SI
Emma Baccellieri

Emma Baccellieri

Joined: Jan 1, 2018

Emma Baccellieri is a staff writer who focuses on baseball and women's sports for Sports Illustrated. She previously wrote for Baseball Prospectus and Deadspin, and has appeared on BBC News, PBS NewsHour and MLB Network. Baccellieri has been honored with multiple awards from the Society of American Baseball Research, including the SABR Analytics Conference Research Award in historical analysis (2022), McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award (2020) and SABR Analytics Conference Research Award in contemporary commentary (2018). A graduate from Duke University, she’s also a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Close (center) led the Bruins to their first women's NCAA Final Four after beating the Tigers on Sunday.
College Basketball

UCLA Shows It Is More Than Just Lauren Betts

The No. 1 overall seed Bruins generally win by playing through their All-American 6' 7" center. They made it to the Final Four because of how they can play without her.

Emma Baccellieri
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Bueckers’s 40 points were a career high and also set a program record for points scored in a women’s NCAA tournament game.
College Basketball

Paige Bueckers Shows She Can Do It by Herself in Transcendent Sweet 16 Performance

After UConn sputtered through the first half against Oklahoma, the Huskies’ star guard stepped up and made history with a 40-point game.

Emma Baccellieri
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The Tigers finished with 22 second-chance points, with Morrow (24) leading the way in the paint.
College Basketball

Aneesah Morrow, LSU Dominate the Paint in Sweet 16 Win Over NC State

Morrow’s 30 points and 19 rebounds were too much for the Wolfpack to handle as the Tigers head to their third straight Elite Eight.

Emma Baccellieri
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Hidalgo averages 3.7 steals per game.
College Basketball

Hannah Hidalgo and the Art of the Steal 

The sophomore guard is Notre Dame’s leading scorer with 24.1 PPG, but it’s her defensive instincts that really drive her game and will be crucial against TCU. 

Emma Baccellieri
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MLB

MLB’s Umpire School Is Adapting to a New Era of Increased Scrutiny

Nothing unites fans more than a disdain for the Men in Blue. But some people have an innate desire to make calls. MLB is working hard to find them.

Emma Baccellieri
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Soccer

There’s a Youth Movement Taking Over the NWSL

Young stars like Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, Jaedyn Shaw and Kennedy Fuller are part of the league’s first generation of players to skip college and turn pro as teenagers. 

Emma Baccellieri
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WNBA

Nneka Ogwumike Wants to Make the WNBA’s Moment Last

With the popularity of women’s basketball at an all-time high, the WNBPA president and her fellow competitors have the leverage to make some real progress. 

Emma Baccellieri
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Angel Reese earned a place on SI's Power List by helping to push women’s hoops to new heights on the floor and in its fandom.
WNBA

The Power Moves—and Supercharged Rookie Class—That Fueled the WNBA’s Boom

Player empowerment is more than a buzzword—especially in the W, where a generation of dazzling stars have brought the league tons of cultural cachet. The question now: How to use this newfound clout?

Emma Baccellieri
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NCAA membership voted unanimously in January to establish a payment structure for women’s basketball, starting with the tournament this March.
College Basketball

Money Is Finally on the Line at the Women’s NCAA Tournament

Emma Baccellieri
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Watkins was carried off the court with an apparent knee injury in the first quarter of the Trojans‘ win over Mississippi State.
College Basketball

JuJu Watkins’s Season-Ending Injury Leaves USC With Uncertainty in Sweet 16

Emma Baccellieri
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Hidalgo (3) led the Fighting Irish with 21 points in their 76–55 win over the Wolverines.
College Basketball

Notre Dame Rediscovers Its Defensive Heart With Sweet 16 Berth 

Emma Baccellieri
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