Little League World Series

Qualifying tournaments

In the summer months leading up to the Little League World Series, held each year in August, Little Leagues around the world select All-Star teams made up of players from each league. It is these All-Star teams that compete in district, sectional and/or divisional, and regional tournaments, hoping to advance to Williamsport for the Little League World Series. How many games a team has to play varies from region to region. In the United States, the tournaments at the lowest (district) level lack nationwide standardization. Some use pool play or double elimination, while others use single elimination.

In the United States, the fate of district winners varies widely from state to state. In some larger states such as Pennsylvania, New York, and California, the district winners advance to one of many sectional tournaments. The winners of each sectional tournament then advance to a state or divisional tournament, the latter only being held in Texas and California and are similar to the state tournaments held in less populous states. Most smaller states lack competition at the sectional level and go straight from district to state tournaments. A handful of states are composed of only one district, and the district champion is the automatic state champion.

With two exceptions, every state as well as the District of Columbia crowns a state champion, and sends that team to represent it to one of ten regional tournaments. The exceptions involve California and Texas. Because of their large geographic and population sizes, California and Texas send two representatives to their regional tournament; Northern California and Southern California in the West region tournament and Texas East and Texas West (whose areas encompass more than the geographical areas of East Texas and West Texas, splitting roughly along the I-35/I-37 corridor) compete in the Southwest region tournament. Up through 2018, the Dakotas had one district spanning the two states, and its winner became the joint champion when advancing to the Midwest region tournament. However, beginning in 2019, North Dakota and South Dakota are represented by individual teams in the regional tournament — creating an odd number of teams first in the Midwest Regional and then (beginning in 2022) in the Great Lakes Regional.

The state champions (as well as the Northern California, Southern California, Texas East, Texas West, and District of Columbia teams) compete in one of ten different regional tournaments (increasing from 8 in 2022). Each regional tournament winner then advances to the Little League World Series. A comprehensive breakdown of current and historical US regional tournament locations, participants and results is available online. Since the geographical boundaries of the District of Columbia are exactly the same as the capital city of Washington, this District is usually identified specifically as "Washington, DC."

Regions

Beginning with the 2022 tournament, 10 regional tournament winners compete in the United States bracket of the Little League World Series. The states those regional champions could possibly hail from are as listed below using U.S. state abbreviations. There are 53 total U.S. entrants that compete in the 10 regional tournaments: two from Texas, two from California, one each from the remaining 48 U.S. states, and one from the District of Columbia.

There are eight international divisions, which provide 10 teams to the international bracket of the tournament. This is due to Cuba, Curaçao, Panama, and Puerto Rico receiving automatic bids to the LLWS on a rotating basis—annually, two teams receive a bid while the others play through their regional tournament (Cuba, Curaçao, or Puerto Rico through the Caribbean region; Panama through Latin America region).

The above regions reflect various historical realignments, including those implemented in 2013 and 2022. Historical detail is provided in articles about the individual regions.

Divisions which compete in the United States bracket represent 96% of worldwide players in Little League with over 2.2 million participants, while the divisions in the International bracket represent the remaining 4% (less than 130,000 participants).

World Series tournament format

Currently, the Little League World Series consists of 20 teams: 10 from the United States, and 10 from other countries. The U.S. and international teams play in separate brackets, in a double-elimination format. After two teams reach the U.S. championship (semifinal) and the international championship (semifinal), the tournament becomes single elimination; that is, a team losing one of the semifinal games, even if that team has lost only one game, cannot win the championship, but plays in a consolation game for third place. The winners of each bracket play each other for the LLWS championship game.

From the inaugural 1947 tournament through 1956, there were predominantly U.S.-based teams, usually eight, competing in a single-elimination format. One Canadian team played in 1952, and one in 1953. Regions were introduced in 1957, and that tournament included the first non-U.S. champion, Monterrey, Mexico, although they represented the U.S. South region. International regions were added in 1958. From 1962 through 2000, the eight teams in the tournament came from four U.S. and four international regions:

United States: Central, East, South, West

International: Canada, Europe, Far East, Latin America

Through 1975, all teams competed in one bracket. That year, the tournament was held with only the teams from the U.S. regions. The international teams returned in 1976, when two brackets were established, one with U.S. teams, and the other with international teams. The U.S. bracket winner and the international bracket winner would then meet in the championship game, an arrangement that has continued to the present, independent of subsequent changes made to early rounds of the tournament.

