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The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is the first professional women’s softball league to hit the field in the United States, set to play a 24-game professional softball regular season across 10 major cities in the Midwest, South, and Pacific Northwest. Here are all the details on what to expect in the league's inaugural campaign.
The 2025 season got underway with all four teams facing off on June 7, with the Bandits taking on the Talons in Illinois and Blaze hosting the Volts in Kansas. After the first few days of play, the Volts and Bandits sit tied on top of the standings at 2-1, while the Blaze and Talons slid into last with a 1-2 record. Each team can hold 16 players on its roster throughout the campaign, which will culminate in a best-of-three Championship in late July.
The coaching, front office, and advisory staff will be made up of former NCAA and Team USA softball stars. The Bandits will be led by San Diego State head coach Stacey Nuveman-Deniz and general manager Jenny Dalton-Hill, and coach Alisa Goler and GM Dana Sorenson will be at the helm for the Blaze.
Howard Dobson will coach the Talons on the field with GM and UCLA coach Lisa Fernandez's guidance, while sideline boss Kelly Kretschmann and GM Cat Osterman take control of the Volts.
For 2025, the AUSL will be a touring league with plans to shift to being city-based from 2026. For their debut, fans can catch games live in Rosemont, Illinois; Wichita, Kansas; Sulphur, Louisiana; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Norman, Oklahoma; Omaha, Nebraska; Seattle, Washington; Salt Lake City, Utah; Round Rock, Texas; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
For those who can't make it in person, the league has signed an agreement to make ESPN its first broadcasting partner, meaning games can be watched throughout the summer on the flagship channel, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Certain games will also be broadcast by the AUSL's latest investing partner, MLB. MLB Network, MLB.TV, and MLB.com will be other destinations fans can turn to for more glimpses at the new pro softball league.
AUSL All-Star Cup
In addition to Rosemont, the 2025 AUSL All-Star Cup will also feature competition in Raleigh and Greenville, North Carolina. The All-Star Cup functions as a four-week, 21-game season involving 60 professional players. Athletes Unlimited brings a group of all-star athletes to one city for a playoff-level showdown.
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Teams are re-drafted each series, pairing the best players with and against each other in different combinations and building on the intensity of the competition. Points are accumulated for each athlete individually as the season progresses, with players having three opportunities to earn them.
A player gets points when their team wins a game or an inning, when they make a positive solo play, or when they're voted by fellow competitors and fans as one of each game's top-three MVPs. A position like pitcher can also lose points for errors, such as giving up an earned run.
The first MVP chosen will earn 60 points, the second will gain 40, and the third will walk away with 20. Players also have the option to vote for a Defensive MVP if at least 50% opt in to vote. The player who receives the majority of that vote will receive 20 points so long as they have not already won MVP Nos. 1, 2, or 3.
Offensive points range from 8 for a hit-by-pitch to 40 for a home run, while getting caught stealing will actually dock a player 10 points. Pitchers get four points for each out but will lose 10 for every run allowed. However, no additional individual or victory points are awarded once a game goes into extra innings.
In each series, the top four on the leaderboard will act as team captains and draft their new teams with the final decision over lineups, in-game calls, and practice plans. They'll also have a “facilitator” or coach to collaborate with.
At the end of the season, the athlete who sits atop the leaderboard is the champion, which makes every game, play, and moment matter.
