The Athletes Unlimited Softball League officially launches today with the full support of Major League Baseball, marking one of the most significant investments in U.S. women’s professional team sports history.
The league’s first games will feature the Talons vs. Bandits at 3 p.m. ET, streaming free on MLB.com, MLB.TV, and the MLB App.
happy opening day to all 🥎
Talons v. Bandits
⏰ 2pm CT
📺 https://t.co/KFMtTo36XPVolts v. Blaze
⏰ 6:30pm CT
📺 MLB Networklets get this thing started!!!! pic.twitter.com/8n3nyr4FLl
— AUSL (@theAUSLofficial) June 7, 2025
The nightcap — Blaze vs. Volts — airs at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLB Network and MLB.TV.
Led by former Marlins GM Kim Ng, the first woman to serve as a GM in MLB, the AUSL begins as a four-team, 24-game barnstorming league that will travel to 10 cities across the U.S., including Seattle, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City. The top two teams will meet in a best-of-three championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama from July 26-28.
“It’s finally come together,” Ng said Friday in Rosemont. “I don’t think it’s hit yet — I think tomorrow, when we throw out the first pitch, that’s probably when it’ll hit.”
And it’s more than a niche debut. Softball drew record TV audiences during the Women’s College World Series, and with the sport returning to the Olympics in 2028, the AUSL is being positioned as the elite destination for players at the pro level — not unlike how WNBA, Liga MX Femenil, or even early UFC promotions created lasting momentum from overlooked spaces.
Each AUSL roster includes 15 players loaded with NCAA stars like Tiare Jennings, Skylar Wallace, Lexi Kilfoyl, and Bri Ellis, the 2025 SEC Player of the Year. Big-name coaches like Cat Osterman and Jennie Finch serve as general managers, bringing Olympic and college title experience.
Follow along on Instagram at @theauslofficial for game-day coverage and updates.
The AUSL also represents a pipeline — not just for girls, but for fans who crave more competitive, nationally televised team sports with consistent storylines, real rivalries, and personalities worth rooting for. It’s softball, but it’s also a business blueprint. And MLB is all in.
As two-time Olympian Natasha Watley put it: “There were generations before me who didn’t get this. Now we’ve got it. And my 3-year-old daughter was here to see the first pitch.”
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
