This softball superstar is making her way back from Japan to play in AUSL

VERO BEACH, Fla. – When Dallas Escobedo Magee arrived at AUSL preseason camp at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, she wasn’t just preparing for another season.

She was becoming part of something she had spent years watching grow from thousands of miles away.

After seven seasons with Toyota Industries Shining Vega in the Japan Diamond League, Escobedo felt the start of 2026 was the right time to step away from international play and return stateside to be part of a softball movement in the U.S. The AUSL had pursued the veteran pitcher from the start, and when the Utah Talons selected her through the league’s lottery process, everything finally came together.

"This is just an incredible opportunity that AUSL has for us here," Escobedo said. "Finally, being able to participate in the AUSL has been a true blessing. It has created opportunities that I never would've gotten without it. I'm very excited for the season to start and continue to grow during the season and within this game."

For Escobedo, the opportunity is also the latest chapter in a life that has been intertwined with softball since the beginning. Her parents, Richard Escobedo and Jodi Gosch, met through the sport while working at a local post office in Arizona. Both joined a softball team that played at Monterey Park Baseball Fields in Mesa. Richard soon started asking about the girl playing at second base.

A few years later, their daughter attended Saint Mary's High School, located right next to the fields where her parents met.

That is why Escobedo cannot imagine a life where softball was not a central part of it. And decades later, family remains at the center of her career. Her father and husband, especially, have kept her grounded.

"My dad has been with me in every stage and continues to remind me of the little things I need to do to stay successful," Escobedo said. "[My husband] has been a rock in my professional career."

The Glendale, Ariz., native went on to play at Arizona State from 2011-14, where she holds a school-record .816 winning percentage with a 115-26 record. She also threw multiple no-hitters and helped lead the Sun Devils to the 2011 Women's College World Series championship during her freshman season.

The right-hander was selected No. 1 overall by the Pennsylvania Rebellion in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft. The professional softball league launched in 2004 before suspending operations in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Five years after that draft, softball took her overseas.

When Escobedo arrived in Japan in 2019, she began to realize that the sport's meaning in Japan is different. She watched teammates embrace detailed routines before every game and take amazing care of their equipment, which showcased the honor they felt in the opportunity to play professionally.

“I loved the gratitude that they have for the game,” Escobedo said. “I’ve just been so blessed to experience all this and take on more of an appreciation for the sport for letting me make it all over the world.”

While in AUSL preseason camp, those lessons were clearer than ever as she started noticing the younger players around her. She experienced a "pinch me" moment when she noticed one who looked familiar.

Escobedo found herself pitching to teammate Sharlize Palacios, the younger sister of Sashel Palacios, who was one of her teammates on Team Mexico's Olympic squad back in 2020. She helped lead Mexico to a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, marking the country's first appearance in Olympic softball competition. Escobedo is eligible to represent Mexico through her father.

"I watched Dallas pitch to my sister, and I always thought, 'Oh my God, Dallas is this big pitcher. She's untouchable,'" Palacios said. "So now being able to work with her, it's like, 'Oh, this is my sister's pitcher.'

"And even sometimes she'll be like, 'Hey, Sash,' and I'm like, 'Oh, Shar, it's okay. It's a compliment. I'm not mad. I love being compared to my sister.' So it's just a full-circle moment."

Whether she is playing internationally or back stateside, the sport's constant demand for adaptation and pursuit of greatness has sustained Escobedo’s passion for the game. That mindset should serve her well in the AUSL, where fans will get to see the relentlessness that has defined her career.

"Just being able to try different positions and find pitching to be something that I really enjoy and love," Escobedo said. "It challenges you to get better in order to stay successful. I've had an optimistic mind and journey, so I believe that I have been able to get better and learn from any losses. The constant battle is what keeps me going."