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Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month

Once again, we’ll take a close look at the best youngsters the Twins minor league teams had to offer, and crown one pitcher as the best of the best, while also spotlighting the other performers who deserved attention. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Zebby Matthews) Before we get to the […]

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1 month ago

May 4, 2025

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Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Zebby Matthews)

Before we get to the list, let me quickly explain how I like to analyze starters. Innings are king; the ultimate point of pitching is to accrue outs, so I use innings as the center of my statistical solar system, in which everything else revolves around. That means I have a bias towards older players, which I try to account for and adjust. Then, I’ll evaluate how effective a player was at run prevention, which, again, is the ultimate job of pitching. Although they are presented, I’ve lessened my use of peripherals, as they are more descriptive of how a player will perform in the future, not how they did in the past, which is what these awards are about.

Finally, defining a “starting pitcher” in the minors is somewhat nebulous, as bulk hurlers will get time in as a starter, and as a bullpen arm depending on what the team needs. My line is this: a relief outing isn’t completely thrown out, but it weighs less than a start. Let’s get to the honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions
Jason Doktorczyk – A Fort Myers, 2.70 ERA, 20 IP, 3.34 FIP
Jason Doktorczyk perhaps enjoyed the most dominant start so far in the Twins’ minor league system, hurling a 0 ER, 10 K outing on the 18th. Three of his appearances came out of the bullpen, though, which kept him off the list proper.

Dasan Hill, A Fort Myers – 1.69 ERA, 10 2/3 IP, 2.29 FIP
On efficiency alone, I don’t think anyone topped Dasan Hill, whose first foray into pro ball resulted in a 50% K rate across 10 ⅔ innings. That’s 21 whiffs. Disgusting stuff.

Christian MacLeod, A Fort Myers/AA Wichita – 0.00 ERA, 10 IP, 1.83 FIP
Because he spent time rehabbing an injury, Christian MacLeod ended the month with just 10 frames, but also didn’t allow a run, which seemed deserving of a mention.

Dylan Questad, A Fort Myers – 1.38 ERA, 13 IP, 3.27 FIP
Dylan Questad has so far rebounded from a walk-filled showing at rookie ball, dominating A-ball with 18 strikeouts across 13 innings. Only two runs were scored off him.

Jose Olivares, A+ Cedar Rapids – 0.00 ERA, 10 2/3 IP, 2.04 FIP
Again, zero earned runs. You literally can’t beat that. The total innings were low, though, which just narrowly kept Jose Olivares off the list.

5. Charlee Soto, A+ Cedar Rapids – 1.38 ERA, 13 IP, 2.61 FIP, 28.3 K%
2025 has been kind to the former 2023 1st-rounder. While he often battled control issues in 2024—walking 33 batters across 74 innings—Charlee Soto appears to have found an elevated sharpness in his game. The walks are manageable—and he has so far dominated his competition.

There’s a lot to be excited about regarding Soto. 19 year olds pitching at A+ ball don’t grow on trees; and ones with fastball traits like Soto are even more rare. He’s more than four years younger than the average player at the level, and he’s doing so while throwing high-90s velocity with improved movement. Again, you simply don’t see pitchers like this every day.

The only bad news is that Soto is currently on the mend for right triceps soreness. Hopefully, he’s only off the mound for a short time.

4. Trent Baker, AA Wichita – 2.49 ERA, 21 ⅔ IP, 3.69 FIP, 21.5 K%
A newcomer to the organization, Trent Baker joined the Twins as a minor league Rule 5 pick following four seasons with the Cardinals franchise. A ninth-round selection out of Angelo State University, the same college as Fort Myers’ Kade Bragg, Baker was never a top prospect, but pitched well in 2022 and 2023 before suffering command problems in 2024. He was also a Mankato MoonDog in 2019.

Back in 2023, Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs mentioned Baker as an off-the-list guy to look out for, calling his changeup a “usual plus” pitch, while his delivery was “as violent as the end of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood and more typical of a reliever.”

He’s nonetheless buoyed the Wichita rotation so far in 2025. The righty made five starts, going at least three innings in all of them, while never allowing more than a trio of earned runs in any one outing. While other hurlers may have beat him in run suppression and efficiency, Baker came out on top in terms of innings; only one other pitcher named in this article threw more innings in April than him.

