California team wins Jennie Finch Classic, an All-Star Game softball event aimed at uplifting MLB youth academies

Finch, a two-time Olympic golf medalist, said: "It’s great seeing Major League Baseball providing an opportunity for softball and having this role in investing in these young softball players."

Players from the Compton Youth Academy high five before the start of the Jennie Finch Classic Championship Game at Penn Softball Field on Monday.Read moreAllie Ippolito / For The Inquirer

by Becca Reilly

Published July 13, 2026, 4:40 p.m. ET

Concluding with a celebratory TikTok dance, the Compton Youth Academy softball team took home the championship of the ninth annual MLB All-Star Jennie Finch Classic.

Eight MLB Youth Academy softball teams from across the country were flown to Philadelphia Thursday to compete in the Jennie Finch Classic, which opened Friday. The weekend of tournaments led to the championship battle at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Park, between Compton Youth Academy and the Houston Astros Youth Academy, where Compton won, 12-0, after just five innings.

After three years of making it to the championship game only to fall short, Compton Youth Academy players cheered that they finally won it all.

“I feel great, I can breathe now,” Compton center fielder Kaylee Allen said, beaming.

“It was pretty smooth,” Compton teammate Kalin Badgley said. “I feel like we had it from the beginning, and we just balled out and kept the ball rolling.”

The Classic is sponsored by softball icon Jennie Finch, who was in attendance. In between giving players high-fives and fist-bumps, the two-time Olympic gold medalist said she began the Classic as a way to uplift MLB Youth Academy teams with the same opportunities travel softball teams have.

“As the Classic goes on, the talent just continues to get better,” Finch said. “But it’s so much more than that. It’s the intangibles. It’s great seeing Major League Baseball providing an opportunity for softball and having this role in investing in these young softball players, and giving them a place to train, play and strive for their goals.”

MLB founded the Urban Youth Academy as a nonprofit in 2006, beginning in Compton, Calif. Now expanded to nine cities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, the organization fully funds youth baseball and softball teams. The Jennie Finch Classic and the Baseball Commissioner’s Cup, which also took place as part of the All-Star Game festivities, are open to youth academy players ages 13-17 and are often the highlight of the teams’ season, held in the All-Star host city each year.

“It’s been pretty fun, especially the events,” Allen said. “Meeting new people from all over the country, it’s definitely something that is exciting every year.”

Allen is one of many Youth Academy players planning to continue playing softball in college. The 17-year-old is verbally committed to play at Kansas starting in the fall of 2027.

The tournament also awarded the Jennie Finch Empowerment Award to catcher of the Houston Astros, Alina Elias, for her leadership on and off the field. The award comes with a $10,000 college scholarship.

“As a male coach we try to be tough, but it truly brings a tear to my eye,” Astros coach Mekele Brown said. “To see something worthwhile actually given to them, and given to the right person. She has a really good heart and genuinely wants to see her teammates win and do well, even in hard losses like today.”

The gratitude on the field was palpable among all the teams. Players from all eight teams were there in support and laughing alongside one another as they took pictures and cheered each other on before heading to the home run derby at Citizens Bank Park.

“It’s huge having the MLB behind these girls,” Compton youth academy coach Hayley Reiner said. “Because now they have a big name behind them. Everybody knows who the MLB is, and now they know who we are.”

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Becca Reilly

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