Community members gathered in Stockton Wednesday evening to support one another, loving their neighbor. 

It was called Heal Stockton, where Stockton residents and nonprofits met to grieve, heal, and process the tragedy that struck families in the city they love.

“All these people are concerned and came out on their own dime, their own time,” Armster Hampton, Community Partnership for Families Youth case manager, said. “And they love Stockton like I love Stockton. And I feel good about that.”

A common theme throughout the night was hugs, healing, and having safe spaces to talk through the trauma. 

“Heal Stockton is important because what we’re trying to do is bring a level of peace and solace and hope to the community,” Fortier-Brigham said. “And also discuss different ways to work through trauma and stress, especially in times like this, what we’ve just experienced in our city. People need to know that there’s hope.”

It was hosted by Victory in Praise Church at their community development center. Lillana Fortier-Brigham is a middle school teacher and the church’s drama director.

“As long as humankind has been on this earth, there have always been horrible things that have happened,” Fortier-Brigham said. “We have treated each other horribly and I believe that it takes a relationship with, the most powerful, all-powerful God for anybody to really be able to reconcile with such, it seems like it’s too much for one person to handle, so, you need a church family to kind of surround you and events like this help us to see that there is help out there. There’s help for you.”

There were members of the medical community, suicide prevention, counseling groups, therapy dogs, Stockton’s Office of Violence Prevention, and a Stockton youth sports program, Turlock Sports Park.

“I’m feeling devastated but just leaning on God in this time,” David McCants, Turlock Sports Park site supervisor, said. “Just trying to make a positive impact to the youth and just continue to shine my light and bring positive energy to the community each and every day.”

Cleveland Remembers volunteers were giving away gun locks and helping community members craft ‘soul boxes’, origami boxes made in memory of people killed by gun violence, including the three precious children killed in their city.

“I feel terrible,” Sharon Jarvis, Cleveland School Remembers volunteer, said. “I made one of the soul boxes myself today, for one of the little 8-year-olds who was killed and when I looked at her name and the paper. Her sister was describing her, it just, well, I’m getting emotional now, I mean, I didn’t even know this child but it’s just horrendous that this still is happening in our society and it’s still happening in California, even though we have some of the best gun violence prevention laws in the nation. We need our national laws to outlaw some of these things and Congress is doing nothing about it.”

Jarvis said Cleveland School Remembers is pushing for a local law that would not allow police to buy guns from dealers who have a bad record of selling to people who shouldn’t have guns.

Hampton, who works with 16 to 24-year-old men, helping them get important documents like their California ID card, birth certificate, and social security card, said he is saddened and disheartened. He is the father of six children and grandfather to 11 grandchildren.

“As a community, I’d like to think this is our George Floyd moment where we like put our foot down,” Hampton said. “We’ve had enough. And I’d like to see some changes come from the tragedy. My heart goes out to the family of the kids and I just pray it never happens again.”

With the information that it could take months for law enforcement to solve the shooting case, Stockton residents believe people know what happened and are encouraging their neighbors to say something.

“My thoughts on that are that people are not coming forward with information that some of them have,” Jarvis said. “And I think that they are terrified that they will become a victim of gun violence if they speak up and give information to the sheriff. It’s a very difficult position that law enforcement is in, trying to solve this and I hope with having the FBI involved and the Stockton Police Department helping the county sheriff that they’ll be able to resolve this but it’s obviously not going to happen quickly.”

Hampton is also urging his community to be more vigilant and speak up.

“We shouldn’t be scared to come out of our houses and have birthday parties for our children,” Hampton said. “A few people shouldn’t spoil that for us. I believe, as a community, we have to be more vigilant. If you know something, say something. Don’t be afraid.”

Fortier-Brigham said she believes that people know who was involved in the community. She is also calling on the local Stockton leaders to stop arguing and make changes for the young people in the community.

“What I think is true is that the courage that it takes for the people who know to step forward and to say what happened is what is needed. You can be a part of that justice,” Fortier-Brigham said. “If you know what happened and you know where this came from and you know how it occurred, step forward. And speak the truth. And free yourself from holding that secret. And that way, all of those families’ lives can be impacted for the better because they want to know what happened to their babies. They want to know what happened to the young people that just came for a birthday party.”

