After two years of not being able to hold its events in full capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic, Little League® International is excited to announce the return of all seven World Series events, and their respective Region Tournaments, with the anticipation of international participation and full fan and visitor opportunities in 2022.
“We know how difficult these past two years have been, and continue to be, on our local leagues, players, and families, but we are thrilled to welcome back fans and international teams at all seven divisions of our baseball and softball tournaments this summer,” said Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO. “We are anticipating a more exciting tournament than ever with the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Little League Baseball World Series, the expansion of teams in Williamsport and Greenville, and the return of full competition at all seven of our divisions of play. We hope everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the World Series experience this summer with us, whether in person or watching at home with their family, and we look forward to writing a historic chapter in the Little League story.”
World Series Tournament Schedule
Below are the dates for each of the seven division World Series tournaments being held in 2022:
- Little League Baseball® World Series (Williamsport, Pa.): August 17-28, 2022
- Intermediate (50/70) Baseball World Series (Livermore, Calif.): July 31 to August 7, 2022
- Junior League Baseball World Series (Taylor, Mich.): August 14-21, 2022
- Senior League Baseball World Series (Easley, S.C.): July 30 to August 6, 2022
- Little League Softball® World Series (Greenville, N.C.): August 9-15, 2022
- Junior League Softball World Series (Kirkland, Wash.): July 31 to August 6, 2022
- Senior League Softball World Series (Lower Sussex, Del.): August 1-7, 2022
For a full listing of Region Tournament dates and locations for each of the respective World Series tournaments, as well as detailed information on each of the above events, visit LittleLeague.org/WorldSeries. Once again in 2022, every game at each of the seven World Series tournaments, as well as the U.S. Region tournaments in the Little League Baseball and Little League Softball division, will be broadcasted live on the ESPN Family of Networks starting on July 23, 2022. In total, 341 baseball and softball games are scheduled to be broadcast, with more than 240 of those airing exclusively on ESPN+. A detailed game schedule can be found at LittleLeague.org/WSSchedule.
Team matchups for the first round of the 2022 Little League Baseball and Softball World Series will be announced during the 28th Little League International Congress event in Williamsport on June 13, 2022, and made available at LittleLeague.org/WorldSeries.
LLBWS and LLSWS Expansion
The 2022 World Series also marks the first year of the expansion of teams in both Williamsport and Greenville, with four new teams being added at the LLBWS and two new teams being added at the LLSWS. Announced in August 2019, the LLBWS expansion will add two additional teams from the United States from the East and West Regions and two international teams from a rotation between Panama (2022; 2023), Puerto Rico (2022; 2024), and Cuba (2023; 2024) to increase the total number of participating teams in Williamsport to 20. The first of those four expansion teams has already earned its ticket to Williamsport with Aguadulce Cabezera Little League making history as the first team from Panama to earn direct entry to the tournament with its Region Championship title win over Villa de Los Santos Little League earlier this year.
Now playing in its second year at its new home in Greenville, the LLSWS expansion will see two more teams from the United States added to the participating field, growing the total number of teams to 12 with the East Region dividing into the Mid-Atlantic and New England Regions, and the West Region dividing into the Northwest and West Regions. In addition, the North Carolina State Champion will also compete as the host region.
Celebrating 75 Years of the LLBWS
This August marks the 75th Anniversary of the Little League Baseball World Series, and as part of that celebration, Little League International has launched a 75-part content series that highlights some of the key moments, memories, and people that have made the LLBWS one of the most iconic sporting events in the world. From now through the playing of the 2022 LLBWS on August 17-28, Little League will focus its campaign around the following four key areas, with content being produced across LittleLeague.org and its official social media platforms (@LittleLeague). To learn more about this celebration, visit LittleLeague.org/75.
For more information on attending a Little League Region or World Series event, including the 75th Little League Baseball World Series, visit LittleLeague.org/Visit. More information regarding access to the complex in Williamsport, including security protocols and tips on how to speed up entry through the gate entrances, as well as any public health-related updates, will be made available in the coming months.
Little League International continues to monitor the coronavirus pandemic and any potential impact it may have on the protocols surrounding the participants of its events. More information, as it becomes available, will be communicated directly to those participants and their families closer to the start of the event and throughout the tournament season.
To learn more about the 2022 Little League World Series events, and to keep up with all the latest information as it becomes available throughout the summer months, please visit LittleLeague.org/WorldSeries.