Best Youth Baseball Gloves (2026): Sized by Age

The best youth baseball glove for most players 9 to 13 is the Rawlings Select Pro Lite (about $65): real leather that forms a custom pocket, built on pro-style patterns but lighter and smaller for a youth hand. For ages 5 to 8, the right answer is an easy-close glove the child can actually squeeze shut, and our pick there is the Mizuno Prospect PowerClose 11" (about $55). On a budget, the Rawlings Players Series 11.5" (about $30) is the best all-around value, and the Rawlings Players 10" (about $19) is the right first glove for a 5 or 6-year-old.

Almost every glove problem at the youth level traces back to size. A glove that's too big flops open and won't hold the ball; a stiff glove a small child can't close is useless no matter how good the leather is. Below are eight gloves that span ages 5 through 13, a comparison table, a glove size chart by age and position, and a plain-English guide to easy-close vs leather, web types, the throwing hand, and breaking a glove in for a kid who won't do it themselves. Want picks for one exact age? See our guides for 8U, 10U and 12U.

Youth glove size is measured in inches from the heel of the glove to the top of the web, and it scales with age: roughly 9 to 10.5" for ages 5 to 7, 10.5 to 11.5" for ages 8 to 10, and 11.5 to 12" for ages 11 to 13. Adult infield gloves run about 11.25 to 12" and outfield gloves 12.5 to 12.75", so a youth glove is intentionally smaller and lighter. Get the size right and most other decisions get easier.

These are typical ranges, not rules; a big 9-year-old may fit an 11.5" and a small 12-year-old may still be happiest in an 11". Position barely matters under about 10; a single all-purpose glove in the right size is all a young player needs. Catchers and first basemen use mitts, which are sized differently; see our youth catcher's mitt and first base mitt for 9U guides. Our full glove size chart covers every position and age.

The Select Pro Lite is the best overall, the Mizuno PowerClose is the easiest to close, and the Rawlings Players 11.5" is the best value. The table runs from the smallest glove to the largest, so you can find your player's age and read across. All the listings we link are right-hand throw unless noted; most are sold in left-hand throw too.

Easy close vs. leather. The Rawlings Players 10" and 11.5", the Mizuno Prospect PowerClose and the Rawlings Sure Catch are ready to use with little or no break-in, which is what a 5 to 10-year-old needs. The Select Pro Lite (both sizes) and the Wilson A500 are real leather built on pro-style or infield patterns, so they need a few weeks of break-in and reward a committed player. The Wilson A450 sits in between: a light youth infield glove for the coach-pitch years.

Webs and positions. Under about 10, web type barely matters, so the little-kid gloves use forgiving all-purpose patterns. The A450 and A500 are youth infield patterns, and the Harper 12" uses an open H-web for the outfield. If your player has a set position, the glove size chart by position has the ranges.

By budget. About $19 to $41 covers a properly sized first or second glove (Players 10", Players 11.5", Sure Catch). About $55 buys an easy-close or a light Wilson infield glove (Mizuno PowerClose, A450). About $65 to $75 buys real leather (Select Pro Lite, A500, Harper 12"). Prices move; check the listing.

For kids under about 9, an easy-close glove matters more than the leather; for committed players 10 and up, real leather you break in will outlast and outperform a synthetic glove. The Mizuno PowerClose and Rawlings Sure Catch are built to shut with less hand strength, which is exactly what a 6 or 7-year-old needs. The Select Pro Lite is real leather that forms a custom pocket, which is exactly what a serious 12-year-old wants.

A small child doesn't have the grip strength to squeeze a stiff glove closed before the ball bounces out, so a soft, pre-shaped pocket does the work their hands can't yet. As a player gets older and stronger, that softness becomes a limitation: a leather glove broken in to the hand gives a deeper, more secure pocket and lasts for years. The crossover usually happens around ages 9 to 10.

Size by age, pick easy-close or leather, confirm the throwing hand, choose a web, then set the budget.

1. Size by age using the chart above. When in doubt, go smaller.
2. Easy-close or leather. Under about 9: easy close (Mizuno PowerClose, Sure Catch, Players). 10 and up and committed: leather (Select Pro Lite, Wilson A500).
3. Confirm the throwing hand. Right-handed thrower = right-hand-throw glove, worn on the left hand.
4. Choose a web. Under 10, it barely matters. For older infielders, an I-web or H-web; for outfielders, an H-web or trap web; for pitchers, a closed web.
5. Set the budget. About $19 to $35 for ages 5 to 8, $30 to $55 for ages 8 to 10, and $55 to $75 for a committed 11 to 13-year-old.

