The 2026 Athletes Unlimited Softball League postseason is here.
As a part of the league's expanded playoff format, the Portland Cascade (14-11) will face the second-seeded Chicago Bandits (16-9) at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday at the Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas, for a berth in the best-of-three AUSL championship series against the Utah Talons (16-9). The AUSL Play-In Game will be televised on ESPN.
On Tuesday, the Cascade secured the third and final spot in the playoffs thanks to an 11-1 victory by the Carolina Blaze over the Oklahoma City Spark; the loss eliminated the Spark from playoff contention.
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
By finishing with the league’s best record and beating the Bandits in Sunday’s crucial finale, the Talons have already earned a spot in the championship series, which will begin at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday on ABC.
If the Talons and Bandits end up facing off in the finals, it will be a rematch of the 2025 AUSL title series, which the Talons swept, winning 3-1 in Game 1 and 1-0 in Game 2.
Here's a look at the complete postseason schedule.
AUSL playoff schedule
All games at Davis Diamond, College Station, Texas
Play-in
Cascade vs. Bandits, Thursday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Championship (best of three)
Game 1: Bandits/Cascade vs. Talons, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 2: Talons vs. Bandits/Cascade, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 3: Bandits/Cascade vs. Talons, Monday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2 (if necessary)