3. Cole Peschl, A Fort Myers – 0.00 ERA, 14 IP, 2.10 FIP, 33.3 K%
Like his rotation mate, Hill, Cole Peschl’s placement here is an acknowledgement of his ridiculous efficiency. 14 innings without an earned run is impressive no matter how you slice it; yet he did so with 19 strikeouts, a WHIP of 1.00, and an opposing batting average under .200. In his first month of professional baseball. That’s worthy of praise.

The Twins selected Peschl in the 15th round of the 2024 draft out of Campbell University, which claims a few notable current players like Cedric Mullins and Zach Neto (also, does the team have an obsession with the Carolinas? It seems to be a hotbed for players and prospects alike.) The righty held just a 5.48 ERA in college and almost transferred to Oregon, but he decided to join Minnesota, and the early returns look extremely promising.

He made an appearance on May 1st—which doesn’t count for this list—in which he tossed 3 1/3 scoreless while striking out eight, giving him an absurd 27 Ks over 17 1/3 clean frames to start the season. He certainly would have ranked even higher if all his outings were starts, and if that most recent outing didn’t come after April ended. In any case, the team usually has a late-round breakout pitcher, and Peschl looks like a good bet to be that this year.

2. Darren Bowen, AA Wichita – 1.50 ERA, 18 IP, 3.88 FIP, 22.5 K%
You don’t typically see a player eschew a 10 loss, 6.07 ERA season and dominate a higher level, but Darren Bowen’s April proved an exception. He was magnificent for the Wind Surge, never allowing more than one earned run in any of his outings, while tossing at least four frames in each appearance.

You may be forgiven if you forgot about Bowen, who was probably the least-known player arriving from the Mariners in the Jorge Polanco trade. While Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa were big leaguers—and Gabriel Gonzalez was a well-regarded prospect—Bowen was a small-school lotto ticket. His alma mater of UNC Pembroke has just one big leaguer—River Ryan.

Still, Bowen’s lankiness and projections made him a fascinating prospect. His 2024 was messy, but his 2025 is off to a tremendous start. He’ll claim the silver for our Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month honors today (there’s no actual award for this.)

1. Zebby Matthews, AAA St. Paul – 1.93 ERA, 23 ⅓ IP, 1.87 FIP, 30.9 K%
For maybe the 30th time as a pro, Zebby Matthews has been named Twins Daily’s Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month.

For as close as the rest of the list was, the winner was strangely straightforward: no other starter in the system married workload with efficiency like Matthews, who tossed the most innings of any Twins minor leaguer in April, while also carrying a sub-2.00 ERA. And he struck out over 30% of batters faced. Yeah, that’ll do.

Zebby’s April 1st start set the tone for the month. He totaled five remarkably clean innings, allowing a lone hit while striking out four. Then came the whiff monster: in back-to-back outings he punched out nine and seven batters, respectively, before ending with two relative clunkers.

(Relative being the key word: he allowed two earned runs across 8 1/3 innings but nonetheless allowed a lot of traffic, and was at least a little fortunate his ERA didn’t inflate more.)

Matthews is everything you would want in a pitcher. A big guy with stuff and command, he’s spent almost his entire professional career laying waste to minor league hitters; with them often spending most of their day against him walking back to the dugout, slumped and confused. Across 228 2/3 minor league innings, he holds a 3.07 ERA.

With Zebby, the only question left is opportunity; he’s clearly demonstrated a dominance of the minors, leaving the majors as his final stepping stone. Due to the nature of pitchers, he’ll invariably earn a chance—an injury here; a double-header there will make sure of that—and that’s when we will see if he can make the jump. Until then, he’ll have to settle for earning our Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month honors for April 2025.

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Kyle Ashworth earns Academic All-District honors for Long Beach State

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach State outfielder Kyle Ashworth has been named to the Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team, the organization announced on June 3. Ashworth, a graduate student, earned the honor for the first time after leading the Dirtbags in several offensive categories and being named Second Team All-Big West. He […]

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7 minutes ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach State outfielder Kyle Ashworth has been named to the Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team, the organization announced on June 3.

Ashworth, a graduate student, earned the honor for the first time after leading the Dirtbags in several offensive categories and being named Second Team All-Big West. He hit .330 on the season and led the team in runs (43), hits (64), doubles (12), total bases (86), and on-base percentage (.456). He tied for the team lead in triples (2) and was second in RBI (35).

