The Athletes Unlimited Softball League will launch its inaugural season on June 7, and Major League Baseball is pitching in.
In a first-of-its-kind partnership with a women’s professional sports league, MLB announced Thursday a strategic investment in the AUSL to help the fledgling softball circuit become an established, sustainable entity. The investment, which is part of MLB’s ongoing commitment to supporting the growth of softball at all levels, will include joint sales and marketing efforts, extensive promotional support and broadcasts on MLB Network and MLB.com to raise the visibility of the AUSL and its athletes.
“Major League Baseball’s investment in the AUSL,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement, “represents an opportunity to support softball’s long-term growth and expand our engagement with these outstanding athletes and their fans.”
With women’s sports -- and softball, specifically -- experiencing an explosive rise in popularity, the AUSL is a new avenue for the world’s best softball players to compete professionally. The league’s commissioner is Kim Ng, who previously served as senior vice president of baseball operations for MLB and the first female general manager of a major American men’s professional sports team while with the Miami Marlins from 2020-23.
“As a part of our broader commitment to growing softball and creating more opportunities for women and girls in sports, this agreement reflects our confidence in Kim Ng’s leadership, the AUSL vision and the incredible talent of its athletes,” Manfred said. “During this extraordinarily exciting time for women’s sports, we want softball to thrive. MLB is committed to help build a sustainable and impactful league that drives fandom, serves the softball community and benefits all female athletes.”
The AUSL’s first season will be a barnstorming affair. Four teams -- the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts -- will compete in a traveling circuit that will feature 24 games per team in a traditional format in 10 different cities from June 7-July 23, culminating in the top two teams competing in the best-of-three AUSL Championship from July 26-28 at the University of Alabama’s Rhoads Stadium.
Opening Day for the AUSL will take place Saturday, June 7, in Rosemont, Ill., and Wichita, Kan.
"I think this is an incredible step for both sports," Ng said on CBS Mornings on Thursday. "Having worked at Major League Baseball for 10 years and having led that softball division, we were always trying to connect with the women's side, with women's college softball. And so, to now be able to come and have Major League Baseball support women's pro softball and that landscape just is so meaningful to me, and to so many other young women and girls playing the sport."
MLB has a longstanding association with USA Softball, has sponsored the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and has supported growth of the sport through PLAY BALL, the Nike RBI program, the Elite Development Invitational, the Breakthrough Series and other youth engagement initiatives.
But this is MLB’s first investment in a professional softball league. The financial assistance from MLB will help the AUSL with league operational costs, and many areas of MLB’s business operations will engage with the AUSL, including collaborative sales and marketing efforts. AUSL athletes and storylines will be featured across MLB’s digital platforms and incorporated into MLB events such as the All-Star Game and postseason, and MLB Network and MLB.TV will broadcast select AUSL games (including Opening Day in Wichita between the Volts and Blaze).
The AUSL is part of Athletes Unlimited, which was co-founded in 2010 by Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros and owns and operates a portfolio of professional women’s sports leagues, including basketball and volleyball. Following the AUSL season, Athletes Unlimited will also stage the AUSL All-Star Cup, a 24-game competition in August that features 60 players and an innovative scoring system resulting in an individual champion.
AUSL rosters were formed from a draft in January of players who had already exhausted their college eligibility, such as former Oklahoma State pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl (the league’s first overall pick), former UCLA pitchers Megan Faraimo and Rachel Garcia, former Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts and former Florida outfielder Amanda Lorenz. A subsequent draft was held in May, with 12 current collegiate standouts, such as Oklahoma pitcher Sam Landry and Arkansas infielder and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Bri Ellis, selected.
In addition to Ng, the AUSL’s leadership also includes advisors Jennie Finch, Natasha Watley, Jessica Mendoza and Cat Osterman, all of whom are MLB Softball Ambassadors.
More information on the AUSL, including schedule and ticketing info, can be found at the league’s official website.