That headline? Yep, you read it right.

Laney Fukuoka, a relief pitcher for the Cougars of John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento, California, will join the Lions baseball roster for the 2026 season, making program history as the first female baseball player in Emerson’s history.

For the incoming sports communication major, the sport has “always been a love.”

“My dad put me into baseball with my older brother,” Fukuoka said in an interview with The Beacon. “I played T-ball, I worked my way up to Little League and I just stayed with it the whole way.”

Although she was the only girl on the team, Fukuoka didn’t see anything unusual about continuing her baseball journey through the years.

“Most of the guys that I played with in Little League go to my high school, so it was kind of normalized,” Fukuoka said. 

“As she’s gotten older and felt more comfortable, I think it’s really shown,” David Enos, Fukuoka’s high school coach, said in an interview with The Beacon. “The other kids, the boys, respect her and her ability, and so it’s made her more confident as a player.” 

Fukuoka acknowledges both her strengths and weaknesses as a female pitcher, and works to harness them while playing.

“I would say I’m more of a crafty pitcher,” she said. “Being a girl, you don’t get as much velocity. So, I have a lot of different pitches that I use to keep hitters off-balance.” 

“She can really frustrate the other team with her deceptiveness,” Enos added. “She gets a lot of weak contact, which is important for a pitcher.”

Fukuoka first met the Emerson coaching staff at a girls baseball showcase that Boston College hosted in 2021, and decided that the school—and the city—were the best fit for her.

“I’m excited to play for [coach Nicholas Vennochi],” Fukuoka said. “I met some of the teammates over at Emerson, they seemed really nice and excited, and I’m excited to be there with them and hopefully make the playoffs.”

“My family and I, we’re huge Boston fans for sports, so it just kinda worked out,” she added. 

According to the Associated Press, nine women played on NCAA men’s baseball teams in the 2024 season, which would make Fukuoka the 10th-ever in league history. Pursuing this dream, she says, also comes with an intense amount of pressure and scrutiny. 

“I always felt like I had to prove, not just to everyone around me, but to myself, that I belonged on the field,” she said.

Fukuoka believes in paying attention to her mental health as an athlete, especially as she transitions to college ball.

“Whether you are playing at your best performance or at your lowest, always staying positive in your head is what I’ll be making sure to take onto the next level,” Fukuoka said. 

While she believes no one gets used to the attention, Fukuoka has been able to see the upsides. 

“All eyes were on me, like 24/7,” she said. “You step on a field, you’re the first one that gets noticed, but I think it’s also a positive. It helped me get recruited because I got noticed more, so it [can be] a good thing.”

With this notoriety, Fukuoka was selected to hone her skills at an all-girls training program run by Major League Baseball. When asked his proudest memory of Fukuoka’s baseball career, Enos highlighted this opportunity.

“The MLB Develops has a program where they bring 60 girls out to Florida every year, where they train and work out and play games,” Enos said. “They do 60 girls the first time and then the second time they pare it down from 60 to 30 girls, and every year she ends up being invited back when they pare it down.”

Having a community of other female baseball players is essential for helping girls like Fukuoka realize their dream, she said. She highlighted Mo’ne Davis, the first woman to pitch a shutout and win a game at pitcher in the Little League World Series, as the first female representation she saw in baseball growing up. 

“That was an eye-opening experience for me,” Fukuoka said.

Along with Davis, she pointed out other exemplary athletes like Olivia Pichardo, a utility player at NCAA Division I Brown University, and Kelsie Whitmore, the first woman to play professional baseball in an MLB-partnered league.

As she joins collegiate ball, Fukuoka steps into a role model position herself, and wants to make sure young girls who are interested in the sport stick with baseball. 

“Keep your head up—understand that you may feel that pressure, you may feel obligated to switch over to softball, but just [understand] that you have your own voice,” Fukuoka said.  “You’re your own person. Just be who you are and keep going at it.”

Enos is confident about Fukuoka’s potential when she steps onto the mound as a Lion next spring.

“There’s never been a question whether she has the ability to play the game,” Enos said. “With a good defense behind her, she will have the chance to have a lot of success.”

“It’s never been like ‘Oh you’re just playing her because she’s a girl,’” Enos added. “I’m playing her ‘cause she’s the best person at her position.”