Cleats · Guide

Youth baseball cleat sizing guide: which size range, how they should fit, and how much room to leave

Kids' shoe sizes restart at 1 after 13, brands run small or narrow, and a foot grows a size between March and June. The size ranges retailers use, the thumb test, the half-size-up rule the retailer prints on New Balance, and a plan for the growth spurt. Three picks that cover every size range.

By Mike M.Updated September 2026Sourced · gear tested by us: 0

#adReader-supported: we may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never decides a pick. How we pick · Disclosure

A person holding a small child's blue sneaker in a bright room — Illustrative stock photo. It does not show a specific product on this page.

The size ranges

Retailer label	US sizes	Typical age	Notes
Toddler	5–10	2–4	Academy's range; a few cleats (adidas Impact 2.0 per Zappos) start here
Little Kid / Preschool	11–3	4–7 (Zappos: Little Kid 4–7 yrs)	Tee ball and coach pitch; sizes 11, 12, 13, then 1, 2, 3
Big Kid / Grade School	3.5–7	7–12 (Zappos: Big Kid 7–12 yrs)	Kid pitch through 12U; a size 7 Big Kid is about a men's 7
Men's	7 and up	13+	Most 13-year-olds cross into men's sizing

Ranges from the Academy site navigation (Toddler 5–10, Preschool 11–3, Grade School 3.5–7) and Zappos' size-group labels (Little Kid 4–7 yrs, Big Kid 7–12 yrs). The counter-intuitive part: kids' sizes run 10, 11, 12, 13, then restart at 1.

How a cleat should fit

Laced, standing, on the sock he plays in. Not seated, not barefoot.
A thumb's width at the toe. Press the front: about half an inch between the longest toe and the end. Less and the toe drags the end on every stop; more and the foot slides forward.
No heel slip. Kid walks; the heel stays down. Heel slip is the size-up-too-far mistake.
No bulge at the ball of the foot. If the upper hangs over the outsole edge, it is too narrow; see cleats for wide feet.
Run, stop, jump. In the store. A cleat that fits standing and slips running is the wrong cleat.

Brands that run small or narrow

Growing room and the mid-season spurt

A kid's foot grows roughly a size a year through the youth years, and it does not do it evenly; a spring season that starts in a comfortable size 2 can end in a cramped one. The plan: buy in March with a thumb's width, check the fit at the end of May, and expect a second pair for fall ball. Do not buy a full size up “to grow into”: a cleat with a full inch of slop makes a 9-year-old trip on the bases and blister at the heel. Cheap molded cleats that get replaced beat expensive ones that get grown into.

Measuring at home

Kid stands on paper against a wall, heel touching the wall; mark the longest toe. Measure heel to mark in inches.
Compare to the brand's size chart on the retailer page (BaseballMonkey prints a youth US/UK/EU chart on its New Balance listings; Zappos links a kids' size guide).
Measure both feet; fit the bigger one.
Measure in the afternoon; feet swell during the day.

One pick per size range

Our picks for this

Three cleats that cover every youth size range

Chosen from the site's rankings; specs from the retailer listings named on each card. All molded, all league-legal.

Stock photo
Best budget youth cleat overall
Under Armour Leadoff Low RM Jr.
Kids' sizes (retailer: Baseball, T-Ball)8.8/10
The retailer lists it for Baseball and T-Ball: the Little Kid range, for 4- to 7-year-olds.
Check price · Amazon
#ad · Price set by Amazon · Disclosure for the link to Under Armour Leadoff Low RM Jr.
Stock photo
Best Nike youth cleat
Nike Force Trout 9 Keystone (rubber molded)
Little Kids and Big Kids sizes8.4/10
Sold in Little Kids and Big Kids sizes, so one model spans a 6-year-old and a 12-year-old.
Check price · Amazon
#ad · Price set by Amazon · Disclosure for the link to Nike Force Trout 9 Keystone (rubber molded)
Stock photo
Best youth baseball cleat overall
New Balance 4040v8 Youth (rubber molded)
Youth sizes (Little Kid through Big Kid)8.8/10
Big Kid sizes for the 8- to 12-year-old who plays a lot; the retailer's own note: a half size up.
Check price · Amazon
#ad · Price set by Amazon · Disclosure for the link to New Balance 4040v8 Youth (rubber molded)

How we picked these

Gear we claim to have tested: 0

Plenty of sites say they swung every bat on the list in a lab. We don't say that, and we say so on every page. What we do instead: check each bat against the governing bodies' certification rules and the maker's stated stamp; compile sizing from the makers' own age, height and hand charts; read the published specs (drop, barrel, construction, closure, cleat type); and read the complaint patterns in retailer reviews for the “skip it if” line. Every figure links to where it came from.

Scores are editorial judgments from that documented research, not test results. Commissions never set a score or decide a pick. The rubric and its weights are published.

Questions parents ask

Frequently asked

What size cleats does a 7-year-old wear?

Typically Little Kid 13 to Big Kid 1 or 2, but it varies a lot; measure. Zappos labels Little Kid as ages 4–7 and Big Kid as 7–12, so a 7-year-old sits at the boundary.

How are baseball cleats supposed to fit?

Laced and standing: a thumb's width at the toe, no heel slip, no bulge over the outsole at the ball of the foot. Run in them before buying.

Should I buy baseball cleats a size bigger?

A half size up on brands that run small (New Balance youth, per the retailer) or if the kid is mid-growth. Not a full size; slop causes tripping and blisters.

What is the difference between youth size 1 and 13?

Size 1 is bigger. Kids' sizes run 10, 11, 12, 13 and then restart at 1, 2, 3 (Big Kid). A 13 is a Little Kid size; a 1 is the next size up.

Do youth cleats come in half sizes?

Most do (the BaseballMonkey youth chart lists 10.5, 11.5, 12.5, 13.5, 1.5 and so on). Use them; a half size is the difference between a thumb's width and a cramped toe.

Keep reading

Receipts

Sources

We don't claim to have swung, worn or tested this gear, and we don't pretend to. Gear we claim to have tested: 0. Certification rules come from the governing bodies' own pages (Little League, USA Baseball, USSSA, NOCSAE), sizes from the makers' sizing charts, and specs from the maker's product page or the retailer listing named on each product. Amazon prices change often, so we don't print them. Where a figure isn't published, we say so. Read the full method.