2026 Evaluation Day for Kid-Pitch Baseball Divisions (AA, AAA, and Majors)

Saturday, February 7, 2026

The 2026 Kid-Pitch Baseball Evaluation Day will be held Saturday, February 7, 2026 on the turf Whitman MS Soccer Field (located behind Whitman Middle School).

We ask that ALL Baseball players of Little League age 8–12 attend (your 2026 LL Baseball age is your player's age as of 8/31/2026).

Who Should (and Should Not) Attend

Evaluation Day attendance is not required for our LL age 4 to 7-year-olds, Juniors Baseball, or Seniors Baseball divisions (FYI: Little League divisions, from youngest to oldest, are Tee-Ball, A, AA, AAA, Majors, Juniors, and Seniors).

Further, this year our AA, AAA, and Majors Softball teams are working on their own evaluation plan that is not discussed below. We will send further information to those families.

Important Information for LL Baseball Age 8 Players

For those Baseball players who are LL Baseball age 8, the league will provide guidance after Evaluation Day on whether your player is ready for AA (introductory Kid-Pitch, which is a mix of Kid-Pitch and Coach-Pitch) or should play one more year of A (Coach-Pitch).

Please note that Evaluation Day may include LL Baseball age 8 players who are currently registered for A Baseball (Coach-Pitch). That said, if you know for certain that your LL Baseball age 8 player (DOB 9/1/2017 – 8/31/2018) is not quite ready for AA, you can skip Evaluation Day and remain in A for this season.

But please know that each year we do have players register for A, attend Evaluation Day, and get moved to AA. Similarly, we have players register for AA and, after Evaluation Day, get moved to A to play one more year. Player's baseball skills and physical growth develop at varying rates from ages 8–10 in particular, and we all appreciate that September birthdays are 11 months older than August birthdays, which can make quite a difference. Also, some players do a lot of extra work on their own in the Summer.

Typically about 40–45% of our LL age 8 players play AA and 55–60% play A. If you do not hear from NWSLL within 48 hours or so after Evaluation Day, you should assume that the division you originally registered your player for is confirmed as correct.

Weather and What to Expect

We hold our Evaluation Day rain or shine…this is Seattle after all! That said, February weather is often cool, breezy, and/or damp, so please have your players layer up! And for players who have batting gloves, remember to bring them to make the hitting portion more enjoyable.

Evaluation Day is an important start to our Kid-Pitch calendar. Players will take turns fielding, throwing, and batting. NWSLL officials and coaches attend the evaluations in order to meet the players and better understand each player's skill set. We understand that many players will be a bit rusty, and new players are inexperienced. Many players will be nervous—that's OK. We'll be there to support and encourage them!

The purpose of player evaluations is to place each player in the appropriate division, as well as create/draft teams that are equally matched in terms of experience and skill. Players who don’t attend are still placed on a team.

Saturday, February 7, 2026 – Whitman Middle School Soccer Field

What should players bring?

Players will be running, fielding, throwing, and batting. If at all possible, they should wear baseball attire, including baseball pants or sweats and athletic shoes or cleats. Players should also bring a glove and water bottle, and boys should wear a protective cup.

Many players use their own helmets and hit with their own bats. But the league will have some batting helmets and bats on hand. There may also be limited extra gloves available to borrow.

What happens if it snows or there is torrential rain and/or high winds?

In typical Seattle Winter weather, we have had no issues getting our Evaluation Day done since we are on a well-draining turf field. That said, we did have one year when it snowed heavily that week. So we do have an emergency backup plan…we would try again on Sunday, February 22, 2026 at the same location.

Should the forecasted weather be inclement on February 7th, pay attention to your email inbox on Friday, February 6 for further guidance.

What happens next?

After Evaluation Day is complete, NWSLL officials and coaches will work to determine divisional placements. Families will be contacted to discuss any divisional transfers that are necessary. NWSLL coaches will then get together the week or two afterward and place/draft players onto teams. Everyone gets placed onto a team, even players who cannot attend Evaluation Day. A primary goal of the overall process is to create balanced teams within each division.

Expected practice and game start dates

The Majors division should expect to begin practices around the first week of March, AAA on the same week or later, and AA starts one week after AAA.  Games will likely begin on late March for Majors and AAA and early April for AA.