Denae Benites, New York Heights catcher

Denae Benites is the New York Heights’ #2 catcher, from Las Vegas, and a Round 1, Pick 6 signing. On Aug. 1, in the league opener, she hit the first home run in WPBL history, as reported by MLB.com and Sportsnet. We only write what official pages and named reports say.

Offseason note (Oct 4, 2026): Next for USA: the Women’s Baseball World Cup Finals, July 19–25, 2027 in Rockford. WPBL 2027: what we know.

Team page: New York Heights roster, record & schedule. The Heights went 8–7 in the regular season as the #2 seed and lost Semifinal B to Los Angeles 2–1. Bracket: WPBL playoffs.

New York Heights, 2026

• Team: New York Heights
• Position / number: C, #2 — official NY roster and official player page
• Status: Signed · Round 1, Pick 6
• Hometown on the roster: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Bats / throws: R / R (official roster and player page)

The official player page bio: standout catcher and four-time USA Baseball Women’s National Team athlete; gold at the 2019 Pan American Championships and silver at the 2024 World Cup Finals; “the only girl to play varsity baseball in Las Vegas”; also varsity flag football, three MVP awards. The league’s July 7 New Era / opening-weekend preview billed her, with Kylee Lahners, as a Team USA pairing for Aug. 1.

Official 2026 regular-season batting line (official player page, checked Sep. 29, 2026): 15 G, 58 AB, 25 R, 32 H, 11 HR, 37 RBI, .552 AVG, .597 OBP, 1.155 SLG. For the game log and any corrections, use that page or stats.womensprobaseballleague.com. If a number here disagrees with the official page, trust the official page.

Notable 2026 mentions

On Aug. 1, in the league opener, MLB.com, Sportsnet, and World Baseball Network reported she hit the first home run in WPBL history — to dead center, bottom of the fourth — in New York’s 8–10 loss to Los Angeles. Those same reports, matching the official player-page game log (Aug. 1 vs Los Angeles: 4 AB, 4 H, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI), had her 4-for-4 that night. ESPN’s league explainer lists her on the New York roster as a catcher; it does not itself recap the homer.

She is a featured player on the official New York team page. Full roster and season results: New York Heights. Heights teammates: Kylee Lahners · Jaida Lee · Valerie Perez · Élodie Ciamarro. More names: players · season slate: schedule.