In 2001, the number of regions was doubled to 16. The tournament started with eight U.S. teams, randomly assigned into two four-team pools; and eight international teams, also randomly assigned into two four-team pools. Teams competed round-robin within their own pool, with the top two teams of each pool advancing to single-elimination play for a spot in the U.S. final or international final, followed by the U.S. champion and international champion meeting in the World Championship game.

Venues

Two venues host World Series games: Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Little League Volunteer Stadium. Lamade Stadium has hosted games since 1959 and added lights in 1992. Volunteer Stadium opened in 2001 when the field expanded to 16 teams. Prior to 1959, the Little League World Series was held at Original Little League on West Fourth Street in Williamsport.

Both fields have symmetrical fences, with a distance of 68.6 m (225 feet) from home plate to each of the outfield positions. That distance had been 62.5 m (205 feet) before 2006.

Admission to all LLWS games is free for all spectators. However, stadium seats for the championship game are distributed in a random drawing of all interested parties due to high demand. Some early round games, mostly games with Pennsylvania teams, will use first-come, first-served admission if a big crowd is to be expected. Lamade Stadium has a berm beyond the fences that has allowed the facility to hold up to 45,000 spectators.

Age requirements

From 1947 to 2005, the age limit for players was set at children who turned 13 on August 1 of that year or later. In 2006, the age limit was loosened to include players who turn 13 after April 30. As the Series takes place in August, this led to many of the players having already turned 13 before the Series started. In 2014 Little League voted to change the age cutoff from April 30 to December 31. However, this caused outrage by parents because the players born between May 1 and August 31, 2005, would have lost their 12-year-old season because they would be considered to be 13 years old even though they have not reached their 13th birthday. Effective November 2015, a new implementation plan was established, which "grandfathered" players born between May 1 and August 31, 2005, as 12-year-olds for the 2018 season, using April 30 age determination date for the 2018 season. Since 2019, a new determination date of August 31 is used, banning 13-year-old players from participating in the Series.

Girls in the tournament

Through the 2026 tournament, a total of 26 girls have participated in the Little League Baseball World Series:

Noteworthy events

1952 – A team from Montreal, Canada, became the first team outside of the United States to play in the tournament.

1955 – The first walk-off home run in the championship game was hit by Rich Cominski, from Morrisville, Pennsylvania, in the 7th inning.

1957 – Monterrey, Mexico, only the third team from outside the United States to compete, became the first such team to win the tournament. Pitcher Ángel Macías threw a perfect game, which has not occurred in a championship game since.

1970 – This was the final tournament to have an all-US championship final, aside from later exceptions of 1975 and 2021 when only US-based teams competed.

1971 – Lloyd McClendon, from Gary, Indiana, hit five home runs in five official at bats over the span of three games. He was intentionally walked in his other five plate appearances.

1974 – The elimination game between Jackson, Tennessee and Maracaibo, Venezuela was the first scoreless game after six innings of regulation play. Venezuela won 1–0, with a walk off home run in the seventh inning.

1975 – International teams were banned from the tournament. After considerable criticism, the board of directors voted 12–1 to rescind the ban the following year.

1976 – International teams returned to the tournament, with US teams and non-US teams now placed on different sides of the tournament bracket.

1982 – Kirkland, Washington, won the championship over Chiayi County, Taiwan. This snapped a streak of 31 consecutive wins by Taiwanese teams at the LLWS, prompting the game's live announcer, Jim McKay, to declare it the biggest upset in the history of Little League.

Little League World Series champions

Championship tally

In November 1974, "whispers about overage Asian participants grew to shouts" when over a three-year stretch Taiwan outscored U.S. teams, 120–2, in a span of nine Little League World Series games. Then LLWS chairman Peter McGovern reluctantly agreed to a blanket ban of all international teams. After an uproar of criticism and an investigation that could produce no evidence of rules violations, the ban was rescinded for the 1976 event.

