The wait is over — and organizers say that the time is correct — for skilled softball to make its greatest push but right into a surging girls’s sports activities market with the launch of the Athletes Limitless Softball League on Saturday.
“There’s plenty of power — plenty of ardour,” mentioned AUSL commissioner Kim Ng, a veteran MLB govt and former faculty softball participant. “I feel it is a very long time coming for the softball group.”
How to watch AUSL on ESPN Networks
AUSL breaks into the large leagues with an unprecedented partnership with Main League Baseball — which just lately introduced an fairness stake within the new league — and ESPN, which can air 40 video games this summer season. Latest viewership knowledge has boosted AUSL’s confidence within the sustainability of the league: Rankings for the Girls’s School World Collection have surpassed 1 million viewers in 5 straight tournaments. Final 12 months’s finals notched 2 million viewers — their largest viewers on document.
“Softball is an absolute juggernaut on the TV entrance,” Athletes Limitless CEO and co-founder Jon Patricof mentioned. “There’s a enormous fan base on the market and plenty of them nonetheless aren’t conscious that there is professional softball that they will watch and tune into. With the assistance of ESPN, with the assistance of MLB, we’re assured that once they discover out about it, they’ll like it.”
AUSL advisor Natasha Watley, who’s on the league’s board alongside softball greats Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman and Jessica Mendoza, in contrast the launch of the AUSL with profitable a gold medal with Staff USA in 2004. Watley mentioned she plans to deliver her 3-year-old daughter to the opening slate of video games this week.
“What is going on to be neat is years down the street,” Watley advised ESPN, as tears welled in her eyes. “I am hoping that she will be able to look again and say, ‘I used to be there for opening weekend, and I used to be 3 years previous, and now have a look at it.’
“That is her norm, individuals filling up the stadium for ladies’s sports activities.”
Let’s get into what followers need to sit up for this season.
What’s Athletes Limitless and the way will this season work?
Athletes Limitless, the umbrella group for a number of girls’s sports activities leagues, created the Professional Softball Championship in 2020 earlier than including AUX, a two-week softball season. This 12 months, the group is launching AUSL, a girls’s softball league that can initially characteristic 4 15-player groups: the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts. For the 2025 season, AUSL will barnstorm 10 cities earlier than the league turns into city-based subsequent 12 months. Every group will play a 24-game season. On the conclusion of the common season, the highest two groups will play one another within the best-of-three AUSL Championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama from July 26-28.
The transfer to a conventional group format — from a novel individual-focused mannequin in Athletes’ Limitless different softball ventures — is the most important change within the inaugural season of the AUSL, a change that gamers lobbied for.
“The viewership and fan base now can have one thing to get behind apart from only one particular participant,” AUSL advisor and softball legend Finch mentioned. “It is the storylines of the season, of the week of matchups, all of these issues. … And you will have a jersey and a mascot to get behind as nicely.”
Which cities will host video games?
Video games will likely be held in Rosemont, Illinois, Wichita, Kansas, Sulphur, Louisiana, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Norman, Oklahoma, Omaha, Nebraska, Seattle, Salt Lake Metropolis, Spherical Rock, Texas, and Tuscaloosa. The league views this touring mannequin as a “tryout” for cities to probably land residence groups subsequent season.
“We get to see which cities actually present up and possibly subsequent 12 months they are often residence cities for our league,” Volts shortstop Sis Bates mentioned. “So I am excited to see all of the followers on the market.”
From first pitch to the ultimate out, this is the total schedule for the inaugural AUSL season 🥎🤩
Full schedule: https://t.co/yJUWIECmA3 pic.twitter.com/l9NNSvWDGV
— AUSL (@theAUSLofficial) April 24, 2025
Who’re the groups?
Bandits
Normal supervisor: Jenny Dalton-Hill, who nonetheless holds the NCAA Division I document for profession RBIs with 328, almost 30 years after her faculty profession on the blue-blood Arizona Wildcats.
Head coach: Stacey Nuveman-Deniz, who received two Olympic gold medals with Staff USA and brings an in depth teaching profession to the Bandits, as the present head coach of the San Diego State Aztecs softball group.
Gamers to know:
Odicci Alexander, RHP — Alexander led James Madison to their first Girls’s School World Collection look in 2021, the place it made an historic run to the semis as an unseeded group. Alexander received the AU Softball title in 2023 after main the league with 1,994 leaderboard factors. She made one of many most incredible WCWS plays in latest reminiscence.