The Santa Ana, Calif., native hit both of his home runs in a Feb. 23 game against Seattle U, driving in seven runs. He finished the year with 20 multi-hit games, including seven three-hit performances, and nine multi-RBI games.

Ashworth was also perfect defensively, finishing the season without an error in 117 chances. In Big West play, he led the conference in on-base percentage (.507) and ranked among the top five in batting average (.393), walks (22), hits (46), and doubles (10).

Off the field, Ashworth earned a bachelor’s degree in consumer affairs in 2024 and is pursuing a single subject teaching credential in social science.

To qualify for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher and meet performance standards in their sport. Ashworth now moves onto the CSC Academic All-America ballot.

~#LongBeachBuilt~

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Air Force Academy Athletics

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The 2025 West Coast Conference men’s water polo game schedule has been released, announced today by the conference office. The Falcons host three home matches, in addition to being the host institution for the 2025 WCC Men’s Water Polo Championships. Air Force’s WCC-opener is Oct. 2 at Pacific. The Falcons then […]

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11 minutes ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The 2025 West Coast Conference men’s water polo game schedule has been released, announced today by the conference office. The Falcons host three home matches, in addition to being the host institution for the 2025 WCC Men’s Water Polo Championships.

Air Force’s WCC-opener is Oct. 2 at Pacific. The Falcons then play its first conference home game Oct. 12, hosting Cal Baptist.

The ensuing weekend has the Falcons in Southern California to take on LMU on Oct. 17 and Pepperdine on Oct. 19.

Air Force plays its final two WCC conference games at home, hosting San Jose State on Nov. 2 and Santa Clara on Nov. 8.

The Falcons will be the host school for the 2025 WCC Men’s Water Polo Tournament, running Nov. 21-23 at the Cadet Natatorium.

The non-conference schedule will be announced later this summer.

Air Force Men’s Water Polo 2025 WCC Schedule

Date/Opponent

Oct. 2 at Pacific*

Oct. 12 CAL BAPTIST*

Oct. 17 at LMU*

Oct. 19 at Pepperdine*

Nov. 2 SAN JOSE STATE*

Nov. 8 SANTA CLARA*

Nov. 21-23/WCC CHAMPIONSHIPS (@ USAFA)

Home games in BOLD CAPS

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Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games – Beach Handball competitions qualification update

In just over 500 days, the 2026 Youth Olympic Games will get underway in Dakar, Senegal, with men’s and women’s beach handball competitions part of the global sporting spectacular. Running from 31 October to 13 November, Dakar 2026 marks the second time that beach handball will be part of the Olympic Games, following its debut […]

Published

30 minutes ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

In just over 500 days, the 2026 Youth Olympic Games will get underway in Dakar, Senegal, with men’s and women’s beach handball competitions part of the global sporting spectacular.

Running from 31 October to 13 November, Dakar 2026 marks the second time that beach handball will be part of the Olympic Games, following its debut at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Competing teams and athlete criteria

Following the decision made earlier this year by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that there will be no direct qualification tournaments for the Youth Olympic Games, but rather a set of principles, the International Handball Federation (IHF) can confirm the qualification criteria for beach handball at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

After discussions between the IOC and IHF, it has been decided that one of the preconditions for teams to compete at Dakar 2026 will be participation in the 2025 IHF Men’s and Women’s Youth (U17) Beach Handball World Championships, which will take place in Hammamet, Tunisia later this month.

The IHF has established its own sport-specific eligibility criteria which ensures alignment with the unique requirements and developmental standards of beach handball, with the IOC also confirming that athletes must be 17 years of age or younger at the time of Dakar 2026, up to and including the closing ceremony (23:59 local time).

Underpinning this will be 10 principles based on six pillars of athlete participation and quota allocation from the IOC. These are relevant for all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) whose National Federations (NF) wish to apply for their beach handball teams to be present at Dakar 2026.

The six pillars are: Universality, Continental Representation, Priority to Africa, Host Country representation, Athlete performance and Gender Equality, while the 10 principles can be found on the IOC website HERE.

A total of 16 teams – eight men’s and eight women’s – of 10 athletes each (160 in total) will compete in the beach handball competitions at Dakar 2026.

Process underway

The process of application is already underway with NOCs currently deciding in which sports they would like to compete in at Dakar 2026.

Once they have made their choices, by the deadline of 31 July 2025, those NOCs who wish to enter teams in the men’s and women’s beach handball competitions will then undertake a selection process made by the IOC, in cooperation with the IHF, alongside the relevant NOCs and the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (YOGOC).

