SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A Brown University student is making history as the first female student-athlete to play Division I baseball.
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Olivia Pichardo, an 18-year-old college freshman from Queens, New York, has been named to Brown's 2023 varsity baseball roster.
"It's very significant. She's not the first woman on a baseball roster, but she’s the first Division I woman on a baseball roster and I think that shows sort of this changing tide," Amy Bass, professor of Sport Studies and chair of the division of Social Science and Communication at Manhattanville College in New York told KCBS Radio.
Making important strides in gender equity in sports, Pichardo will be one of eight women this spring in American intercollegiate play to be stepping up to bat. However, none are at her Division 1 level.
Bass explained that Division I is the most competitive of the NCAA divisions. "It's a place where you can get scholarships for your athletic prowess, which is very different from Division III, so she's playing in the big leagues," Bass said.
Pichardo has been preparing for the role since she was little. She played varsity high school baseball when she was in seventh and eighth grade.
"She's one of those athletes who's always a little bit ahead of the curve, so to speak, so I think she's primed to be able to do this," Bass said. "The coach has spoken really highly of her try out and she's also been named to the USA Baseball Women's National Team as a pitcher and outfielder, so she's got lots of pathways forward right now."
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