Here's everything you need to know about the burgeoning AUSL
Softball is booming, and Major League Baseball is backing a new opportunity for star players to continue their careers professionally. The Athletes Unlimited Softball League launches June 7. It’s a bold and fun new venture that will be barnstorming the country in its inaugural season this...
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Softball is booming, and Major League Baseball is backing a new opportunity for star players to continue their careers professionally.
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League launches June 7. It’s a bold and fun new venture that will be barnstorming the country in its inaugural season this summer. The league is guided by its commissioner, the barrier-breaking former MLB executive Kim Ng. And the hope is that, with stronger financial backing than previous professional softball leagues, it can become a stable summer staple.
“This is a watershed moment for women’s sports and especially for softball,” Ng said. “MLB’s investment will supercharge our efforts to build the sustainable professional league this sport has long deserved and sends a powerful message about the value of female athletes and the importance of creating professional opportunities for them.”
Athletes Unlimited has been running annual softball events out of Rosemont, Ill., for the last five years, and the AUSL is an ambitious extension of those efforts. The league’s season will involve four teams playing 24 games apiece in 10 different cities, culminating in a best-of-three championship series in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on July 26-28.
As the AUSL begins, here are the details about how it came to be and how it will operate.
What is the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL)?
The AUSL is a women’s softball league that launched in 2025 to provide a new opportunity for the world’s best players to compete professionally.
How did the league form?
It emanated from the existing AU Pro Softball Championship Season, which has been renamed the AUSL All-Star Cup.
Athletes Unlimited, a women’s professional sports organization based in the United States, had launched in 2020 with its first Pro Softball Championship Season and later added women’s lacrosse, volleyball and basketball leagues, as well as AU Pro Softball AUX, an additional two-week softball season.
So the AUSL is an expansion of Athletes Unlimited’s softball presence.
How many teams are in the AUSL?
For the inaugural 2025 season, there will be four teams – the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts.
Where will the teams be based?
For the 2025 season, these teams won’t be city-based. Instead, this will be a barnstorming touring property for one season before the league becomes city-based in 2026.
What cities will the AUSL play in?
The 2025 season will reach 10 cities: Rosemont, Ill. (The Stadium at Parkway Bank Sports Complex); Wichita, Kan. (Wilkins Stadium); Sulphur, La. (McMurry Park); Chattanooga, Tenn. (Jim Frost Stadium); Norman, Okla. (Love’s Field); Omaha, Neb. (Connie Claussen Field); Seattle (Husky Softball Stadium); Salt Lake City (Dumke Family Softball Stadium); Round Rock, Texas (Dell Diamond); Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Rhoads Stadium).
