Bandits ready to roll in their Athletes Unlimited Softball League debut

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League begins its inaugural season on Saturday. It’s a bold and fun new venture that will be barnstorming the country this summer. The league is guided by its commissioner, the barrier-breaking former MLB executive Kim Ng.

The league’s season will involve four teams -- Bandits, Blaze, Volts, and Talons -- playing 24 games apiece in 10 different cities, culminating in a best-of-three championship series in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on July 26-28.

For 2025, there are no city affiliations for teams, but that is expected to happen for the '26 season.

We’re doing team-by-team breakdowns of each roster to help fans familiarize themselves with the league. Here’s the Bandits.

GM: Jenny Dalton-Hill

She holds the NCAA Division I record for RBIs and won three Women’s College World Series championships at Arizona (1993, '94, '96).

Coach: Stacey Nuveman-Deniz

A former catcher who won a national championship with UCLA in '99 and two Olympic Gold medals and one Silver for Team USA before serving as head coach at San Diego State University.

Key players

Lexi Kilfoyl, RHP: The first overall pick in the AUSL inaugural Draft. She was a top-three finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in her 2024 season at Oklahoma State and won Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and was named First-Team All-American during that incredible campaign.

Taylor McQuillin, LHP: She spent all four college seasons at Arizona, where she ranks top-10 in Wildcats’ history in strikeouts (815), wins (80) and ERA (1.95). McQuillin is also a proud member of the Mexico women’s national softball team.

Skylar Wallace, INF: A three-time All-SEC First-Teamer (2022, '23, '24) at Florida and won SEC Player of the Year ('23) after hitting a school-record .447 and leading the country with a .980 slugging percentage. Wallace was also a top-three finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year that season.

Odicci Alexander, RHP: She helped lead James Madison to the program's first College World Series appearance in 2021. Alexander was named Softball America Pitcher of the Year that season and was nominated for the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award. She also recently competed in the Athletes Unlimited, where she was the individual points leader in '23.

Cori McMillan, UTIL: The fourth-overall pick in the AUSL college Draft following a dominant 2025 college campaign at Virginia Tech. She became the first player in ACC history to hit 30 home runs in a season and just the 17th player all-time to achieve that in Division I history. McMillan was a top-10 USA Softball Player of the Year finalist.

What the players are saying

• “I think coach [Nuveman-Deniz] has done a great job of letting us know that she didn't select each of us for our names,” Kilfoyl said. “They went for a different perspective. They looked at what each of us had to bring to the table and how different each of us were, and that's why I think we were selected. So, I think we all bring something completely different to the table, and no two of us are the same."

• “We have the most pitchers of all the teams, so I think that gives us an edge,” catcher Jordan Roberts said. “They all are incredible, and they all offer something really unique. Being a catcher, that makes me really excited.”

• “We have a lot of versatility, and I think we have a little bit of everything,” McQuillin said. “But I think the uniqueness about our team is that we have a pitching staff that's really versatile, and that brings a whole lot of different elements.”

• “We have speed, we have power, and I think we have a very in-depth pitching staff,” Alexander said. “So, we’re definitely a team that's hard to beat. We have it all.”

Team strength

The biggest thing that stands out about this Bandits team is the pitching staff. General manager Dalton-Hill and head coach Nuveman-Deniz decided to take a pitcher in the first two rounds of the inaugural Draft and continued to target that position throughout both Drafts.

The team selected Kilfoyl (first round), McQuillin (second round), Alexander (10th round), Sarah Willis (11th round) in the inaugural Draft, and then took Emiley Kennedy and Devyn Netz in the college Draft a few months later.

Therefore, the Bandits will have six pitchers on their roster, the most of any team. This pitching staff will also feature two left-handed pitchers (McQuillin and Kennedy). There are only four left-handed pitchers in the entire league, and no other team has more than one on their current roster.

“I think we just have a really great group,” Willis said. “You’re going to get one different thing every single time from everybody. So, I think it'll just be cool to see how the coaching staff is able to develop us, bring us together, and bring us in and out simultaneously.”

Unique storylines

Roberts started a coffee business back in 2021, called Daily Cup of Joe Coffee Co. She will be managing that while playing softball professionally for the Bandits.

McQuillin has a dog named Fenway, named after one of the most iconic ballparks in Major League Baseball (Fenway Park). She is a big Boston Red Sox fan.

Morgan Zerkle (head coach) and Sydney McKinney (assistant coach) coached together at Marshall this past season. They will now be playing together on the Bandits.

Delanie Wisz worked with Nuveman-Deniz (head coach) at San Diego State for two seasons (2023, '24). She will now be playing for her in the AUSL.

Social media must-follows

Skylar Wallace -- Shares her softball journey by posting occasional workout videos and other fun content, including a video showcasing what it’s like for a softball player to hit a 105 mph baseball pitch.

Odicci Alexander -- Posts different videos of her softball workouts, giving fans a glimpse into the life of a professional softball player.

Bella Dayton -- Posts videos of her workouts and training sessions. She also has a nutrition + wellness Instagram page called mambos.kitchen. That page is all about helping your body.