At the youth level, the web matters far less than fit and size. A closed or basket web hides the ball and is easy to close, while an open web (I-web or H-web) is lighter and lets dirt and light through. For a young all-purpose glove, a basket or modified-trap web is forgiving, which is why many youth gloves use one.

The common patterns: a closed or basket web is solid and flexible, good for pitchers (it hides the grip) and easy for kids to close; an I-web is two vertical posts, light and popular with infielders who need a fast transfer; an H-web (two posts with a crossbar) is sturdy and airy, favored by third basemen and outfielders. Pick the size first and treat the web as a preference.

Size up one step when the current glove is genuinely too small: the player's hand fills it, the pocket feels cramped, or they've aged into the next row of the chart. Never buy oversized in advance. An oversized glove is heavy and floppy in a small hand; it won't stay closed on a catch, and it slows the transfer. The cost of buying the right size now and a new size in a year or two is small compared to a season of dropped balls.

Practical signs: fingers reach the very end of the finger stalls, the player is jamming their hand deep into the glove to control it, or they've moved into the next age bracket. Go one increment (a 10" to an 11", an 11" to an 11.5"), and re-confirm the throwing hand each time.

Break a youth leather glove in for the player: work a little conditioner into the leather, open and close it repeatedly, put a ball in the pocket and wrap the glove shut overnight, and play catch with it. Over a few weeks the pocket forms to the hand. Synthetic easy-close gloves (Players, Sure Catch, Mizuno PowerClose) need little or none of this; the leather Select Pro Lite and Wilson A500 reward a proper break-in.

A simple routine: rub in a thin coat of conditioner (too much makes leather heavy and soggy), then flex the glove open and shut dozens of times to soften the hinge. Drop a ball into the pocket, fold the glove around it, and wrap it with a band overnight. Repeat for a couple of weeks while playing catch. A Rawlings glove break-in kit (about $11) bundles the conditioner and a wrap. Our glove break-in guide and glove conditioner picks go deeper.

A glove is named for the throwing hand, not the hand it's worn on: a "right-hand throw" glove is worn on the left hand so the player throws with the right, and a "left-hand throw" glove is worn on the right hand. This is the most common ordering mistake parents make, and a glove on the wrong hand is useless and often hard to return once used.

Before you order, confirm which hand your player throws with, then match the listing. Every listing we link on this page is a right-hand-throw model; most are sold in left-hand throw too, so choose the option on the listing. If you're unsure which hand a young child favors, watch them throw a few balls naturally: the throwing hand is the bare hand, and the glove goes on the other one.

Rawlings, Wilson and Mizuno make the best youth gloves, and each has a clear ladder from entry to serious. Brand matters much less than size and fit, so pick the glove that's the right size and closes for your player, then let brand be the tiebreaker. Here is how the four big glove brands line up for a youth player, with our pick from each where we have one.

Rawlings. The widest youth range: the Players Series (entry), Sure Catch (game-ready) and the Select Pro Lite (real leather on pro patterns). Our pick: the Rawlings Select Pro Lite (about $65) for a serious 9 to 13-year-old, or the Players 11.5" (about $30) on a budget.

Wilson. Wilson's youth ladder runs A450 to A500 to A700 and up toward the A2000, with a firmer, more structured feel than most entry gloves. Our pick: the Wilson A500 11.5" (about $70) for a 10 to 13-year-old infielder, or the A450 10.75" (about $55) for ages 6 to 9.

Mizuno. Mizuno's Prospect PowerClose is the standout easy-close line, with Prospect Select as its leather step-up. Our pick: the Mizuno Prospect PowerClose 11" (about $55) for a 7 or 8-year-old who keeps dropping the ball.

Easton. Easton also sells youth gloves, but none made this list, so we don't have a verified Easton pick to recommend here. If your player likes the fit of an Easton glove in a store, use the size chart above and buy the size that matches their age.

For adult-level gloves, our Rawlings vs Wilson comparison covers the pro lines. Shopping by exact age? See the 9U, 11U and 12U glove guides, and size the rest of the bag with our youth baseball cleats picks.