Olivia Pichardo is making history as the first female player on an active NCAA Divison I roster. Pichardo will be on the Brown Bears baseball team for the 2023 season, having secured her spot as a walk-on at just 18 years old. Her determination and skill are set to redefine norms in collegiate baseball, where she plans to bring her passion and commitment to the field, adorned in her Chicago Cubs Jerseys.
“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 in a Brown University press release. “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.”
Pichardo is a freshman and made the team as a utility player. She can play the middle infield, outfield, and Pichardo can also pitch.
Baseball Background
Pichardo played little league baseball in New York and played at the varsity level in high school. She made the U.S Womens National Team Roster year, where she played pitcher and outfield. In addition, Pichardo participated in many MLB youth programs, including the Breakthrough Series in 2018, ’19, and ’21. She was part of the 2019 MLB GRIT Girls Invitational. Also participated in the Girls ID Tour in 2020 in New York and in ’21 in Boston.
Brown baseball coach Grant Achilles put Pichardo through a walk-on workout and said she did outstanding. “The most complete walk-on tryout I have seen from a player since becoming a head coach.” Brown plays their first game on February 24th against Georgia State.
“I’m just honestly trying to develop myself as a baseball player and not trying to think too broadly,” Pichardo said in a news release. “For me, I always just wanted to play college baseball, no matter what division it was. This school happens to be a Division I team that I walked onto.”
It will be outstanding seeing Pichardo playing on the Division I level. According to the non-profit organization Baseball for All, there have been 20 women on the college baseball roster, but none on the Division I level till now.
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