2026 AUSL season starts Tuesday! Here's what you need to know

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League is embarking upon a second season that is also a new beginning.

After barnstorming its way across the country in its inaugural year, the AUSL is now structured as a more traditional, city-based league in 2026 and going forward. The league has six teams -- the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts and Utah Talons -- suiting up in a regular season that begins Tuesday and runs through July 20 before the postseason begins July 23.

With a strategic investment from MLB and clear momentum from a 2025 season that featured strong attendance and viewership numbers, the AUSL is becoming the summer staple that the increasingly popular sport of softball deserves. It’s a more viable pathway for the most talented players to continue their careers after college than existed before, and now the league’s host cities will foster stronger connections to the teams and players.

Here’s everything you need to know as the AUSL’s second season begins.

What is the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL)?

The AUSL is a women’s softball league that launched in 2025 (evolving from the existing Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball Championship Season) to provide a new opportunity for the world’s best players to compete professionally.

What were the results in the first AUSL season?

The league launched with four teams – the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts – traveling the country to various softball venues. The Talons swept the Bandits in the best-of-three finals to become the league’s first champion.

How did the league perform in attracting fans?

Quite well, especially given the barnstorming nature of the schedule.

There were 24 sellout crowds, over $1 million in merchandise sales, 237 million social media impressions and 5.3 million pageviews at theausl.com. The league received an eight-figure investment from MLB, landed a significant sponsorship deal with Sephora, and saw an 88% rise in viewership across ESPN platforms when compared to the previous Athletes Unlimited Championship Series broadcasts.

After the season, ESPN and the AUSL announced a three-year rights agreement in which ESPN will carry 50 exclusive AUSL games annually beginning this year, including 47 regular-season matchups and the best-of-three AUSL Championship Series.

What’s new for 2026?

The four existing teams and two new ones – the Spark and Cascade – have all been assigned permanent homes. So the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts and Utah Talons will now have hometown crowds and home-field edges that did not exist before. This makes for a more standardized schedule (no chaotic weekend tournaments) and we could see some real rivalries born.

Additionally, the postseason has been expanded (more on this below).

How many games does each team play?

The regular season consists of 25 games for each of the six teams, with more traditional two- or three-game series and only one game per day to ease player fatigue.

What is the postseason format?

The No. 1 seed will earn a direct bye into the best-of-three AUSL Championship Series, to be held July 25-27 at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas.

The Nos. 2 and 3 seeds will play a single-elimination play-in game at Davis Diamond on July 23 to determine who advances to face the No. 1 seed in the finals.

Where can I find the full schedule?

Here is the link to the full 2026 AUSL schedule, which includes ticket and broadcast info. Every game will be televised or streamed in some capacity.

What’s on tap for Opening Day?

Opening Day features all six teams in action.

The Cascade and host Blaze play at Smith Family Stadium at 5 p.m. ET on the CBS Sports Network.

The Volts visit the Spark at 7 p.m. ET at Tom Heath Field in Oklahoma City on ESPN2.

And finally, the Bandits and Talons renew their championship series rivalry with a 9 p.m. ET game at Dumke Family Softball Stadium in Salt Lake City, home of the defending-champion Talons.

How many players will be on each team?

There are 16 players on each team. You can find full rosters at theausl.com.

How were the teams assembled?

The four original teams were put together via a 12-round draft among players who had already exhausted their college eligibility, followed by a subsequent draft of 12 standout players from the 2025 college draft class.

To accommodate the two new teams, the AUSL held expansion and allocation drafts in which the Cascade and Spark were able to acquire unprotected players (Maya Brady, niece of both NFL icon Tom Brady and MLB star Kevin Youkilis went No. 1 overall to the Spark).

This was followed by the 2026 College Draft, in which Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens – she of the record-setting 79.4 mph fastball -- went No. 1 overall to the Blaze.

Who are the players to know?

Bandits infielder Erin Coffel was the AUSL’s MVP and Hitter of the Year in the inaugural season after leading the league with a .566 on-base percentage and 1.435 OPS.

The Talons’ Georgina Corrick was the Pitcher of the Year after going 6-0 with a 2.24 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

The 2025 AUSL Rookie of the Year was Blaze infielder Ana Gold, a Duke product who hit .373 with a .667 slugging percentage. She will return to Durham, as the Blaze will play their home games at Duke’s Smith Family Stadium.

The Defensive Player of the Year was the Talons’ Hannah Flippen, a sensational shortstop.