In 1976, the tournament was split into two brackets; one for International teams, and one for teams representing the United States. As a result, a team representing the United States is assured of being in the finals each year.

In 1985, Mexicali, Mexico, represented the West Region of the United States in the Little League World Series. Because of its proximity to the El Centro/Calexico area in Southern California, Mexicali competed in and represented California's District 22 in the Southern California division from 1957 to 1985, representing the bordering city of Calexico, California.

In 1992, Long Beach was declared a 6–0 winner after the international tournament committee determined that Zamboanga City had used ineligible players that were either not from within its city limits, over age, or both. The championship game was originally won by Zamboanga City, 15–4.

From 1997 to 2002, no teams from Taiwan participated in the tournament. In 1997, the Taiwan Baseball Association decided its leagues would no longer charter with Little League. From the introduction of Far East teams in 1967 until after 1996, Taiwan had won 17 of a possible 30 championships and had been runner-up twice.

Due to complicated relations with the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China—commonly known as Taiwan—is recognized by the name Chinese Taipei by a majority of international organizations, including Little League Baseball. LLWS records and news accounts may use Republic of China, Taiwan, or Chinese Taipei to refer to the same entity.

In 2001, Danny Almonte, a pitcher from the Bronx, New York, team representing the Mid-Atlantic Region, was discovered to not be eligible because he was two years over the maximum age limit. Because of this, the Mid-Atlantic team was retroactively assessed a forfeit for each game they won in the tournament. The team's statistics, including a perfect game thrown by Almonte, were scrubbed from the record.

Notable participants in the Little League World Series

Major League Baseball players

According to the official Little League website, as of 2024, there have been 72 MLB players who played in the LLWS.

Wilson Álvarez – Venezuelan left-handed pitcher (1989–2005); 1982 LLWS (Maracaibo, Venezuela)

Scott Bandura – American outfielder (2026–present); 2014 LLWS (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Jim Barbieri – American outfielder (1966); 1954 LLWS champion, runner up 1953 LLWS (Schenectady, New York). First player to play in an MLB World Series (1966) and a Little League World Series

Jason Bay – Canadian-American left fielder (2003–2013); 1990 LLWS (Trail, British Columbia). Won 2004 National League (NL) Rookie of the Year

Matthew Batten – American infielder (2022–present); 2008 LLWS (Shelton, Connecticut)

Derek Bell – American infielder (1991–2001); 1980 runner-up & 1981 LLWS runner-up (Tampa, Florida). 1992 MLB World Series champion

Cody Bellinger – American outfielder and first baseman (2017–present); 2007 LLWS (Chandler, Arizona)

Leo Bernal – Panamanian catcher (2026–present); 2016 LLWS (Aguadulce, Panama)

Christian Bethancourt – Panamanian catcher and first baseman (2013–present); 2004 LLWS (Panama City, Panama)

Larvell Blanks – American infielder (1972–1980); 1962 LLWS) (Del Rio, Texas)

Jim Brower – American pitcher (1999–2007); 1985 LLWS (Minnetonka, Minnesota)

National Football League players

Cortez Broughton – American defensive tackle (2019–2023), 2009 LLWS (Warner Robins, Georgia)

Matt Cassel – American quarterback (2005–2018), 1994 LLWS runner-up (Northridge, California)

Jake Fromm – American quarterback (2020–present), 2011 LLWS (Warner Robins, Georgia)

Gale Gilbert – American quarterback (1985–1995), 1974 LLWS runner-up (Red Bluff, California). Played in 5 Super Bowls: XXV–XXVII with the Buffalo Bills and XXIX with the San Diego Chargers

Dick Hart – American guard (1967–1970) – 1955 LLWS (Morrisville, Pennsylvania)

Billy Hunter – American wide receiver (1965–1966), U.S. Prosecutor for Northern District of California, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association; 1955 LLWS runner-up (Delaware Township, New Jersey)

Daryle Lamonica – American quarterback. played in first Little League World Series ever held

Jack Losch – American halfback (1956), 1947 LLWS champion (Williamsport, Pennsylvania)

