New MLB-backed pro softball league eager to capitalize on sport's surging popularity
Arkansas softball star Bri Ellis hadn't thought much about summer plans before her senior season started in February.
'I was thinking I'd have to go find a job,' she said. 'Go back home (to Houston), find a place to live.'
But the slugger's future abruptly changed after a Razorbacks home game on April 18. Former Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng, now commissioner of the new Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), walked onto the field and surprised her with one of 12 'Golden Tickets' — an invite to join the new professional league, which begins play next month.
Two weeks later, the infielder was drafted No. 2 overall by the Talons, one of the league's four inaugural teams, joining a roster that includes former college stars like Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts and UCLA shortstop Maya Brady.
A post shared by AUSL (@theauslofficial)
Their season begins June 7, right after the Women's College World Series, which has surged in popularity in recent years, drawing an average of 2 million viewers for last year's Oklahoma-Texas final. Given the recent surge in women's sports, particularly the WNBA, organizers believe the time is ripe for softball, on the eve of its return to the Olympics in 2028.
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Major League Baseball announced Thursday that it is making a multi-year financial investment in the new professional softball league, which includes airing games on MLB Network and marketing the league across MLB's digital platforms.
'This is one of the biggest investments that we've made in an outside entity, ever,' MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told The Athletic. 'Our goal is to get a softball league into the same position of stability that the WNBA has found.'
This summer, the Talons, Bandits, Volts and Blaze will play 24-game regular seasons, barnstorming across 10 cities over seven weeks. The first games are in Rosemont, Ill., and Wichita, Kan. Other hosts include Omaha, Neb., Seattle and Salt Lake City. The championship is in Tuscaloosa, Ala. In addition to MLB Network, ESPN will air 19 games across its networks.
The teams held a 12-round draft in late January to fill most of their rosters, with the Bandits selecting former Oklahoma State pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl as the No. 1 pick. That was followed by a college draft on May 3 from among a pool of 12 seniors who received Golden Tickets. Oklahoma pitcher Sam Landry, who will make her WCWS debut Thursday against Tennessee, went No. 1 overall to the Volts. Another WCWS participant, Florida outfielder Korbe Otis, went No. 6 to the Blaze.
In 2026, the league will grow to six teams, which will be anchored in their home cities.
AUSL is hardly the first attempt at a professional league for women's softball. Most recently, there was National Pro Fastpitch, which died in 2021. None came particularly close to reaching mainstream sports awareness.
But current and former coaches and stars in the sport say this is by far the most ambitious attempt.
'(AUSL) is nothing like anything before it,' said ESPN analyst and two-time Olympian Jessica Mendoza, who played in National Pro Fastpitch for four seasons. 'From the amount of marketing, the promotion, the Golden Tickets, the creativity, the backing from every big name that's in the sport, new and old. We've never been this united.'
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Athletes Unlimited, a women's sports venture, was launched in 2020 by former New York City FC president Jon Patricof and investor Jonathan Soros. In past summers, they staged AUX, a mini-softball season staged at a singular venue.
AUSL is considered an entirely new property, though the previous version (rebranded as AUSL All-Star Cup) will take place as well in late summer.
'There's this long history of this sport performing incredibly well on television, tracking huge audiences,' Patricof said. 'We thought it was incredibly underdeveloped at the pro level, and thought it was a sleeping giant.'
The group had previously invested in the 'low eight figures' in softball, said a person familiar with the league's finances. It has tripled that amount in launching AUSL. That's in addition to MLB's investment.
'The big thing we've been missing over the years is the finances,' longtime Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said. 'The WNBA would not be what it is without the financial backing of the NBA. And that's pretty much true for any women's professional league that has been successful.'
Many of softball's all-time greats have roles within the league. Mendoza, Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman and Natasha Watley serve on the board. And the teams' general managers are Osterman (Volts), Lisa Fernandez (Talons), Dana Sorensen (Blaze) and Jenny Dalton-Hill (Bandits).
Either Ng or a softball great flew to each of the players' schools to make those surprise Golden Ticket presentations during the season. Some of the videos of those emotional moments ricocheted around social media.
A post shared by AUSL (@theauslofficial)
'People who don't really know much about softball knew about the Golden Tickets,' said Texas A&M pitcher Emiley Kennedy, now with the Bandits. 'Random students walking to class were like, 'Congrats on your draft pick!''
But there's a long way to go from one-off Instagram videos to mainstream sports relevance. While the WCWS attracts millions of fans for 10 days each summer, interest in regular-season college softball remains modest and fragmented. (ESPN's 2024 regular-season broadcasts averaged 190,000 viewers.)
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'There is a level of interest in women's sports much higher today than it was at the time of the prior (pro softball) attempts,' Manfred said. 'And with this investment, this league has a runway to establish itself that some of the prior attempts did not have.'
Ultimately, AUSL has to provide a compelling product. Fans get hooked on college softball not just because of the yellow ball and the monster home runs, but also due to the players' personalities and exuberant celebrations. Plus, the games are intense.
'Back in the past, to be honest, when there was a pro league, it was kind of, who cares who wins,' said Oklahoma and Team USA coach Patty Gasso. 'I think (AUSL) can really, really grow, as long as these are competitive games.'
Mendoza said it will certainly help if the players can make enough money for softball to be their full-time vocation. Especially those who are gunning for a spot on the 2028 Olympic team.
Fouts, the ex-Alabama star and current Team USA pitcher, has been mostly running youth camps and tournaments since finishing her college career in 2023. Now she has a new job.
'I've wanted to be a professional softball player since I was 7 years old, but the older I got, the more I realized it wasn't really a thing,' she said. 'Now I'll be able to inspire the next generation: 'Hey, what do you want to be when you grow up? I'll be a professional softball player,' and it's not just wishful thinking.'
(Photo of Sam Landry and Jessica Mendoza courtesy of AUSL)
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