Mo'ne Davis

Mo'ne Ikea Davis (born June 24, 2001) is an American professional baseball player for the Los Angeles Queens of the Women's Professional Baseball League, on which she is a center fielder.

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Davis is a former Little League Baseball pitcher and former Hampton University softball player. She was one of two girls who played in the 2014 Little League World Series and was the first girl to earn a win and to throw a shutout in Little League World Series history. She was the 18th girl overall to play and the sixth to get a hit. She was also the first Little League baseball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Little League player.

Biography Davis is the daughter of Lamar Davis and Lakeisha McLean. She has lived with her mother and stepfather, Mark Williams, since the age of six.

In 2008, Steve Bandura, who is program director for Marian Anderson Recreation Center in South Philadelphia, observed Davis playing football with her cousins and older brother. He noticed that "she was throwing this football in perfect spirals, effortless and running these tough kids down and tackling them." Bandura asked her if she would like to come to a basketball practice. When she came to practice, Bandura asked her to watch the practice, but she wanted to participate. Bandura told The Philadelphia Tribune that "Her eyes were just glued on the drill and, when it came time for her turn, she went through it like she has been doing it a thousand times. I just knew right then."

Bandura, together with other sponsors, helped Davis transfer to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. She aspired to become a WNBA player, and had expressed desire to play college basketball for the UConn Huskies of the University of Connecticut, despite not being formally recruited, and follow in the footsteps of Maya Moore, a UConn alumna who went on to play in WNBA.

In 2015, she released a memoir, written with Hilary Beard, Mo'ne Davis: Remember My Name. That year she also teamed up with the brand M4D3 (Make A Difference Everyday) to design a line of sneakers for girls, with some of the proceeds going toward the Plan International's Because I Am a Girl initiative, which has the goal of helping to lift four million girls in the developing world out of poverty. Davis made her debut for the Lady Pirates on February 8, 2020, going 1-for-3, driving in two runs, and recording a sacrifice in Hampton's 15–4 win over North Carolina A&T. She ended the season third on the team in chances (77) and putouts (46) and had a .333 batting average with three multi-hit games and two multi-RBI games. Davis started as an infielder in 49 of the Pirates' 55 games and her batting average dipped to .219 with six doubles, 24 runs scored (2nd on the team), 16 RBI, and a perfect 8-for-8 in steals on the basepaths.

Despite having played in two seasons for the Hampton University softball team, Davis was not on the Pirates' 2023 roster.

In 2023, Davis began her graduate studies at Columbia University.

Pitching At age 13, Davis threw a fastball, while the average velocity in her age class was to range. According to Will Femia, a pitch (which was clocked during her August 15, 2014 game) is equivalent in reaction time at the plate for a batter to a pitch on a full sized diamond.

Davis relied more on the precise mechanics of pitching rather than strength. According to John Brenkus of ESPN, Davis had a wind up and release point that never varied by more than 3 degrees.

Davis was the fourth American girl and 18th overall to play in the Little League World Series, out of almost 9,000 participants since the tournament began in 1947. The 2014 Little League World Series was also the third time in which two girls participated.

First win for a girl On August 15, 2014, Davis became the first girl in Little League World Series history to pitch a winning game (for the Taney Dragons), which also made her the first girl to pitch a shutout in Little League postseason history. She led her team to a 4–0 victory over Nashville. She pitched six innings, struck out eight batters, and gave up two infield hits.

Television ratings ESPN's broadcast of the semifinals game in which Davis played on August 20, 2014, brought a 3.4 overnight rating, which marked an all-time high for Little League on ESPN. In the game, Davis was tagged with the loss after she failed to make it out of the 3rd inning, giving up 3 earned runs in 2.1 innings. She later made an error at first as Nevada won the game 8-1, eliminating Pennsylvania from series contention.

Media and celebrity After becoming the first female to pitch a shutout in postseason Little League history, she received congratulatory Twitter messages from Mike Trout, Marcus Stroman, Kevin Durant, and requests for interviews by television hosts such as Jimmy Fallon. She also was praised by Ellen DeGeneres, Billie Jean King, and Michelle Obama. Davis told ESPN "I never thought at the age of 13 I'd be a role model. I always wanted to be a role model, but being a baseball role model is really cool."

She appeared on the August 25, 2014 Sports Illustrated front cover, which made her the first Little League baseball player to appear on the front cover of a top US sports magazine as a Little League player. Asked about appearing on cover of Sports Illustrated, Davis said "I don't know. Kind of surprised, but I mean, it was fun."

On August 19, 2014, Mark Hyman, assistant professor of sports management at George Washington University, told The New York Times "She's the most talked-about baseball player on earth right now". According to The New York Times, Davis increased the ratings of ABC and ESPN and, as of August 19, Davis had appeared on the front page of The Philadelphia Inquirer for five straight days. For example, on August 20, 2014, a baseball appeared on eBay, and the auction price was up to $510, along with approximately 40 other items supposedly autographed by Davis.

In October 2014, Davis was named one of "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014" by Time magazine. Also in October, a 16-minute documentary about Davis, entitled I Throw Like a Girl, directed by Spike Lee, and produced by Spike DDB for Chevrolet, was released. On October 25 Davis threw out the ceremonial first pitch of game 4 of the MLB World Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco. In addition, Davis was named Sports Illustrated Kids "SportsKid of the Year" for 2014. and was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25 in 2014.

In March 2015, Bloomsburg University baseball player Joey Casselberry made a crude remark about her on Twitter and was suspended from future play. After he had made a public apology, Davis initiated a plea to the school, requesting that the player be reinstated. Bloomsburg University responded with the statement: "Her request demonstrates the type of person she is, her level of maturity and the empathy that her family and coach teach her. Bloomsburg University stands firm on our decision; however, his consequences will be reviewed as is common in disciplinary actions like this."

Davis was shown in Marie Claire magazine's "The 8 Greatest Moments for Women in Sports".

In July 2015, Davis won the Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award.

On March 12, 2025, a statue of Davis was unveiled at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, which made Davis the first non-Major League Baseball player to have a statue there.

Analysis of her broader impact In 2014, writing for CNN, Kelly Wallace suggested that Davis' accomplishments will affect both girls and boys, women and men. Wallace also speculated that the more attention female athletes such as Davis receive from girls, boys, men, and women, the more popular women's sports will become. Davis has also appeared on various baseball and softball broadcasts for the MLB Network, including the MLB Network Showcase: Clubhouse Edition with CC Sabathia.

Women's Pro Baseball League On November 20, 2025, Davis was drafted by WPBL Los Angeles (later named Los Angeles Queens) of the Women's Pro Baseball League in its first ever draft. She was the 10th overall draft pick. On December 22, 2025, she officially signed a contract to play with the team.

Banana Ball On April 9, 2026, Davis signed a contract with the Indianapolis Clowns, a member of the Banana Ball Championship League.