Trey Quinn – American wide receiver (2018–2024), 2008 LLWS (Lake Charles, Louisiana)

Turk Schonert – American quarterback (1980–1991), 1968 LLWS (Garden Grove, California). Played in Super Bowl XVI & XXIII with the Cincinnati Bengals

Brian Sipe – American quarterback (1974–1985), 1961 LLWS (El Cajon, California). 1980 NFL MVP

Julian Vandervelde – American center (2011–2015), 2000 LLWS (Davenport, Iowa)

National Hockey League players

Chris Drury – American center (1998–2011), president and general manager for the New York Rangers (2021–present); 1989 LLWS champion (Trumbull, Connecticut). 2001 Stanley Cup champion, 1998 Hobey Baker Award winner, 1999 Calder Memorial Trophy winner

Ray Ferraro – Canadian center (1984–2002), 1976 LLWS (Trail, British Columbia)

Stéphane Matteau – Canadian winger (1988–2003), 1982 LLWS (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec). 1994 Stanley Cup champion

Yanic Perreault – Canadian center (1991–2008), 1983 LLWS (Sherbrooke, Quebec)

Jayden Struble – American defenseman (2023–present), 2014 LLWS (Cumberland, Rhode Island)

Pierre Turgeon – Canadian center (1987–2007), 1982 LLWS (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec). 4-time NHL All-Star

Harry Zolnierczyk – Canadian winger (2010–2019), 2000 LLWS (Toronto, Ontario)

Other

Danny Almonte – Center of significant controversy following the 2001 series due to age falsification - 2001 LLWS (Bronx, New York)

Mo'ne Davis – First girl to record a win as a pitcher and to pitch a shutout; first little league player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the time of tournament play, 2014 AP Female Athlete of the Year - 2014 LLWS (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Ron DeSantis – 46th Governor of Florida and former U.S. Representative from Florida's 6th district - 1991 LLWS (Dunedin, Florida)

Austin Dillon – 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion - 2002 LLWS (Clemmons, North Carolina)

Krissy Wendell – Former U.S. women's national hockey team player, Current amateur scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins - 1994 LLWS (Brooklyn Park, Minnesota)

Media coverage

The first broadcast of the Little League World Series on television was on ABC Sports (now ESPN on ABC) in 1963. For years, only the championship game was televised. Since the late 1980s, when the tournament was reorganized, both the U.S. and international championships, the "semifinals", have been shown. As the years passed, more telecasts were added on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. In 2006, 28 of the 36 games were televised on the three networks. In addition, several regional tournament games, which are qualifiers for the LLWS, are televised on ESPN during the days leading up to the LLWS.

The 2006 world championship game was to be the last telecast on ABC Sports before ESPN's complete takeover of the sports division and name change. However, the final was postponed one day because of rain and was shown by ESPN2.

In January 2007, it was announced that ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC had extended their contract with the Little League organization through 2014. That year, every game of the LLWS was scheduled to be televised for the first time, with all but one game live on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC. (The other game was to be available online at ESPN360, then shown on ESPN2 the next day.) In addition, a number of games were to be shown in high-definition on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. The championship games in all other divisions, as well as the semifinals and finals of the Little League Softball World Series, was scheduled for either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

In June 2011, it was announced that ESPN would add 17 games to its schedule on ESPN 3D.

Coverage of the qualifying games has increased substantially in the US within the past decade: as of 2018, all regional group games (with the exception of the Southwest region) are available via subscription online through the ESPN+ platform, with the last three games of each regional tournament on an ESPN network. The aforementioned Southwest regional games are aired in full on the Longhorn Network (itself owned by ESPN). The increased level of participation, competition, and publicity of the Little League World Series in recent years has established a trend in the opposite direction of many other preteen sports.

Most LLWS games are broadcast live on local radio station WRAK 1400AM, which is owned by iHeartMedia.

Other divisions in Little League Baseball

After discontinuing their big league divisions in 2017 due to low participation levels over the previous 15 years, seven of the remaining eleven divisions of Little League Baseball has its own World Series format (including three in girls' softball).