In the individual-oriented competition known as the AUSL All-Star Cup, Blaze catcher Kayla Kowalik was crowned the champion, while Volts right-hander Rachel Garcia, Blaze lefty Keilani Ricketts and Coffel were the other medalists.

Some of the rookies to keep an eye on this year include the top three draft picks – the Blaze’s Pickens, a back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year; Volts righty NiJaree Canady, the reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year out of Texas Tech; and Spark lefty Maya Johnson, the first mid-major player drafted into the league after a standout career for Belmont in the Missouri Valley Conference.

But even beyond those recent standouts, the rosters feature a who’s who of the stars of NCAA softball over the last decade.

Where can I find the rosters for each team?

The AUSL has a sortable roster page here.

Who assembled the teams?

As in MLB, each team has a general manager overseeing the roster construction. They are as follows:

Bandits: Jenny Dalton-Hill, who holds the NCAA Division I record for RBIs and won three Women’s College World Series championships at Arizona (1993, 1994, 1996).

Blaze: Dana Sorensen, who threw five no-hitters and two perfect games for Stanford and was a member of the USA Softball Elite team in 2005.

Cascade: Jami Lobpries, a former Texas A&M standout who helped lead the Aggies to back-to-back Women’s College World Series appearances and went on to become CEO of The Alliance Fastpitch.

Spark: Kirk Walker, who was the associate head coach of the 2025 AUSL champion Talons and has more than four decades of experience as a collegiate and professional coach.

Talons: Lisa Fernandez, who was a two-time national champion at UCLA and a three-time medal-winning Olympian with Team USA, with whom she set a Olympic softball record with 25 strikeouts in a game.

Volts: Cat Osterman, a four-time All-American pitcher for the Texas Longhorns who also starred for Team USA on a gold-winning team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver-medal teams at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Games.

Who are the head coaches?

Bandits: Shonda Stanton, the head coach at Indiana University who has nearly 900 victories in a collegiate head coaching career that dates back to 1999.

Blaze: Kara Dill, who served as associate head coach of the Blaze in the inaugural season and is also the current head coach for UT Arlington.

Cascade: Tairia Flowers, a former collegiate All-American at UCLA, a medal-winning Olympian and a successful college coach, most recently at Loyola Marymount.

Spark: Amber Flores, who starred for Oklahoma and went on to build one of the most successful junior college coaching programs in the country at Seminole State College.

Talons: Cindy Ball-Malone, a standout two-way talent at the University of Pacific who went on to extensive head coaching experience, most recently at the University of Central Florida.

Volts: Ricci Woodard, the longtime head coach at Texas State, where she has won more than 900 career games and been named a conference Coach of the Year five times.

Who is the AUSL’s commissioner?

Former MLB executive and barrier-breaking Marlins general manager Kim Ng once again reached a major milestone as the first woman to serve as a commissioner in a major league sport in the U.S.

Ng has been involved in the AUSL’s development since its inception, including working as a senior advisor. Prior to her 2021-23 tenure with the Marlins, who reached the playoffs under her stewardship in 2023, Ng had a long history in professional baseball, working in front offices for the White Sox, Yankees and Dodgers and serving as senior vice president of baseball operations for MLB.

Who else is involved with the AUSL?

Athletes Unlimited owns and operates the AUSL. Softball legends Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza and Natasha Watley are advisors to the league, consulting with AU leadership and current athletes on the league’s strategic direction. USA Softball is a strategic partner.

This year, a new group of strategic investors led by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and Brewers owner Mark Attanasio latched onto the AUSL. The Brewers became the first MLB team to invest directly into the league.

What is MLB’s involvement?

Major League Baseball’s investment in the AUSL is a first-of-its-kind partnership with a pro sports league with an eye toward making the new circuit a sustainable enterprise. As part of MLB’s ongoing commitment to supporting the growth of softball at all levels, MLB works collaboratively to help raise the visibility of the AUSL and its athletes in a variety of manners across MLB’s marketing, events, distribution, editorial, digital and social platforms, content and more. In addition, MLB’s financial investment, the league assists with league operational costs and key growth initiatives.

When is the AUSL All-Star Cup?

That is set for Aug. 5-30 at The Stadium at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill., involving 60 star softball players.

Full details of the All-Star Cup can be found here.

Where can I learn more about the AUSL?

Fans can find links to tickets and sign up for updates through the AUSL web site and can follow the league @theAUSLofficial on social media.