Athletes Unlimited softball season returns in June
The 25-game schedule for year two of the AUSL is set.
The inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League successfully established a foundation for professional major league softball.
Following a competitive debut, the league is evolving as it enters its second year. And, that means athletes, fans, and organizers are getting behind it.
The Talons secured the first AUSL championship with a 2-0 series sweep (3-1 and 1-0) over the Bandits.
Both teams led the league standings, finishing ahead of the Blaze and the Volts.
The championship series at the University of Alabama’s Rhoads Stadium saw sellout crowds of 3,900, with Game 2 drawing an additional 263,000 viewers on ESPN.
After touring nationally in 2025, the AUSL will transition to a city-based model in 2026 to build local identities:
- Utah Talons (Salt Lake City, UT): Playing at the University of Utah Dumke Family Stadium, reuniting Defensive Player of the Year Hannah Flippen with her alma mater.
- Chicago Bandits (Rosemont, IL): Returning to The Stadium at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex, a premier facility with a long history of hosting the franchise.
- Texas Volts (Round Rock, TX): Playing at Dell Diamond, home of the Triple-A Round Rock Express, in a region with deep softball roots.
- Carolina Blaze (Durham, NC): Sharing Smith Family Stadium with Duke University, featuring Blue Devil alumnae Ana Gold and Jala Wright.
- Oklahoma City Spark (Oklahoma City, OK): An expansion team playing at Tom Heath Field at Oklahoma Christian University.
- Portland Cascade (Hillsboro, OR): An expansion team based at Hillsboro Ballpark, bringing professional diamond sports to the Oregon market.
The six-team league will play a 25-game regular season. The postseason format has been updated to include a play-in game between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.
The winner will advance to face the No. 1 seed, who receives a first-round bye, in the championship.
The league recently conducted two drafts to prepare for the expansion:
- Expansion Draft (Dec. 1): The Spark and Cascade selected unprotected players from established rosters.
- Allocation Draft: Teams selected professional athletes not previously in the AUSL. Left-handed pitcher Kelly Maxwell was taken with the first overall pick.
- NCAA Draft: Scheduled for early May, shortly before the 2026 season begins.
The transition to home markets and the influx of talent signal a long-term commitment to solidifying the AUSL’s presence across the United States.
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Carter Joseph Brooks is a student-intern at Penn State University.