After the IHF has provided feedback and allocation proposals in September, the IOC will then share with the NOCs confirmation of their teams on 15 December 2025, with the process continuing all the way through to ‘Sport Entries’ – athletes selected – on 25 September 2026.

Saly Beach will be home to beach handball

Last month, the International Olympic Committee released a map of the venue locations for the Games, with the men’s and women’s beach handball competitions taking place at the ‘Saly Beach West’ venue.

The popular seaside and tourist resort is based in the Thiès Region on the ‘Petite Côte’ of Senegal, south of the capital, Dakar and will also feature the sailing (windsurfing), rowing coastal beach sprints, beach volleyball, beach wrestling and triathlon competitions.

Beach Handball at the Youth Olympic Games

The 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be held in Dakar, Senegal from 31 October to 13 November 2026.

Dakar will be the fourth edition of the YOG, following its debut in Singapore (2010), the second edition in Nanjing, China (2014) and 2018 edition, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Indoor/7-a-side handball featured at the 2010 and 2014 editions, before being replaced by Beach Handball at the 2018 edition, the debut event won by Argentina (women) and Spain (men).

The YOG is a major event which embodies the Olympic spirit, sporting excellence and the promotion of youth. The event has become a pillar of the Olympic Movement and is more than just sporting competitions. The YOG are part of an educational and cultural programme aimed at instilling the Olympic values of respect, friendship and excellence in young people around the world.

The election of Dakar as the host city of the YOG 2026 marks a historic moment for Africa. The decision was taken at the 133rd IOC Session in October 2018, making Dakar the first African city to host the YOG.

Initially planned for 2022, Dakar was postponed to 2026 due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has allowed for better planning of the event and ensured its success.

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Penn-Trafford boys volleyball drops State College to set up rematch with North Allegheny

By: Luke Brown Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 8:50 PM Penn-Trafford’s Nathaniel Rugh hits against Peters Township a WPIAL playoff game May 13. STATE COLLEGE — Penn-Trafford’s run through the PIAA boys volleyball playoffs continued Tuesday evening in State College, as the Warriors defeated the Little Lions in straight sets to advance into Saturday’s quarterfinal […]

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50 minutes ago

June 4, 2025

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By:

Luke Brown

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 8:50 PM

8562048_web1_gtr-PTPeters07-051425 — Penn-Trafford’s Nathaniel Rugh hits against Peters Township a WPIAL playoff game May 13.

STATE COLLEGE — Penn-Trafford’s run through the PIAA boys volleyball playoffs continued Tuesday evening in State College, as the Warriors defeated the Little Lions in straight sets to advance into Saturday’s quarterfinal round.

“They were tough,” Penn-Trafford coach Jim Schall said. “They were without their big hitter, and he probably, of course, would have made a difference there.”

Schall was referring to State College’s Carter Weight, a senior heading to Ohio State next year. Weight has dealt with a back injury this season, and that had him sidelined for his final game as a Little Lion.

The Warriors got rolling early, starting with a 4-0 lead in the opening set. State College started to storm back and tied it 4-4. Then the Warriors got hot again, scored six straight and forced State College coach Larry Campbell to call a timeout.

State College got on a 5-0 run in the middle of the set, making it 15-13. Back-to-back service aces from Connor Evangeliste made a big difference for the Warriors, earning their 23rd and 24th points of the set, opening the door to earn just one more and grab a 1-0 lead in the match, which they did.

Scores were deadlocked at 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the middle set before Penn-Trafford went on a six-point run to get ahead 12-8.

State College’s Derrick Campbell had a big kill late in the set to cut P-T’s lead to 24-21, but the Warriors won the very next point for a middle-set victory, pinning State College’s back to the wall for the rest of the match.

The Little Lions started off the last set with two points back-to-back, and that’s fitting because State College showed the most fight in that third and final set.

“They played very good defense,” Schall said. “They made some errors in a few spots there. So, in each of the games, we were able to have some good runs of points.”

Penn-Trafford rallied from the 2-0 deficit to tie it 3-3 and took a 5-4 lead it never surrendered.

An impressive tip over the net from Nathaniel Rugh came late in the set to give the Warriors a 22-16 lead and rallied a solid crowd of people who made the two-hour drive to State College High School.

