Mo'ne Davis

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.

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 playing in only 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.

At age 13, Davis threw a 70 mph fastball, while the average velocity in her age class was 63 mph to 73 mph range.

In 1972, Maria Pepe was the first girl to start in Little League games, but she was removed when opposing teams demanded her removal.

The National Organization for Women filed suit for Pepe, and in 1973 Judge Sylvia Pressler ruled that "The institution of Little League is as American as the hot dog and apple pie. There is no reason why that part of Americana should be withheld from girls."

Although the ruling came too late for Pepe to play, since she had turned 14, the ruling made it possible for Davis and other girls to play Little League baseball.

Mo'ne Ikea Davis (born June 24, 2001) is an American former Little League Baseball pitcher and former Hampton University softball player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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."

According to The Philadelphia Tribune, Davis became Bandura's best basketball player and the only girl on the team.

She also began playing and excelling at baseball and soccer.

Bandura, together with other sponsors, helped Davis transfer to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

Her mother, Lakeisha McLean, told The Philadelphia Tribune that she was unaware that her daughter was so athletic.

In 2011, she was a point guard in basketball, a pitcher, shortstop, and third baseman in baseball, but she revealed that she started pitching when she was a substitute from outfielder, and mid-fielder for soccer.

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.

As of August 2014, while notable as a Little League pitcher, she considered basketball her primary sport.

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.

According to Will Femia, a 71 mph pitch (which was clocked during her August 15, 2014 game) is equivalent in reaction time at the plate for a batter to a 93 mph pitch on a full sized diamond.

She also threw a curve ball that gave "opposing hitters fits".

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.

Although her arm was 15% shorter than a major league pitcher's arm, she was able to deliver balls at over 70 mph. Her pitching was compared to the throwing motion of major league pitcher Jonathan Papelbon.

At the end of her throwing motion, her arm was moving forward at peak angular velocity of 2500˚/sec, which was over 80% of the peak angular velocity (3000˚/sec) of typical major league pitchers.

The 2014 Little League World Series was also the third time in which two girls participated.

Davis was also the sixth girl to get a hit in Little League World Series history.

On August 10, 2014, Davis pitched a three-hit 8–0 shutout over Newark National Little League of Delaware to get into the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Little League World Series.

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.

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.

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 2018, she committed to Virginia's Hampton University to play softball starting in the fall of 2019.

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.