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 featuring the top two seeds in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on July 26-28.
For 2025, there are no city affiliations for teams, but that is expected to happen for the 2026 season.
We’re doing team-by-team breakdowns of each roster to help fans familiarize themselves with the league. Here’s the Talons.
COMPLETE AUSL COVERAGE
- MLB, AUSL announce historic partnership
- 12 AUSL players you should know
- FAQ: Everything to know about the burgeoning AUSL
- 7 MLB connections to softball you probably didn't know about
- Partnership offers 'north star' for softball players with pro dreams
- Broadcast schedule announced
- Team profiles: Bandits | Blaze | Talons | Volts
TALONS
GM: Lisa Fernandez
A four-time First-Team All-American and two-time national champion at UCLA (1990, 1992). She had a career .930 win percentage with 74 shutouts in her college career. Fernandez is also a three-time gold medal winner with Team USA in the Olympics (1996, 2000, 2004).
Coach: Howard Dobson
A former softball hitting coach at LSU. He spent 13 seasons with the program until deciding to step down following the 2024 season. The Tigers made four College World Series appearances with Dobson as an assistant.
KEY PLAYERS
Megan Faraimo, RHP: She was a two-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year (2022, 2023) at UCLA and is one of just four pitchers in the program’s history to win over 100 games. Faraimo will also be representing Team USA in the 2025 World Games this summer. She is currently playing in the Japan Diamond Softball League. Like other AUSL players currently playing in Japan, she’ll join the Talons a couple of weeks into the season at the conclusion of her season abroad.
Georgina Corrick, RHP: The first pitcher in Division I history to win the Triple Crown. She finished that 2022 season with a 0.51 ERA, 37 wins and 418 strikeouts at South Florida. Born in England and raised in Florida, Corrick is a proud member of the British National Team.
Sharlize Palacios, C: She earned three Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors in her college career at Arizona and UCLA (2022, 2023, 2024) while being selected to the All-Pac-12 First-Team three times (2021, 2022, 2024).
Bri Ellis, IF: The second overall pick in the AUSL college draft, Ellis recently won the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award following a historic college season at Arkansas. Ellis hit .440 with 26 home runs and 72 RBIs. She earned All-SEC First-Team honors in each of the past two college seasons (2024, 2025).
Hannah Flippen, IF: She was a three-time All-American at Utah and won the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award in 2017. Flippen was also named Athletes United GEICO Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
WHAT THE PLAYERS ARE SAYING
“I think our team is very gritty and will be resilient,” pitcher Montana Fouts said. “I think that we have a great mix of youngins, and then also vets. I feel like we're going to have a great culture and also be really good too. I think we've got a good mix of speed and agility, and I love the pitching staff.”
“I think what makes us great is that we have a great balance of some elite veteran and all-around softball players,” Flippen said. “We have a little bit of power, we can get on base, and then pair that with the newness of the rookies that have had elite offensive seasons. I really do think that we are a very well-rounded team.”
“We just have a lot of passionate players,” outfielder Sierra Sacco said. “I think we have everyone who just wants to play, loves the game, and is going to come together whenever we need to.”
TEAM STRENGTH
The Talons’ biggest strength is going to be their experience. While they do have some younger talent, look for this team to really lean on the veteran players.
The Talons have several players with multiple years of professional experience. Victoria Hayward has played professionally since 2015; Sahvanna Jaquish, Ali Aguilar and Flippen have all played professionally since 2017; and Tori Vidales and Sydney Romero have played professionally since 2019.
All six of those players also have international experience. Vidales and Romero represent Team Mexico; Jaquish, Aguilar and Flippen all represent Team USA; and Hayward has been a member of Team Canada since 2009. If you also add in Corrick’s international experience with the British National Team, the Talons have players representing four different countries.
“I think we're a very veteran team,” Hayward said. “We have national team experience from four different countries. I think just being the absolute best in your country is incredible, and we have a ton of representation with that. So, the ability to play international softball, play in this league, and succeed, I think we're just really experienced.”
UNIQUE STORYLINES
Flippen and Romero will be participating in MLB Home Run Derby X this summer. They will be two of six AUSL players competing in this event.
Flippen wears jersey No. 19 in honor of Hall of Fame baseball player Tony Gwynn. She grew up in San Diego and loved how he played the game at a high level.
Ellis’ 2025 college season was compared to Barry Bonds’ 2001 MVP season with the San Francisco Giants. She averaged 4.52 at-bats per home run and 3.25 plate appearances per walk in the regular season.
Mariah Lopez was a graduate assistant at Arkansas this past season and got to watch Ellis up close. She is excited to be teammates with her.
Sacco and Raelin Chaffin played together at Mississippi State this past college season. They will now be teaming up again in the AUSL.
SOCIAL MEDIA MUST-FOLLOWS
Montana Fouts: Fouts is perhaps most well known for throwing a perfect game at the 2021 College World Series while at Alabama, and she takes you behind the scenes of life as a pro softball player.
Tori Vidales: Vidales showcases many parts of her life, including as a professional softball player and as an ESPN/SEC softball analyst.
Ali Aguilar: Aguilar posts training sessions as a professional softball player and some of her workouts at Symbiotic Training Center.