Since leaving a legacy as Los Altos High School’s first female baseball player in 2018, Jamie Baum went on to smash records in college and play in the 2024 World Cup finals. Her journey stretched from Indiana to Canada – and now, she’s back home.
Baum is pursuing her master’s at Stanford University and playing club baseball – all while a member of the USA Baseball women’s national team.
“Playing baseball as a woman at this time is an amazing thing,” the Los Altos resident said. “I always try to represent myself well anytime I’m on that field and show the level that women can play baseball at.”
It all started at Purissima Park, where the 2021 LAHS graduate grew up playing baseball with her family. She then joined her Little League, middle and high school teams.
In college at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, Baum played both baseball and basketball at the NCAA Division III level. She graduated last spring with a bachelor’s in civil engineering and a spot in Rose-Hulman’s history as its first female baseball player.
“All of Jamie’s teams knew that she was an extremely positive contributor – if you love the sport and you play it to the same level as everyone else, they’re going to respect you,” Jamie’s older brother Ryan Baum said. “Jamie’s done such an amazing job to be at that level where she is respected on any team.”
But the highlight of Jamie Baum’s athletic career has been playing for the women’s national team, she said. Since being selected for the team in 2022, Baum has competed and trained around the country and the world with Team USA.
Namely, Baum played in the 2024 Women’s Baseball World Cup, where Team USA finished second to Japan.
“Even though we did end up losing in the final, we beat Japan in bracket play – no one had beat Japan in 12 years – so that was really cool,” Baum said. “We have to wait three years for the next one, but we have our eyes on the prize and hopefully we can take down Japan for real this time.”
Preparing for the next World Cup beginning in 2027, Baum and the national team continue training throughout the year. This fall, Baum was recognized as a standout in the Women’s National Team Development Program (WNTDP), according to USA Baseball press releases.
Throughout the five-day camp in October, Baum and 39 other top female baseball players from all over the country received coaching – including from MLB professionals – and played intrasquad games. Baum led her team in hits and helped the squad to a perfect winning record.
“She’s an incredible infielder and she’s pitched some big games and hasn’t disappointed,” Ryan Baum said. “Hitting-wise, she’s always at the top of the order.”
For Jamie Baum, the World Cup and WNTDP were relatively rare opportunities to play baseball against only women.
“When you’re playing against women, you see a lot of speed and they really try to trick you,” Baum said. “All of us have grown up playing with the boys. The women’s national team is the only opportunity where we have a team that’s pretty much all women, where we have the same shared experience of pushing through boundaries just to play this sport.”
Beyond the national team, Baum also competes on the Stanford men’s club baseball team – a local training ground where she continues to hone her game while away from the world stage. She said its laid-back atmosphere helps her balance her athletic, academic and social life.
“It’s good for me to keep playing the game and gain experience so I’ll be ready in the summer for the national team,” Baum said. “Sports have always been my social life, so it’s what I enjoy doing.”
After going from LAHS to the World Cup, Baum doesn’t plan on leaving the field anytime soon. Although she wants to prioritize her studies and engineering career over playing professionally, Baum added that she wants to stay with the national team as long as possible.
“Some of my best friends are on the national team – the goal is to keep practicing and keep making the national team for the next eight to 10 years,” Baum said.
But most of all, Baum said she hopes her career can inspire future generations of female baseball players.
“I want to show any girl who’s growing up and thinks they could play baseball that it’s something they can do,” Baum said. “If baseball’s what your daughter wants to do, sign her up.”
