Softball is a sport that has not been in a professional league for years. There was the Olympic team and that was it, but Athletes Unlimited changed that. Athletes Unlimited is an organization that holds a few professional sports leagues such as basketball and volleyball. These leagues are a place where the best collegiate athletes can continue their careers. In the past, teams were randomized every week as they did not have enough players to make more than two teams. That is changing with their softball league this summer as they now have four assigned teams.
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League or AUSL is a game-changer for the sport. At the moment there are four teams that can produce a constructed season of 24 games. The first official draft for these teams was held on January 29, 2025. There were 48 players drafted, spread across the teams.
The first team is the Talons, with their staff of Lisa Fernandez, Associate Head Coach at her alma mater UCLA, and Howard Dobson, Assistant Coach at LSU. The Talons are inspired by the Peregrine Falcon- a powerful and athletic bird. The Talons logo is a detailed falcon head and its body ends to look like a home plate. They hope to have this logo represent a family of players and fans which will be passed down through generations.
The next team is the Bandits, with their staff of Jenny Dalton-Hill, a three-time College Softball World Series champion and phenomenal hitter with the Arizona Wildcats, and Stacey Nuveman-Deniz, two-time Olympic gold medalist and Head Coach at San Diego State University. The Bandits are an already loved softball franchise being reintroduced in this league. They modernized the logo, adding new additions to make it recognizable. The subtle leather lacing in the lettering to reference a softball glove, and the red star dotting the ‘I’ adds personality and suggest a good attitude for the players. They hope to embrace the legacy while looking forward.
The third team is Volt with staff Cat Osterman, three-time Olympian, and four-time All-American who led the University of Texas Longhorns to three Women’s College world series victories, and Kelly Kretschman played for Alabama where she is the career leader for doubles and taken bases, she also has coaching experience from the USSSA Pride (softball team from a professional league that did not gain much recognition). Their name is inspired by a volt of electricity which is strong by itself but gets stronger by collective force. Their logo is simple and includes a white surge in the ‘V’ to show energy. They hope to leave a mark on the powerful shock of the team.
The last team is the Blaze with staff Dana Sorensen, a former standout pitcher from Stanford who played in two College Softball World Series, and Alisa Goler, head coach of Western Illinois University as well as having coaching experience at various schools and former University of Georgia player. Their logo is modern and represents moving forward. The team will be bold and strong, they hope to bring heat to the field.
This new league brings hope to softball families. There is now a bigger platform for players to go after college. The league is bringing softball to the big screen, hopefully making the sport more popular. All of these players and organizers are hoping that softball eventually gains the recognition of baseball and other leagues.