Surely Penn-Trafford fans are hoping to come back to the college town in 11 days for the PIAA Class 3A championships, held at Rec Hall, which is only six minutes from the site of Tuesday evening’s game.

To do that, the Warriors need to get through one of the state’s top teams in North Allegheny, the WPIAL champ that beat Penn-Trafford, 3-0, on April 16. It’s a program Schall and the Warriors know well, with battles in the regular season and preseason scrimmages.

“Well, we’ll have to do a little better,” Schall said. “We’ve got to put some balls away in a few spots. We had a good bit of time where we didn’t play, so I felt like in a few spots, we were a little rusty, so I think we’ll be ready.”

Tags: Penn-Trafford

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2024-25 Horry County high school athletics recap | Sports

The 2024-25 school year had plenty of championship-level moments across Horry County athletics. From state championships to athletes sharing their personal stories, here’s a roundup as the year comes to an end. The fall was highlighted by a surge of impressive performances to begin the school year, anchored by the incredible run from the North […]

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54 minutes ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The 2024-25 school year had plenty of championship-level moments across Horry County athletics.

From state championships to athletes sharing their personal stories, here’s a roundup as the year comes to an end.

The fall was highlighted by a surge of impressive performances to begin the school year, anchored by the incredible run from the North Myrtle Beach girls volleyball team. The Chiefs — led by standouts like Olivia Borgman, Clara Cloninger and Bella Loeswick — did their part to leave a legacy. Their remarkable 30-win season was capped by a Class 5A-Division II title over Nation Ford at Dreher High School, bringing well-earned hardware back to Horry County.

CFWrestling_Championship2 — Carolina Forest celebrates as a team at the 2025 SCHSL wrestling state championships at Dreher High School on February 8, 2025. Carolina Forest defeated Boiling Springs, 42-31, to win the first wrestling state championship in school history. (Photo by Joe Wedra/joe.wedra@myhorrynews.com)

By Joe Wedra
joe.wedra@myhorrynews.com

In the winter, Horry County shined again.

First, the Carolina Forest wrestling team pulled off a remarkable postseason run, which culminated in freshman Drew DeForrest pinning his Boiling Springs opponent in the team state finals to help the Panthers to a 42-31 win, the school’s first wrestling championship in Carolina Forest High history. The Panthers joyfully hoisted the trophy high — again at Dreher High — to celebrate the title.

Then, a month later, the Atlantic Collegiate boys basketball team won the Class 2A state championship in the first year the school was eligible to compete for a SCHSL state title. Head coach Tanner Massey’s group leaned on their “Game 7 mentality” to knock off High Point Academy, 58-52, providing standouts like Justin Bellamy, Jaylen Bellamy, Jamie Brooks and Anton Daniels a championship-winning moment they won’t soon forget.

Atlantic Collegiate Academy coach Tanner Massey embraces Jaylen Bellamy (left) and C.J. Hemingway in the closing seconds of the Armada’s 2A state championship game with High Point Academy on Saturday, March 8, 2025.

Photo by Mike Duprez

Then in the spring, two Horry County powerhouses again rose to the top.

First, it was the excellence of the Myrtle Beach boys tennis team. The well-rounded group soared to the Class 5A-Division II finals against Riverside and finished the job at the University of South Carolina’s indoor tennis center with excellence. Spenser Green, Ashiv Patel, Caleb Cahill and Foster Cahill were standout leaders for the Seahawks, helping another championship ring be added to the already-full Myrtle Beach shelves.

Then, to cap off the spring, Aynor’s softball team did what Aynor’s softball team has done so often — win with dominance. The standout duo of Alivia Hess and Maddie Johnson combined to pitch countless shutouts for the Blue Jackets over the season, ultimately leading Aynor to a Class 3A championship series sweep over Belton-Honea Path.

And in the midst of the standout team titles, there were also remarkable individual performances that made Horry County athletics so special.

For instance, in the fall, champions like Jenna Guthinger (St. James swimming – 100-yard butterfly), Ella Kate Barnett (Aynor golf) and Anna Claire Roof (Conway tennis) stood atop the podium and claimed their status as the state’s best.

In the winter, wrestlers Dillon Miles (Aynor – 113 pounds), Noah Justice (Loris – 120 pounds) and Javon Johnson (Loris – 190 pounds) won their brackets and picked up champion titles.

aynor softball MD 02 — Aynor pitcher Maddie Johnson, catcher Hannah Lewis (to the left of Johnson) and other Blue Jackets celebrate winning the 3-A Lower State championship Friday, May 23, 2025.

