The Pipeline: From Little League to the National Team

In the summer of 2026, the U.S. Virgin Islands won a world championship at the 18U level and a Central American and Caribbean Games silver medal at the senior level. Results like that come from a pathway: a series of steps that take a young player from her first game to the national team. Here is what that pathway looks like in the territory today.

LITTLE LEAGUE (AGES 9–12) In 2023, the Virgin Islands held the first Little League territorial softball season for girls ages 9 to 12, with the Diamond Dolls and Lady Lions from St. Croix and Sistahood and Venom from St. Thomas. The inter-island league exists to develop teams strong enough to compete in Puerto Rico. Organizer Richard Clendinen is now a coach on the 18U world championship staff.

HIGH SCHOOL High school softball brings the islands together through events like the Laura Isaac Softball Tournament, which in 2025 brought Charlotte Amalie, Ivanna Eudora Kean, St. Croix Educational Complex and John H. Woodson Jr. High to ballparks across St. Thomas.

18U The USVI Nike RBI 18U program, managed by Elroy Hill with coaches Clendinen, Brock Creque and Inocencia Bermudez, reached the World Series semifinals in 2025 and won it all in 2026, beating teams backed by Major League Baseball organizations.

WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM At the top, the USVI Women's National Team won the inaugural One Caribbean Invitational in 2023, finished runner-up when St. John hosted the ECASC qualifier that same year, and won silver at the 2026 CAC Games in Santo Domingo.

The steps connect. Amanda Thompson pitched the 18U team to its world title just weeks after winning CAC Games silver with the senior team. Taylor White played on both the 2023 One Caribbean champions and the 2026 silver-medal team.

The Federation's job is to make every step stronger: more fields, more games, more coaches and more girls who can picture themselves on the national team.

Interested in playing, coaching or volunteering? Contact the Federation through the About page.