Lexi Kilfoyl, RHP — Kilfoyl was the primary choose chosen within the AUSL inaugural draft in January. The Oklahoma State righty helped lead the Cowgirls to the WCWS for the fifth straight 12 months in 2024, posting a 5-0 document with a 0.75 ERA throughout regional and tremendous regional play. She was the unanimous Large 12 Pitcher of the 12 months in her last collegiate season.
Bubba Nickles-Camarena, INF — Other than having the perfect identify within the AUSL, Nickles-Camarena received a silver medal with Staff USA at Tokyo and helped lead UCLA softball to a nationwide championship in 2019. Nickles-Camarena was a 2024 AUX champion and led the league with 14 RBIs.
New threads for @lexikilfoyl 🤠 pic.twitter.com/2HJEoytXBF
— Bandits | Athletes Limitless Softball League (@AUSL_Bandits) May 28, 2025
Blaze
Normal supervisor: Dana Sorensen led Stanford to the WCWS in 2001 and 2004 and graduated holding virtually each single-season pitching mark in Stanford historical past on the time. She’s one among solely two pitchers in Stanford historical past with over 1,000 Ks and one among three with 100 or extra wins. Do we have to point out she is within the Stanford Athletics Corridor of Fame?
Head coach: Alisa Goler was a three-time All-American at Georgia, graduating with quite a few UGA single-season information, together with batting common (.455), residence runs (24) and RBIs (83). She was named an assistant coach for USA Softball’s Elite and U-18 groups in 2024. She serves as the pinnacle coach at Western Illinois.
Gamers to know:
Keilani Ricketts, LHP — The veteran pitcher received the 2013 nationwide championship with Oklahoma and was named WCWS MVP. Ricketts holds faculty information for wins, appearances, begins, full video games and inning pitched. After taking part in with the Nationwide Professional Fastpitch league and in Japan, she made her Athletes Limitless debut final 12 months within the AUX season, ending with a 2.75 ERA over 20⅓ innings and 11 strikeouts.
Emma Lemley, RHP — Lemley had an awesome senior 12 months with Virginia Tech, main Division I in no-hitters with 4 in her 2025 season, together with back-to-back excellent video games. She was the primary “Golden Ticket” recipient for the AUSL, which notified the perfect gamers in faculty of their upcoming choice within the AUSL inaugural draft.
Aliyah Andrews, OF — If you’re an avid fan of “SportsCenter’s” high 10 performs, you may acknowledge “Air Aliyah” for her ridiculous diving catches and spectacular defensive capacity. She was a three-time SEC All-Defensive group choice throughout her collegiate profession at LSU. And he or she’s a speedster — she holds the LSU single-season document with 47 stolen bases.
your 2024 #AUProSB Defensive Participant of the 12 months…@andrews_aliyah ✈️ pic.twitter.com/FXf5XvU67U
— AUSL (@theAUSLofficial) August 26, 2024
Talons
Normal supervisor: Lisa Fernandez, who’s broadly thought to be one of many biggest softball gamers of all time. Fernandez dominated as a pitcher and a hitter. She received three consecutive Olympic gold medals with Staff USA softball from 1996 to 2004, most notably as the one pitcher to look in all three finals. She additionally received two nationwide championships with UCLA and is in her twenty seventh 12 months with the Bruins softball teaching workers.
Head coach: Howard Dobson is the previous hitting coach at LSU who helped lead the Tigers to 4 WCWS appearances and noticed this system’s offensive numbers surge to new heights throughout his 13 seasons in Baton Rouge, breaking 15 particular person single-season information, 10 particular person profession information and 16 offensive season information.
Gamers to know:
Bri Ellis, INF — The “Barry Bonds of softball,” Ellis brings loads of energy to the plate as Arkansas’ single-season document holder for HRs and RBIs — her 26 HRs tied the SEC document — amongst many different spectacular information as a Razorback. She mentioned she’s positively not anticipating to be walked a lot on this league.
“That is going to be a lot more durable as a result of there is no such thing as a recreation off,” Ellis advised ESPN. “You have to be locked in and at your finest. And likewise you bought to do not forget that these pitchers do not actually miss, and so they do not actually make errors. [But] I refuse to get out and I refuse to let the pitcher beat me.”
Montana Fouts, RHP — A four-time All-American, Fouts pitched an ideal recreation for Alabama towards UCLA within the 2021 Girls’s School World Collection, the fifth excellent recreation in WCWS historical past. She additionally led Division I in strikeouts in 2023. Fouts compiled a 100-32 document for the Crimson Tide.
Sharlize Palacios, INF — One of many high gamers in collegiate softball and the 2024 Pac-12 Match MVP, Palacios says the extent of competitors will power her to up her recreation as a hitter.
