Erin Coffel has been named the first Most Valuable Player in Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) history, the league announced Saturday ahead of Game 1 of the championship series between the Talons and Coffel’s Bandits.

The Bandits infielder, who was also named AUSL Hitter of the Year earlier in the week, led the league with 28 RBIs and topped all qualified hitters in on-base percentage (.566) and slugging percentage (.869), as reported by Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com. Coffel helped guide the Bandits to a second-place finish in the regular season, where they scored a league-high 152 runs over 24 games.

A graduate of the University of Kentucky, where she holds the school record for career home runs (68), Coffel made an immediate impact in the AUSL. She delivered the game-winning hit in the league’s inaugural game on June 7 against the Talons and reached base in each of her first 19 games. Her ability to get on base included a league-best 13 hit-by-pitches.

In 23 regular-season games, Coffel posted a .410 batting average, going 25-for-61 with five home runs, five doubles, four triples, and a 1.435 OPS.

This is Coffel’s second year playing professionally after competing in Athletes Unlimited’s Pro Softball Championship and AUX events in 2024. She was selected in the sixth round of the inaugural AUSL draft and most recently worked as a graduate manager for the University of Florida softball team before the 2025 season began.

The AUSL, which launched in 2025 as the first professional women’s softball league in the U.S., concluded its debut season with a best-of-three championship series between the Talons and Bandits on July 27.  The Talons swept the series to win the league’s first title. The league partnered with the MLB this season.

Coffel’s MVP award highlights a breakout season as AUSL looks to continue building momentum in its second year.

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