Maggie Foxx ’28 — Brown softball catcher and home-run leader — was drafted into the Women’s Professional Baseball League during its inaugural draft on Nov. 20. Selected as the 14th overall pick in the second round, Foxx found out that she had been selected to the league’s Los Angeles team while surrounded by her cheering teammates during a celebration on College Hill.
“It was really special to have all of those girls around me when my name was called,” Foxx said in an interview with The Herald. “We all go through all of our hard work together.”
Foxx described the moment as “a dream come true.” She plans to stay enrolled at the University and remain part of Brown Softball while playing in the WPBL, as the league’s season takes place largely outside of Brown’s academic year.
Beginning in August, Foxx will join 119 women from around the world in kicking off the debut season of the WPBL. The WPBL is the first U.S. women’s professional baseball league in 72 years since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League — founded during World War II — played its final season in 1954.
The historic achievement marks a culmination of Foxx’s lifelong story on the field.
“One of the first things my dad did as a parenting decision was to put a bat and ball in my hands,” she said. “It was just something fun that we did together. But then it grew into something that I literally could not see myself living without.”
Foxx’s skills have since progressed far beyond backyard batting practice. So far, she has been named to the USA Baseball Women’s National Team Top 40 roster four times and has held the title of a national captain at Baseball for All, an organization aimed at empowering women in baseball.
Former USA Baseball Women’s National Team Manager Veronica Alvarez, who first met Foxx at a Major League Baseball training camp for girls’ baseball, highlighted Foxx’s “enthusiasm” and “ability to apply the things she was learning” as reasons for her continual growth and achievement in the sport.
For Foxx, balancing athletics, academics and a trailblazing role in women’s sports comes down to “(focusing) on doing one thing every day and getting 1% better,” she said.
For over 2,100 days, Foxx has practiced baseball or softball in some way. Whether she is completing drills in the diamond, juggling baseballs or celebrating her future in professional sports with teammates to keep the streak alive, day-to-day routines and positive interactions are “instrumental” to her success, she said.
Along with her national accolades, Foxx also played four seasons of baseball at Bedford High School, becoming the first female catcher to play at the Division I level in New Hampshire baseball history.
Billy Chapman, the head coach for varsity baseball at Bedford High School, described Foxx as “very motivated” and “confident.”
“She works hard. She’s dedicated. She’s team first,” Chapman said. “Her answer is always ‘yes, coach.’”
To Foxx, being part of a team is a critical component of her identity.
“One of the things that really brings me joy in life is being able to look back and see how far I’ve come, and see how far my teammates have come, and how I’ve made an impact in their lives,” Foxx said.
Jasmine Hsiao ’26, a utility player on Brown’s softball team, described Foxx as a “ray of sunshine” and emphasized her “pure and genuine love for the sport.”
“She’s going to be a part of something so ... monumental, while she’s just pursuing what she genuinely loves,” Hsiao said.
In an email to The Herald, Brown Softball outfielder Lily Berlinger ’26 wrote that Foxx “puts in the work every single day and does it with so much intention and love for the game.”
“Every memory I have of Maggie makes me smile,” Berlinger added.
In an interview with The Herald, Justine Siegal, co-founder and commissioner of the WPBL, said that the “magic” of the league is that, “instead of being a girl on the field, now they get to just be a ball player, and they have community around them.”
Foxx is “so bright and passionate and wants to help grow the game, be a role model and be a game changer,” she said. “We’re really happy to have her in the WPBL.”
Foxx shared her excitement for the league as a way to create an avenue for women to share the sport alongside male players.
“And I see it. I see (the WPBL) breaking down a gender barrier,” Foxx said. “Because women play baseball too.”
