Outstanding Assumption High Alumna Makes History

Pictured are Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy, WPBL Player Amanda Gianelloni, and School Board President Bambi Hood.

Amanda Gianelloni recently became one of the first to be drafted in the inaugural Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL), and the first to sign with her team in San Francisco. She was the only player from Louisiana in the draft and was joined by internationally known women athletes in the top 30 list. The new league includes four teams in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston that will play a seven-week season at the central location of Springfield, Illinois, in 2026.

The WPBL is the first pro league for women since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League — immortalized in the film “A League of Their Own” — dissolved in 1954.

Gianelloni grew up in Assumption Parish, attended Assumption High School and earned a scholarship to play softball at Nicholls State University. During her time at Nicholls State, she broke numerous records and was selected to the USA Baseball Women’s National Team.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing in 2018 and a Master of Business Administration in 2021 from Nicholls. She was inducted into the 2024 class of the Nicholls Athletics Hall of Fame. She also owns a marketing agency, The Growth Lab, in New Orleans and is preparing to launch a new company focused on elevating female athletes.