By Mike Duprez
info@myhorrynews.com

And in the spring, track and field stars like Green Sea Floyds’ Abram Suggs, Myrtle Beach’s JJ Brown and North Myrtle Beach’s Destinee Vereen all claimed individual state championships.

The year’s excellence can be summed up simply — athletic excellence is alive, well and surging across the area.

The amount of sheer success across Horry County athletics is difficult to fully describe. The county is big — really big. Because of that, even with a sports staff that is dedicated to reaching every inch of the county to share some of the best high school sports stories we have to share, you won’t be able to hear about every single accomplishment that takes place — and we wish that wasn’t the case.

You won’t always hear about the region cross country champion.

MBtennischamp_JW05 — Foster Cahill returns a shot at Myrtle Beach tennis’ state championship match against Riverside on May 10, 2025.

By Joe Wedra
joe.wedra@myhorrynews.com

You won’t always read about the spectacular return serve in an early-season tennis tournament.

Heck, you won’t always read about all of the tremendous accomplishments that take place on the football field or basketball courts.

But, those achievements are taking place every day across Horry County, and they are worth celebrating.

I know I speak for our entire sports team when I say we are thrilled to be sharing the stories of high school athletes and coaches here in our hometown. We wish we could be everywhere, every day. It’s truly that fun.

The year was a joy to cover.

We can’t wait to see what the next school year brings.

Have a safe and happy summer.

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Portland's The Sports Bra to expand to four more cities

The Sports Bra, a Northeast Portland bar that only plays women’s sports on the screens, March 27, 2024. Jenny Nguyen opened the bar in 2022. Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB It’s a time of expansion for professional women’s sports. THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: The WNBA and NWSL both added teams for the 2025 season, and plan […]

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60 minutes ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Portland's The Sports Bra to expand to four more cities

The Sports Bra, a Northeast Portland bar that only plays women’s sports on the screens, March 27, 2024. Jenny Nguyen opened the bar in 2022.

*Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB*

It’s a time of expansion for professional women’s sports.

The WNBA and NWSL both added teams for the 2025 season, and plan to add two more next year – including the return of professional women’s basketball to Oregon.

It’s also expansion time for the famous Northeast Portland bar that only puts women’s sports on its TVs.

The Sports Bra announced Tuesday it will soon open franchises in Boston, Las Vegas, St. Louis and Indianapolis.

“The Sports Bra is more than just a place to watch the game — it’s a movement,” Sports Bra founder Jenny Nguyen said in a statement. “Our team spoke with hundreds of interested people about opening a franchise location, and we’ve met some incredible people along the way. These owner/operators are capable, enthusiastic, and deeply committed to The Bra’s mission.”

Nguyen opened the inaugural Sports Bra in 2022 with a shockingly simple mission: a place where women’s sports fans could gather to watch games. Nguyen reached out directly to professional leagues and content creators to be able to exclusively show women’s sports on the bar’s TV, making it the first known restaurant to do so.

The Sports Bra’s success has often served as an example of how demand for women’s sports is growing, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, Portland was chosen as one of two cities to gain a WNBA expansion team set to start play in 2026.

Jenny Nguyen, owner of the Sports Bra, a Northeast Portland bar that only plays women’s sports on the screens, March 27, 2024. The Sports Bra announced in 2025 it would open franchise locations in four new cities.

*Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB*

Nguyen had announced last year that major investments would allow the concept to grow to other cities in the form of locally owned franchises. Opening dates are still being determined for the four new Sports Bra locations.

Nguyen and her Portland team will help support the new locations with things like setup and training. Practices from the Oregon location, such as buying from women-owned food and beverage distributors and offering vegan and gluten-free menu items, will continue at the franchises.

Each city welcoming a Sports Bra already has a professional women’s sports team. Las Vegas is home to the WNBA’s Aces, which won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. Indianapolis is home to the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, which picked up two fan favorites – Aliyah Boston from South Carolina and Caitlin Clark from Iowa – in recent drafts. St. Louis has a Women’s Football Alliance team, and Boston is set to welcome an NWSL team in 2026.

TV viewership for women’s sports has skyrocketed in recent years as leagues negotiate better deals with networks. In 2024, both the WNBA and NWSL reported record-breaking viewership numbers.

“There is no better moment than this to open these places,” Nguyen said.