They might not be from Kansas City, but players for the KC Diamonds — the newest professional sports team in town — have already scored a taste of how the city shows up for women’s sports.
The team ventured last weekend to the riverfront for a KC Current home game at the world’s first stadium purpose-built for women’s professional sports.
“(We saw) just the electric energy that the fans had, how many young kids they had, and just how into sports that KC is,” said Laurin Krings, pitcher for the Diamonds and a former University of Missouri player, during the team’s media day Tuesday at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. “It’s just amazing to be able to be a part of another female team to make this city just so much more special and to just keep growing women’s sports entirely.”
The team said it is already feeling embraced by Kansas City.
“I’m just so grateful for the city’s support,” noted outfielder Alexis Hastings, who is from Lynchburg, Virginia, and played in college at the University of Connecticut. “So many fans have already shown love and support and I think there’s no other place to be with the history.”
“I’ve coached in a former pro league up in Chicago and we had great crowds up there and a lot of support,” added head coach Thomas Macera. “Since I’ve been here there’s been a lot of support and people pushing it and getting excited about it.”
The Diamonds are set to compete in the Professional Softball League, a new national league created to elevate elite women’s softball, expand professional opportunities for athletes, and build sustainable franchises in softball-driven markets. The team’s season opener is June 12 in Puerto Rico with a home opener June 17 in KCK.
The team is planning a meet-and-greet 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Overland Park Chicken N Pickle.
“I just feel really excited because this is the first professional softball team here,” said utility infielder Hailey Cripe, who played in college at the University of Kansas. “This is a new league, too, so I just think the opportunities are far and wide for us. There’s really no limit.”
“We have the ability to do a lot of great things here,” she continued. “And I think Kansas City is a great spot to back up women’s sports and just professional sports in general.”
For opening day, The Diamonds are calling on the community to help make professional softball history by aiming to break the current attendance record of 6,500 fans, the team said.
“You’ve got some of the best players in the country playing on the same team,” Macera said, “so it’s exciting because of how good they are and how well they can play together.”
The league’s seven inaugural teams include the Atlanta Smoke (Atlanta), Chattanooga Chill (Chattanooga, Tennessee), Florida Breeze (Tampa Bay, Florida), Florida Heat (Viera, Florida), Florida Vibe (Bradenton, Florida), KC Diamonds (Kansas City), and New York Rise (New York).
“I think any time is great to start a women’s sport somewhere,” noted Macera. “I think we’re late. I think everybody’s late. I think it’s great to bring this to Kansas City now just to grow this sport.”
After college careers in Kansas and Missouri, Cripe (from Royal Center, Indiana) and Krings (from Loveland, Colorado) are excited to be back in the area.
“The girls have asked me some local questions about where we should get breakfast and stuff,” Cripe said. “And I’m like, ‘Guys, I’m not from here.’ But Kansas did become my second home at KU. So it’s just really awesome to see the fan engagement around the sport and the excitement for this city and this team is going to be really great this season.”
“It’s really cool to come back, especially with the career we had at Mizzou,” Krings continued. “And the fan base. I already know they’re gonna come out. Kansas City, entirely, has such a good fan base. Even at Mizzou, it was electric.”
This story originally ran on Startland News, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
