8 game-changing women in baseball today

International Women¡¯s Day commemorates the achievements of women all over the world in all areas of life, and it¡¯s a great time for the baseball world to celebrate the women who are enriching the sport and blazing trails for future generations.

Here¡¯s a look at eight game-changing women who are making their mark in baseball:

Veronica Alvarez, Coordinator of Player Development for Latin America -- Athletics
Alvarez, who is also the MLB girls baseball ambassador, is entering her third season as the Athletics¡¯ Coordinator of Player Development for Latin America. She has extensive experience both as a player and a coach -- she has served as the manager of the USA Baseball Women¡¯s National Team and also works with MLB Develops, coaching at youth development events with a focus on girls baseball. She¡¯s also been a coach with the Athletics in Spring Training since 2019, and in ¡¯22, she managed the organization¡¯s High-A affiliate -- the Lansing Lugnuts -- for six games. As a player, Alvarez played four seasons of softball at Villanova University before returning to baseball as a catcher for the USA Baseball Women¡¯s National Team from 2008-15. In ¡¯15, she won a gold medal at the Pan-American Games.

Grace Boyce, Player Development Analyst -- Athletics
Boyce joined the Athletics as the club¡¯s Player Development Analyst in 2024, following a season with the Tigers as a baseball analytics associate with Detroit.

Rachel Folden, Hitting Coach -- Iowa Cubs
Folden joined the Cubs organization as a lead hitting lab tech and coach for Rookie League Mesa in 2019. She moved up through the ranks alongside many of the organization¡¯s top prospects, serving as a hitting coach for the Arizona Complex League Cubs and then a Minor League hitting coordinator/hitting coach with Double-A Knoxville before being named hitting coach for Triple-A Iowa this year. Prior to coaching, Folden played softball at Marshall University and starred in the National Pro Fastpitch League from 2008-12.

Ronnie Gajownik, Bench Coach -- Amarillo Sod Poodles (D-backs¡¯ Double-A affiliate)
Gajownik became the first female manager at the High-A level when she led the Hillsboro Hops in 2023. She was then named bench coach for Double-A Amarillo last year, continuing her rapid ascent through the coaching ranks after joining the D-backs organization as a video assistant for the Hops in 2021. Prior to that, she played softball at the University of South Florida and served as an assistant softball coach at Liberty University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Amanda Kamekona, Hitting Coach -- Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians¡¯ Class A affiliate)
In 2023, Kamekona became the first woman to be hired to an on-field coaching position in the Guardians organization, serving on the staff for Double-A Akron. She joins hitting coach Cole Nieto with Class A Lynchburg.

Allison Krajewski, Performance Coach -- Spokane Indians (Rockies¡¯ High-A affiliate)
Krajewski joins the Rockies organization as a performance coach with High-A Spokane after a season as a Next Gen Strength intern with the D-backs in the summer of 2024. Prior to that, she was a strength and conditioning intern with the University of Alabama from 2021-24. She has a master¡¯s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise from the University of Alabama.

Stephanie Lombardo, Development Coach -- Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pirates¡¯ High-A affiliate)
Lombardo is entering her fourth season in the Pirates organization after coaching in the Dominican Fall League in 2022, and then with Class A Bradenton in 2023 and ¡¯24. Prior to joining Pittsburgh, she was a volunteer assistant coach with the University of Wisconsin-Madison softball team from 2021-22. From 2020-21, she was a graduate assistant coach for Eastern Kentucky University¡¯s softball team. Lombardo was a first baseman for the University of Wisconsin-Madison softball team for five seasons.

Ashley Stephenson, Position Coach -- Dunedin Blue Jays
Following two seasons with the High-A Vancouver Canadians in the same role, Stephenson enters her first season as Position Coach with Class A Dunedin in 2025. A legend in Canadian women¡¯s baseball, she starred for Canada¡¯s women¡¯s national team from 2004-18, being named the team¡¯s MVP twice. In 2011, she won the Baseball Canada Jimmy Rattlesnake Award, which was renamed in her honor. In 2022, she became the first woman to manage a Canadian national baseball team. She was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame last year.