NESLL Softball Mission

Little League is about personal growth, development, and community. NESLL Softball is focused on having fun, learning the game, and helping each player develop both as a softball player and person. Our goal is to help each player get the most out of their Little League experience by providing opportunities to develop their skills and learn life lessons along the way.

Softball Age Guidelines

Softball Division Information

Softball Divisions

Juniors Softball is NESLL’s final softball division. As compared to Majors:

·   Registration CLOSES Feb. 2nd

·   Practices will start March 2nd

·   Games will start March 23rd

·   Players are older (13-14 years old)

·   Roster is limited to (14) players

·   Games are longer (seven innings as opposed to six in Majors)

·   There is no intra-league play and, thus, no standings and no assessments or draft.

·   Junior teams play games against other District 8 Little League teams.

Play-Up Policy

NESLL has adopted a formal process for players (age 12) that wish to play up in the Junior division. All registered 13 and 14 year-old players must be placed on the Junior roster. All 12 year-old players will be placed on a Majors roster. If we have remaining roster spots on the Junior team, the Junior coaches will “call-up” Majors roster players to fill the Junior roster on a game-by-game basis. In order to be “call-up” eligible, each player must be on a Majors roster. Junior coaches will select “call-up” players based on position need, player availability, and Majors coach input.

Majors Softball is the first competitive softball division. The difference between Majors and Minors (A, AA, AAA): 

·   Registration CLOSES February 2nd

·   Practices will start March 2nd

·   Games will start March 23rd

·   Players age (10-12)

·   Mandatory player assessments in early February

·   Players are drafted

·   Scores, statistics, standings, and playoffs

·   Games are posted on GameChanger

·   Games are six innings

·   Teams play both inter-league games and against other District 8 Little League teams.

NESLL Softball Major and AAA Roster Assignments

Player Assessments in 2025

·   All players ages (10-12) attend assessments (all are Majors draft eligible)

·   9 year-olds are Majors eligible (need league approval)

·   Undrafted 9-11 year-olds will play in AAA

NESLL Softball will conduct a mandatory player assessment in early February.

The Major division coaches and assistants will meet to form the Major division teams of draft eligible players in mid-February. Each Major division team will select twelve (12) players from the list of draft eligible players. All players not selected in the Major division draft will be assigned to a AAA roster.

The AAA teams will start practices on Saturday, March 1st and games are scheduled to begin Saturday, March 22nd. AAA games will be played on Thursday and Saturday. NESLL will have four (4) AAA teams composed of girls ages (9-11). The District 8 softball AAA division will consist of teams across eight Little Leagues. Each team will play a total of (14) games. The season is scheduled to end on June 7th.

All AAA girls age (9-10) will be eligible for the NESLL 10U All-Star team at the end of the season. The 10U All-Star team will continue to play into early July and will consist of players from the Major and AAA divisions. This is a tremendous opportunity for players to play an additional month of softball at a much higher level. The 10U All-Star tournament will be held locally June 29th - July 8th. More information on this opportunity will be distributed in early May

Rules