Justine Siegal ’93: First Woman to Coach in Major League Baseball
 
Justine was just 13 years old when her coach told her that girls play softball—not baseball. At that moment, she vowed she’d never give up on baseball. 
 
At the age of 16, Justine set her sights on becoming a collegiate baseball coach. Laughed at and told no man would ever listen to a woman on a baseball field, she grew even more determined to realize her dream. With the bigger picture in mind, Justine returned to school at 30 years old to pursue a PhD in sport and exercise psychology to improve her odds by “out-educating the guys.” While at Springfield College, she served as an assistant baseball coach, where the men did, in fact, listen to her.
 
A 1993 Hawken graduate, Justine became the first woman to coach men’s professional baseball, when she coached first base for the independent minor league team, the Brockton Rox (2009). In 2011, she broke through barriers again by becoming the first woman to throw batting practice to a Major League Baseball (MLB) team—the Cleveland Guardians. She went on to pitch batting practice to the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, and New York Mets. In 2015, Justine made history again by becoming the first woman to coach for an MLB organization, the Oakland Athletics Instructional League. In 2024, she co-founded the Women’s Professional Baseball League, which is launching in 2026. Her baseball card is now a collector’s gem.
 
Justine made a commitment early on to open doors for girls and women to play baseball, the game she loves. She founded and currently serves as the executive director of Baseball for All, a national nonprofit building gender equity in baseball by creating access for girls to play, coach, and lead. Since Baseball for All started its national girls’ tournament, Major League Baseball has publicly endorsed girls in baseball.
 
In 2004, Justine sat on USA Baseball’s steering committee for the inaugural Women’s Team USA, which went on to win gold at the Women’s Baseball World Cup. Justine later served as a consultant to the International Baseball Federation during their bid to include both women’s and men’s baseball in the Olympics.

In 2019, Justine became the first woman to coach in the Mexican Pacific Baseball League. Her five-year journey is featured in the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame, along with her team jerseys.
Justine served as the baseball coordinator and consultant for the Amazon Prime TV show, A League of Their Own (released in 2022). In addition to influencing the writers, Justine’s role included coaching the actors, working with the director while shooting the baseball scenes, and coordinating the baseball background.  

Her accomplishments and contributions have been noted by Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, national news programs and papers, and popular publications including Working Mother and O, The Oprah Magazine. She’s also been honored to share her story firsthand with audiences of The Queen Latifah Show and CBS Mornings. 
 
Justine is a Women’s Sports Museum inductee, an International Olympic Committee Women and Sports Award, and an espnW Everyday Hero. Her Cleveland Guardians jersey is in the National Museum of American Jewish History, and her A’s hat is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Topps has her baseball card, and USA Today named her one of the top 100 most powerful people in baseball. 
 
When asked about the significance of her trailblazing career, Justine has said, “It’s an honor to make history, but it’s much more important that we build a better future.” 
 
When not on the field, Justine enjoys time with her fiercely independent and free-spirited 23-year-old daughter Jasmine.
 
“This is not my story. It’s our story.” —Justine Siegal
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Distinguished Alumni Award

Since 1963, the Hawken School Alumni Association has recognized and celebrated the accomplishments of exceptional Hawken alumni. The annual award honors alumni for making a “significant positive impact on Hawken, their communities, society, or the world”.

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List of 5 items.

  • Distinguished Alumni Award Honorees

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  • Carl N. Holmes Award Honorees

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  • Richard W. Day Award Honorees

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  • Fair Play Award Honorees

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  • Honorary Alumni

    Alumni status is a privilege bestowed upon a select, few members of the Hawken School faculty and staff on an annual basis who exemplify the true spirit of dedicated service to the Hawken community.  These role models have served with a strong desire to make a difference as caring mentors and colleagues and knowledgeable and enthusiastic educators above and beyond the call of duty. Each has dedicated more than twenty years of faithful service to the School.  By their personal example and through interaction with colleagues and students, each honorary alumnus has faithfully lived up to the School motto, “That the better self shall prevail and each generation introduce its successor to a higher plane of life.” 
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