The church also provides a prayer room, where people from the community can come and process their emotions of what took place in their city, to find healing and peace amidst the pain.

If you have any information regarding the mass shooting that occurred in the 1900 block of Lucille Avenue in the city of Stockton on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office is asking you to please share it with them.

• Send an anonymous tip by texting the word “SJSOTIP” then your message to 847411, or
• Submit a tip online by visiting our TIP411 page by clicking here, or
• Call us at (209) 468-5087, or
• Call Stockton Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600.

Photo via Jared Blais/MLB Photos.

For as long as she can remember, Kalin Badgley has always been fascinated by baseball.

Her recollection stretches all the way back to being a six-year-old girl playing co-ed tee-ball—one of just a few girls in her very first organized league. An old, low-res picture captures it best: Athletics shirt on, trophy in hand, and chocolate frosting edged around a wide grin.

“We had just won,” she recalls. “There’s a big smile on my face, and it was just the fact that I was able to put on a jersey with the same big name as the MLB team on TV. That was pretty cool. That was when I knew that baseball was my sport.”

A decade later, the 17-year-old was recently on the field at Game 2 of the MLB World Series in Toronto, where she was recognized as one of the MLB Youth Academy Players of the Year. Badgley is now gearing up to become the first girl to ever play varsity baseball at Wilson, but perhaps her biggest accomplishment was daring to challenge the boundaries of what most still consider a boys’ sport.

Her father, Jamie, would know about that challenge best. While signing his daughter up for various baseball leagues, he was often met with dismay from fellow parents at the idea of her playing alongside their little boys. Whether out of negative intent or just curiosity, the same question always arose: Why doesn’t she just play softball?

“She gets asked that question frequently in various forms, but I think the real answer is that Kalin is simply just a baseball player,” Jamie said. “She never had a desire to play softball. Her passion was always playing baseball.”

Luckily, Badgley says she was embraced by all of her youth baseball leagues. Originally from Berkeley, her family moved back to her dad’s hometown of Long Beach in 2016, where she started playing in Long Beach Little League as a third grader. After four years there, she went on to make a Heartwell PONY team, where she played from 2021–22, developing primarily as a southpaw pitcher and first baseman.

“It was great that I ended up here in such a great baseball community,” she said. “[Youth baseball] wasn’t as big in the Bay Area, but coming down here in Long Beach I definitely felt welcomed with open arms.”

As for her father, Jamie was often met with the occasional strange look from a parent, but aside from that, he was pleasantly surprised by the reactions.

“I’ve heard bad stories from people, but I’m happy to say that it wasn’t that,” he said. “They were all very open to having girls play in the leagues. The coaches were very open and the players embraced her.”

But soon enough, reality started to settle in for Badgley. The physical disparities between her and the boys around her became more apparent, and as their height and strength grew, so did the stigma around her continuing to play baseball. Growing alongside all of that, though, was the chip on her shoulder to work even harder.

“If I’m not going to be as tall as a guy, then I’m going to work harder than him,” she said. “I’m going to do a little bit extra—maybe that’s even just cleaning up the field after practice. If he doesn’t do that, then I’ll do it. Maybe I can get a little bump ahead of him even though I might not have the inches over him.”

When it was time to try out for freshman baseball at Wilson, Badgley was nervous about how her new coaches might react. For Wilson head coach Andy Hall, there isn’t much he hasn’t seen in 25 years of coaching at the school—he’s coached first-round MLB Draft picks as well as CIF-SS and national championship teams. But a girl making his team was certainly a first.

“When she came to camp before her ninth grade year, I was very impressed by her skill,” Hall remembers. “Baseball is a sport where you either have the skill or you don’t. If you do, it’s about having the work ethic behind it to develop the skills, and she certainly has a tremendous work ethic.”

Badgley’s nerves were quickly calmed, and she easily grew comfortable during her freshman year at Wilson.

“Luckily, I was alongside every guy that I had played with growing up in Little League,” she said. “They all knew me and everyone was super supportive, so that definitely helped. And fortunately, the coaches at Wilson were super open to having me on the team.”

In February of 2023, during Badgley’s freshman year, she decided to try out for the Elite Development Invitational, a prestigious camp held by MLB Develops that invites 64 of the top girls’ baseball players across the nation. Badgley ended up making the camp that year, but more importantly, she developed a relationship with the staff at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton.

