Last year ushered in the launch of several new women’s professional sports leagues.

Unrivaled, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, LOVB Volleyball and others gave athletes a platform to play at the next level – and won fans. The Women’s Professional Baseball League, the first pro women’s baseball league since 1954, will begin its inaugural season in August.

In honor of National Girls & Women in Sports Day, which falls on Feb. 4 this year, here are four fans who are excited about the evolving landscape of women’s sports and are using their voices to grow the game.

Logan Hackett, @sportswithlogson TikTok

A league she is a fan of: Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL)

As early as she can remember, Logan Hackett was on skates. The Toronto native spent most of her life playing hockey, even sharing the ice with some of the PWHL’s current players.

Now, she has more than 100,000 followers on TikTok thanks to her @sportswithlogs page dedicated to women’s sports. With women’s professional hockey on the rise, she feels like the perfect fan to help amplify their league.

“I’ve been going since literal day one, and I’ve been working with the [Toronto] Sceptres I think every game I’ve gone to with them, and they’ve been absolutely amazing. … I was so shocked the first time and still every time that I go because the atmosphere and environment is something I have never, ever seen before,” she said.

Two years after the PWHL’s inaugural season, Hackett has seen the league grow from its earliest stages. She recalls attending games in a small arena during the Sceptres’ first season. Last year, Toronto’s team moved to the larger Coca-Cola Coliseum, and the game day atmosphere started to grow.

“The growth that we’ve had since I was playing versus now [is] almost completely night and day,” she said. “It was just super important to give these girls a platform. Now there’s a league, [and] I think it has the potential to be like, W [WNBA] status, even bigger. And then for little girls who also like dreaming, I feel like it kind of gives them something to look up to.”

Why she loves the league/sport: “Growing up playing hockey my whole life, we never had a pathway for pro – it was always either you go to the Olympics and be on Team Canada, or you do nothing,” Hackett said. “So being able to see how many people show up for these games from day one — and it’s only been growing — has been so incredible.”

Shanteona Keys, @shanteonakeys on TikTok

A league she is a fan of: Unrivaled (3×3 women’s basketball)

Shanteona Keys has been a women’s basketball fan for nearly two decades. As a former collegiate basketball player – she was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame at Georgia College & State University in October – she has continued to follow women’s hoops after her playing days.

This year, Keys got her first taste of Unrivaled basketball in person. During a 24-hour trip to Miami in January, she sat courtside in the league’s Sephora Arena as the Phantom Basketball Club defeated the Lunar Owls 94-60, and the Mist edged out the Laces 83-81. One of her biggest takeaways was how accessible the league is for fans, whether by watching the games on TV or being seated in close proximity to the players.

“You’re seeing the top players in the world play right there in front of you. Like, there’s no way you would get for that price a better vantage point of your favorite players,” Keys said. “For a W [WNBA] ticket, you’d be paying probably triple what you’re paying to see them that close. … [WNBA player] Isabelle Harrison was literally sitting next to me.”

She also praised how Unrivaled has used social media to market players and capitalize on fans’ interest.

“They’re cranking out really good content,” Keys said.

As a women’s sports content creator herself, she was able to give her followers a behind-the-scenes look at the league during her visit.

“Supporting women’s sports in general, for me, is a priority [and] growing this league that has a lot of promise, I think it’s important … that my followers are able to see kind of what the experience is like.”

Why she loves the league/sport: “It’s seeing my favorite players in the offseason. We just never used to have that,” she said. “Maya Moore would go overseas, and I would have no idea what she was producing overseas. I just knew she might be making a million dollars, and she was out there getting better. That was it. So to see them, and then to be on TV what feels like every other night or whatever, that to me is what the big draw is.”

April Red, @allaboutapril13 on TikTok

Leagues she is a fan of: Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) and the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL)

April Red, who has an affinity for baseball and softball, creates content for Black Baseball Mixtape, a platform dedicated to highlighting Black athletes who play both sports. She also is the host of the 10th Inning Talk podcast and a former softball player. Using her online platforms to promote both sports, Red followed the Athletes Unlimited Softball League during its inaugural season in 2025 and is anticipating the start of the Women’s Professional Baseball League in August. 

As a women’s sports fan, she noticed there was a lack of coverage of softball and decided to fill the gap.

“I saw that there wasn’t anything out there, but I loved it [softball], and I played it,” she said. “Now it’s like I have a vision of what I was through other people. … I can literally look and see that these women are living their dreams fearlessly.”

Though Red had intended to go to AUSL games last season, a car accident canceled her plans. Instead, she followed the games online while posting about the new league on her TikTok account.

“I just felt like I wanted other people to be excited about a sport that I love,” she said.

As a Texas native, Red is particularly excited that this season the AUSL’s Texas Volts franchise will call Round Rock, Texas, its home, as the league has assigned all of its teams host cities. 

In anticipation of the start of the Women’s Pro Baseball League’s inaugural season, Red has hosted Mo’ne Davis, the former Little League World Series standout, and Amira Hondras, who was drafted to the WPBL at age 17, on her podcast.

“There aren’t a lot of people who allow us to share our stories and to just elaborate on the sport from a fan angle. … I also think that a woman’s perspective is important in many of these aspects, and many times it’s left out,” Red said. “I feel like those women have been very welcoming to me in this space … so I just appreciate the fact that we finally have a league of our own.”

Why she loves the leagues/sports: “In the early days, it was almost like we didn’t even have a platform for people to see our greatness. It was like it existed, but it was behind a closed door and it was only available to very few people,” she said. “Now we have a platform. The door is wide open and it’s almost impossible for people to ignore the greatness that exists in all women.”

Megan Reyes, @megreyes_ on Instagram

A league she is a fan of: National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)

When Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC made their NWSL debut in 2022, on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, Megan Reyes was assigned her first gig as a public address announcer for the game. The match didn’t count toward regular competition and was a road game for both teams, yet the turnout and passion were impressive, Reyes said, and since then she has seen excitement for the league build.

The NWSL fan makes content focused on the league and freelances as a stadium host. Drawn to storylines and personalities of the athletes, she has had the opportunity to evolve alongside the NWSL, which added two new teams for this season.

“It really has come down to the investment in the sport. The talent was always there. They just needed the dollars to grow, and we see that now, right? Angel City has been such an incredible success story, and everything that’s followed since then, it’s just been really fun to watch,” Reyes said.

Last season, Angel FC became the world’s most valuable women’s sports franchise, with a $250 million valuation. From record-breaking contracts to record-setting attendance, the league continues to reach new audiences.

“[The] NWSL championship, for example, has become like the Super Bowl of sorts. The festivities, everything that leads up into that week, into that weekend, is huge, and that’s also evolved from when I first started covering and paying attention to the sport.”

Why she loves the league/sport: “I really fell in love with the players. I fell in love with the stories,” she said. “There are so many good stories, so many great personalities that make it fun to cover. I think, too, the quality of the talent – you watch these games, and they just hustle and have grit. They fall, they get back up. It just makes it so much more fun to watch.”

The post Rise in women’s pro sports leagues offers fans more ways to spread love of the game appeared first on Andscape.