“It is these little moments in between your swings that it’s a must to assume in a short time and make these small changes,” Palacios mentioned. “I am actually excited to have now a training workers that’s going to have the ability to assist me with that and coach me by that, and I am going to have the ability to simply proceed to up my ranges.”
PALACIOS PICKED ‘EM OFF 😤
Sharlize mentioned she retaining them on their toes… actually😅#AUProSB pic.twitter.com/4xVfEqyfpN
— AUSL (@theAUSLofficial) August 17, 2024
Volts
Normal supervisor: Cat Osterman has a protracted historical past with Athletes Limitless softball, having received the Professional Softball Championship Season title in 2020. The one three-time winner of the USA Softball Collegiate Participant of the 12 months Award (2003, 2004 and 2006) mentioned this in regards to the offensive firepower on this Volts squad group.
“If we’re not main the league in residence runs, we’ve got some issues,” she mentioned. “And if it is not residence runs, we higher be main in doubles. We must be getting plenty of additional base hits with this energy.”
Head coach: Kelly Kretschman received a gold medal with Staff USA in 2004 and a silver in 2008. Past her Olympic success, she holds quite a few information in skilled softball, together with being the all-time profession chief in RBIs, hits, doubles and walks within the Nationwide Professional Fastpitch league.
Gamers to know:
Sis Bates, SS — The Washington Huskies all-time hits chief, Bates joins the Volts after a storied collegiate profession and is wanting ahead to taking part in on plenty of dust fields this season.
“I’m a hitter that slaps,” Bates mentioned. “I say I am not a slapper per se, so I am curious to see if possibly a few of my slap recreation comes again taking part in on dust with a bit bit larger bounces. I am actually wanting ahead to honing into being a triple menace once more and bringing that half again into my recreation.”
Rachel Garcia, RHP — A primary-round choose within the inaugural AUSL draft and the anchor of the Volts pitching workers, Garcia led UCLA to a nationwide championship in 2019 and was named the WCWS Most Excellent Participant that 12 months.
“Once I drafted her first,” Osterman advised ESPN, “I texted her and mentioned, ‘let’s go.’ And he or she was like, ‘I am prepared.’ She’s are available in and he or she’s appeared nice. I’ve watched a few the bullpens and reside, and you may simply inform that there is not any rust.”
Michaela Edenfield, C — What’s one of the simplest ways to explain the Volts infield? Stacked. Oh, and Edenfield’s constantly been one among Florida State’s strongest hitters, having beforehand led the group in HRs and RBIs.
AREA 51 👽⚡️ @mje_51 has formally signed her contract with the Volts!
🔗 https://t.co/jE07p5HvqB pic.twitter.com/i9MlreWKQc
— VOLTS | AUSL (@AUSL_Volts) May 27, 2025
What do gamers assume?
The overwhelming sentiment is pleasure in regards to the new league, the partnership with MLB (which can embrace visibility through the All-Star Recreation) and the long-term prospects for AUSL. Throw in a dose of nerves, notably for the gamers making the transition from faculty ball to the professionals.
“I am 100% going to be shaking in my boots,” Edenfield mentioned in an interview at Parkway Financial institution Sports activities Complicated in Rosemont. “You are with the perfect of the perfect out right here. … [Volts GM] Cat Osterman threw BP to me the opposite day; I am unable to wrap my thoughts round it.” (Osterman confirmed to ESPN she did throw BP “the opposite night time” and disclosed the respect is mutual: “Michaela might be our one draft choose that I truthfully did not assume she was nonetheless going to be there with my choose within the second spherical … she was the one huge catcher within the group.”)
The brand new league additionally prides itself on advantages for gamers that supersede earlier professional leagues, with larger salaries — gamers can earn as much as $75,000 for the season — and particular person resort rooms whereas touring, one other departure from prior leagues.
“Our athletes, they’re all in all probability leaping for pleasure,” Osterman mentioned. “They do not need to have roommates, and so they get their very own room this 12 months. That is huge.
“Athletes Limitless has at all times remembered that [players are] the product, and [they’re] attempting to deal with the product first.”
“We have been on the forefront with respect to advantages,” Patricof advised ESPN. “Everybody needs the chance for these athletes to be year-round, totally devoted softball gamers.”
What strikes AUSL advisor Finch in regards to the new league is a degree of professionalism she says is a dream come true.
“We have been part of plenty of issues and plenty of skilled leagues that simply haven’t been skilled,” Finch mentioned. “Getting Kim Ng on because the commissioner was a recreation changer after which simply to see it come to fruition and, it is all arms on deck. We’re now one engine transferring ahead.”