Brown’s Olivia Pichardo Becomes First Woman To Make Division I Baseball Roster
Brown University freshman Olivia Pichardo made history Monday, becoming the first female NCAA Division I athlete to be named to a varsity baseball roster.
The trailblazing 18-year-old from Queens began playing baseball for Forest Hills Little League when she was about 5 years old. Pichardo made the Brown team as a walk-on utility player – she can pitch in addition to playing the middle infield and outfield – after trying out in the fall.
“It was definitely a surreal moment for me because it’s something that I’ve wanted since eighth grade,” Pichardo said in a university press release. “It’s kind of crazy to know that I’m living out my dream right now and my ideal college experience that I’ve always wanted, so that’s really cool.”
Brown head coach Grant Achilles added that Pichardo “put together the most complete walk-on tryout I have seen from a player since becoming a head coach.”
Pichardo previously played for the USA Baseball Women's National Team. She also interned for her hometown New York Mets, working for the team’s amateur scouting department.
Brown noted that Baseball For All, a nonprofit striving to improve gender equity in the sport, counts 18 women who have played college baseball since 1989. Pichardo, however, is the first to do so at the NCAA’s highest level.
She will get her first chance to play in a Division I game when Brown begins its 2023 season against Georgia State on Feb. 24. She’s hoping her own accomplishment and that of others will inspire more women to play college baseball moving forward.
“I’m just really glad that we’re having more and more female baseball players at the collegiate level, and no matter what division, it’s just really good to see this progression,” Pichardo said. “It’s really paving the way for other girls in the next generation to also have these goals that they want to achieve and dream big and know that they can do it.”