That’s where she’s continued to train throughout high school, and it’s where she discovered a place filled with girls who shared her passion for baseball. It’s also where doors began to open for her, including being named one of the MLB Youth Academy Players of the Year and receiving a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be honored on the field at Game 2 of the World Series in Toronto.

“It’s amazing that I got introduced to the real world of women’s baseball at a small little camp in Compton, and two years later I ended up being honored at the World Series,” she said. “It was really just amazing to see how much representation I finally got, but more importantly all women in baseball.”

Badgley is now preparing for her first season on the varsity team at Wilson this spring after spending a couple of years on frosh/soph and junior varsity. She joins a Bruin squad fresh off its first Moore League title since 2017, with a larger roster than in recent years. Still, Badgley’s mindset remains the same.

“She knows her strengths and weaknesses as a player and she’s worked hard to develop those so she can be valuable to our team,” Hall said. “She realizes that her role might be limited, and I’ve even told her a few times that the softball team would love her. She tells me that it’s just not where her heart is. She loves baseball.”

As women’s sports continue to grow rapidly across the country, new opportunities are emerging for women every year. Trailblazers like Mo’ne Davis, who made history at the 2014 Little League World Series, helped spark a national conversation about girls in baseball and opened the door for developments like the new Women’s Professional Baseball League launching in 2026.

With those opportunities have come new role models for young girls. Take one of Badgley’s favorite female baseball players, Kelsie Whitmore, who was recently drafted first overall by San Francisco in the new pro league. Badgley recalls a recent Instagram post from Whitmore showing little girls wearing her jersey for Halloween—something almost unimaginable just a year ago.

“I found that so inspiring,” Badgley said. “I think that’s such a big thing with all the opportunities for women to showcase their talent in baseball. Now there’s little girls and even little boys that can wear a woman’s baseball jersey instead of just the big A’s jersey that I was wearing as a kid.”

Badgley is keeping an open mind about playing professionally someday, whether that means making the USA Women’s National Team or the new league launching next year. But whether baseball remains in her future or not, it’s safe to say that Badgley has done her part for those who come after her.

“There’s women who have been there since the beginning of women’s baseball and the rise of women’s sports in general. There’s women who have been playing and fighting for women’s baseball for 20 years now, and it’s just amazing that I’m able to be a part of it now. This is so much bigger than me.”

The game of hockey continues to grow and draw interest among kids and the Washington Capitals are doing their best to carry that momentum by introducing the Capitals Street Hockey League (CSHL) as part of the professional team’s Street Caps platform. There will be leagues for players across three age divisions held at Germantown’s Ridge Road Recreational Park and it will run from March through May 2026.

Interested players may register as a team or individual. Each team will have at least six players and no more than 10.

This new co-ed league is open to the public and allows kids ages 5-12 the chance to put their skills to the test in a fun, low-stress environment. No prior hockey experience or gear is required to participate.

According to USA Hockey, there’s been significant growth in participation in the Washington, D.C., area since Caps superstar Alex Ovechkin was drafted back in 2004. The total number of USA Hockey-registered players (youth and adult) in the Washington D.C., area climbed more than 186 percent from the 2005-06 season through 2024-25, and 70% across the region as a whole during the same time frame.

The Caps Youth Hockey programming is focused on providing pathways for kids to participate in street hockey. To learn more about Caps Youth Hockey Development street hockey programs, visit CapsYouthHockey.com/StreetCaps.

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ORLANDO, Fla — As if there was any more confirmation needed that Kyle Tucker wouldn’t be returning to the Chicago Cubs, manager Craig Counsell only reinforced the idea. When talking to members of the media Tuesday afternoon at the Signia by Hilton in Orlando, Counsell sure sounded like someone prepared to manage a team that didn’t include Tucker.

“From a position player standpoint, the loss right now is Tucker obviously,” Counsell said. “The rest of the group is back and likely with us.”

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone paying attention. Tucker is expected to get the largest contract of the offseason. While multiple teams have been linked to the star right fielder, there has been nary a mention of the Cubs. Perhaps if the unexpected happens and Tucker’s market lingers into February, the Cubs will entertain a short-term deal should Tucker be willing. That seems unlikely at the moment.

