Baltimore's professional women's basketball team has a name. The UPSHOT League franchise revealed itself as the Baltimore Starlings on Thursday night at the Pendry Baltimore in Fells Point, confirming a May 2027 debut at UMBC's Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
The name came out of a fan contest run earlier this year, and it lands squarely in the city's tradition of naming teams after birds. The logo pairs a starling with Maryland flag colors and a star — a nod to Fort McHenry and the Star-Spangled Banner authored off its shore.
"The Baltimore Starlings represent everything this city stands for: determination, grit, and pride," team president Sonia Chase said.
Two Baltimore Natives in Charge
Chase grew up in the city, starred at McDonogh School and played at the University of Maryland, where she became the first Terp taken in the WNBA Draft when Charlotte selected her in 1998. She spent six seasons in the league between the Sting and the Minnesota Lynx and played professionally in roughly a dozen countries. Off the court, she founded the Chase Your Dreams Academy, which has worked with more than 13,000 young people since 2009, and most recently worked in the global sports practice at Secretariat.
"What sports does, it unites us, it brings us together and it bridges the gaps," Chase said at the announcement.
Greg Resh, the team's governor, is also a Baltimore native, an Archbishop Curley graduate and a former chief financial officer for both the Washington Commanders and Sagamore Ventures. "This is Baltimore's team," he said. "Baltimore is a basketball town."
Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, the Jacksonville-based firm led by Andy Kaufmann, owns and operates the franchise. A head coach and roster will be announced later.
What the UPSHOT League Is
UPSHOT launched in 2025 under commissioner Donna Orender, the former WNBA president, built around a straightforward premise: there are far more professional-caliber players than there are WNBA roster spots. Its first season tipped off in May 2026 with four teams — the Jacksonville Waves, Charlotte Crown, Savannah Steel and Greensboro Groove — playing a 34-game schedule that finished with an August championship.
The pipeline argument already has a data point. Michelle Onyiah signed with the Indiana Fever in July, the first UPSHOT player to move up to the WNBA.
Baltimore and Nashville join for 2027, giving the league six teams. Backers include Cheryl Miller, Ann Meyers Drysdale and Tamika Catchings, part of an investor group the league says has committed about $40 million.
Playing at UMBC
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Catonsville, home to UMBC's men's and women's programs, will host Starlings games. It is a deliberate choice of scale — an intimate building on a college campus, roughly 20 minutes from downtown, with free parking. Season ticket interest is being collected through a refundable $55-per-seat deposit.
The timing puts the Starlings in a mostly clear lane on the local calendar. A May-to-August season overlaps with Orioles baseball but wraps up before football, leaving them the summer sports story in a city that has never had a professional women's basketball team.
Key Facts
Team: Baltimore Starlings (UPSHOT League)
First season: May 2027
Arena: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, UMBC, Catonsville
President: Sonia Chase
Governor: Greg Resh
League size in 2027: Six teams — Baltimore, Nashville, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Savannah, Greensboro