Mo'ne Davis

Mo'ne Davis

Mo'ne Davis at the 2014 National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony
Personal information
Full name	Mo'ne Ikea Davis
Nickname(s)	Mo
Nationality	American
Citizenship	United States
Born	(2001-06-24) June 24, 2001 (age 15) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) (2014)
Weight	111 lb (50 kg) (2014)
Other interests	Basketball, Soccer
Website	http://www.andersonmonarchs.org/mone.php and http://www.taneybaseball.com
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Baseball
Position	Pitcher
League	Little League
Club	Anderson Monarchs and Taney Youth Baseball Association
Updated on August 27, 2014.

Mo'ne Ikea Davis (born June 24, 2001) is an American former Little League Baseball pitcher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was one of two girls who played in the 2014 Little League World Series and was the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history. She was the 18th girl overall to play, the sixth to get a hit, and the first African-American girl to play in the Little League World Series. She was also the first Little League baseball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Little League player.

Davis is the daughter of Lamar Davis and Lakeisha McLean. She has lived with her mother and stepfather, Mark Williams, since the age of six.

In 2008, Steve Bandura, who is program director for Marian Anderson Recreation Center in South Philadelphia, observed Davis playing football with her cousins and older brother. He noticed that "she was throwing this football in perfect spirals, effortless and running these tough kids down and tackling them." Bandura asked her if she would like to come to a basketball practice. When she came to practice, Bandura asked her to watch the practice, but she wanted to participate. Bandura told The Philadelphia Tribune that "Her eyes were just glued on the drill and, when it came time for her turn, she went through it like she has been doing it a thousand times. I just knew right then." According to the The Philadelphia Tribune, Davis became Bandura's best basketball player and the only girl on the team. She also began playing and excelling at baseball and soccer.

Bandura, together with other sponsors, helped Davis transfer to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, which is a private girls' school. Her mother, Lakeisha McLean, told the The Philadelphia Tribune that she was unaware that her daughter was so athletic. In 2011, she was a point guard in basketball, a pitcher, shortstop, and third baseman in baseball, but she revealed that she started pitching when she was a substitute from outfielder, and mid-fielder for soccer.

As of August 2014, while notable as a Little League pitcher, she considers basketball her primary sport. She aspires to become a WNBA player, and has expressed desire to play college basketball for the UConn Huskies of the University of Connecticut, despite not being formally recruited, and follow in the footsteps of Maya Moore, a UConn alumna who went on to play in WNBA.