Whether it’s the right move or not is a separate discussion, but it has been clear for a while now that Tucker would find the big-money contract he’s seeking elsewhere.

The front office has been clear that upgrading the pitching staff would be the priority. Both the bullpen and rotation are areas where the Cubs will look to improve, but even if it’s not at the top of the to-do list, adding a more established bat to the roster to make up for losing Tucker can’t be ruled out.

“You’re just trying to fortify the roster as a whole,” Counsell said. “You can think about it in different ways. But I think more depth from a position player standpoint would be helpful, absolutely. I do think we were extremely healthy there last year, so more depth there is important.”

Team president Jed Hoyer has said he’d prefer not to have young players sitting on the bench, so depth can’t come at the expense of player development. Counsell doesn’t seem to be pounding the table to add an established bat to the mix, not publicly at least. Building a better bench than last season seems important to everyone in the organization, but adding no-doubt offensive production won’t be forced.

That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but Counsell seems intrigued by the idea of getting more playing time for young players, in particular Moisés Ballesteros and Owen Caissie.

Seiya Suzuki’s recent performance has made him one of the players the Cubs could lean on to help fill Tucker’s shoes. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

“We have young players that did contribute in a big way,” Counsell said. “I thought Moisés gave us the offensive production of Tucker essentially in the month of September. Between him and Owen, who was unfortunately hurt for most of that month, those are two important players as we sit right now.”

Ballesteros ended the season with a 143 wRC+ in 66 plate appearances. All but 20 of those came in September when he posted a 177 wRC+ and delivered four of his five extra-base hits on the season. Ballesteros got that playing time after Caissie went down with a concussion and Tucker was on the shelf with a calf injury that cost him most of September. The young DH/catcher parlayed that performance into a spot on the playoff roster.

“He’s at the point where if he can help the major-league team, he’s going to be in the major leagues,” Counsell said. “There’s not an everyday catching job in the major leagues for him. But as we’re constructed right now, we’ve got room for at-bats, so I would prioritize the major leagues right now. But that could change with roster stuff.”

Ballesteros’ September looked remarkably similar to what he’s shown for much of his minor-league career: a high-contact bat who can take walks and can hit the ball hard to all parts of the field with legitimate extra-base pop. Caissie didn’t get an extended opportunity to show what he can do, but that could change in 2026. He brings elite power to the table but also plenty of swing-and-miss concerns.

Counsell was also very complimentary of Seiya Suzuki, who had an offensive power breakout in the first half before hitting an extended slump that ended just in time for a brilliant postseason. The veteran had a career-high 32 homers and .233 ISO, then hit three home runs and three doubles in eight playoff games.

“I’m really happy for Seiya with how he performed in the playoffs,” Counsell said. “He was a very dangerous hitter and showed what he can do and the impact he could have.”

Due to Tucker’s injury, Suzuki was able to get a decent amount of playing time in right field down the stretch, something Counsell said Suzuki “did a really good job” handling. This, after a 2024 where Suzuki seemed to lose his confidence in the field and eventually his job there to Cody Bellinger and, of course, Tucker this past summer.

Even if there isn’t an impactful, established bat added to this roster, Counsell sees a pathway to a strong offense, but there’s an obvious risk. Michael Busch’s breakout has to be real. It felt as much considering that, like Suzuki, he dominated in the postseason and truly built upon a solid first season with Chicago in 2024.

Pair that with Suzuki, the continued development of young players like Matt Shaw and Pete Crow-Armstrong, along with less-established kids in Ballesteros and Caissie, and there is hope that the group can be dynamic even without Tucker.

“It’s a tough league,” Counsell said. “Even the veteran players can struggle. You see in giving young players opportunities, they’re the guys that are going to improve as the season goes and turn into better players. Then turn into very important players on your club.”

There could still be an addition that moves the needle on offense, but the Cubs also seem prepared to go with a youth movement if the right acquisition doesn’t come along. Counsell understands that with youth, the production may not happen immediately. However, after watching these things happen in Milwaukee and across the league with various other strong organizations, he trusts that patience with the kids will pay off.

“You have to be patient with those opportunities,” he said. “You have to create the opportunities for players of that caliber.”