years, and she said her jitters subsided as soon as she reached the field.

“I’ve been here plenty of times. I’ve played here plenty of times,” said Davis, who did work in the outfield and took batting practice. “Seeing familiar faces — that kind of calmed me down a little bit.”

Justine Siegal, a WPBL co-founder, kicked off Day 1 of the league's open tryouts by addressing the players.

“We are standing on the shoulders of other pioneers,” Siegal said. “Now, it's your time.”

Women from 10 countries including Japan, Australia and Mexico were expected to show up for the four-day showcase, which began Friday with a series of sessions led by league adviser and former United States women's baseball team star Alex Hugo. Exercises ranged from baserunning drills to bullpen work and will conclude with a game Monday at the Washington Nationals' ballpark.

Participants ranged in age from 17 to 57 and included both former and current athletes with varying skill levels. There were also baseball superstars, including national team players.

Davis tried out in center field and took part in a bullpen session.

“It feels great just to see so many women come out who love the sport,” she said, “who are getting the opportunity to play the sport professionally. It's really cool to see. I really can’t wait to just get out there.”

Allison Dougherty was so excited for the weekend showcase that she came to to the ballpark a day before her tryout to take in the action.

“If you’re a baseball lover and you’re a woman, this is probably the biggest moment of our lives, to be honest,” she said.

A Tampa, Florida, native, Dougherty owns two restaurants but is ready to balance her business career with a potential shot at pro ball. She’ll take the field Saturday, trying out at first base.

“I was forced to play softball because I’m a woman," said Dougherty, who played at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. “When I saw that the opportunity came to play baseball, that really spoke to me because that’s the game I prefer to play. And I’ve never had the opportunity to pursue baseball. So I’m just so excited to have the opportunity.”

Heather Strong, a 32-year-old flight attendant from Palmer, Massachusetts, heard about the tryouts through social media. Strong played Little League baseball alongside boys until she got to high school, where she was also forced to switch to softball.

“Which sucked,” added Strong, who plays in a women's slow-pitch softball league. “I played with the boys (in Little League). All the boys went to the high school baseball team, and I had to switch to softball and learn a whole different game.”

Strong was confident about her performance Friday morning, and hopes to at least make it to Day 2. If she doesn't, she appreciates being a part of history.

“I just came to be a part of something that means a lot to not only people before me that played baseball, but the younger generations coming up,” Strong said. “This means the world to little girls everywhere. No matter where they come from, no matter who they are.”

Some players who have already signed with the league — including Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato and Canadian standout Alli Schroder — were on the field Friday helping out the hopefuls.

Other coaches came from all over the baseball world.

Tamara Holmes could hardly imagine her 43-year career in baseball leading her to the first pro women's tryouts in 80 years.

Holmes, who played for the Colorado Silver Bullets women's team from 1996-98, was one of the coaches helping on Friday.

“I don’t think it hit me as much until I got here and saw this first group,” Holmes said after the morning session. “It’s not every day that you get a chance to be one of the first to attend something. I definitely had more respect for that when I got here and realized the extent of it.”

Holmes expects a large portion of the player pool will consist of softball players who will make the transition to baseball, which she described as a much slower sport.

“It has been my experience over the years that baseball players make excellent softball players,” she noted. “The transition the other way can be a little bit hard, but there are certainly a lot of women that have the ability to do that.”

Most of the women who try out likely won't make the league, but Holmes said that most players were there for “an amazing experience and to say that I did it.”

“I respect anyone that would come out on the field with a moving ball and have either a little experience or it’s been 20 years,” she said. “I don’t know personally that I could do that.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Players wait in line on the field as Emily DeCotiis runs past during the first day of tryouts for the Women's Professional Baseball League, Friday, Aug 22, 2025, at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A player slides to third base during the first day of tryouts for the Women's Professional Baseball League, Friday, Aug 22, 2025, at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Nikki Hesson reaches towards the ball during the first day of tryouts for the Women's Professional Baseball League, Friday, Aug 22, 2025, at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Players, including Mo'ne Davis, listen to coaches introduce themselves during the first day of tryouts for the Women's Professional Baseball League, Friday, Aug 22, 2025, at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Mo'ne Davis throws during the first day of tryouts for the Women's Professional Baseball League, Friday, Aug 22, 2025, at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)