The2025Women's College World Seriesjust wrapped up and softball fans still riding high from theTexas Longhorns' national championshiprun are in luck. The inauguralAthletes Unlimited Softball League(AUSL) season gets underway on Saturday, meaning you don't have to wait long for fierce competition among world-class athletes. TheAUSL officially kicks off on June 7with an opening day matchup between the Talons and Bandits in Rosemont, Illinois, followed by a game between the Volts and Blaze in Wichita, Kansas. The Volts-Blaze game will be broadcast nationally on the MLB Network, marking the first pro softball game ever featured on the league's network. It was made possible by some heavy hitters backing the league. The MLB announced a wide-ranging partnership with the AUSLlast week, marking Major League Baseball's first investment in a women's professional sports league. MLB will leverage its broadcast partners and platforms to promote the visibility of the AUSL, which is helmed by commissioner Kim Ng, the former Miami Marlins general manager (2021–23). 2025 SCHEDULE:How to watch Athletes Unlimited Softball League AUSL:Partnership with MLB will help 'shine light' on softball's biggest stars Not only does the AUSL have the support of MLB, the women's professional softball league will be shepherded by icons that have helped introduce the world to softball. Seven members of the 2004 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic softball team are involved with the AUSL as coaches, general managers or advisors: Lisa Fernandez, Stacey Nuveman-Deniz, Cat Osterman, Kelly Kretschman, Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza and Natasha Watley. Here's everything you need to know about the AUSL's debut on Saturday, from full team rosters, to players to watch and the opening week schedule: National TV/streaming networks for each game are shown below. Games are also being broadcast in select local markets; check your local listings orclick here. *All times Eastern Saturday, June 7 Talons vs. Bandits, 3 p.m. (Rosemont, Illinois) | MLB.com, MLB.tv Volts vs. Blaze, 7:30 p.m. (Wichita, Kansas) | MLB Network, MLB.tv Sunday, June 8 Talons vs. Bandits, 2 p.m. (Rosemont, Illinois) | MLB.com, MLB.tv Volts vs. Blaze, 5 p.m. (Wichita, Kansas) | MLB.com, MLB.tv Monday, June 9 Volts vs. Blaze, 7 p.m. (Wichita, Kansas) | MLB.com, MLB.tv Tuesday, June 10 Talons vs. Bandits, 8 p.m. (Rosemont, Illinois) | ESPN2 Thursday, June 12 Volts vs. Bandits, 7 p.m. (Sulphur, Louisiana) | ESPN2 Friday,June 13 Talons vs. Blaze, 6:30 p.m. (Chattanooga, Tennessee) | MLB.com, MLB.tv Volts vs. Bandits, 9 p.m. (Sulphur, Louisiana) | MLB.com, MLB.tv View the full season schedule here. The AUSL's inaugural season features four teams—Talons, Bandits, Blaze and Volts—playing a 24-game season across 10 metro areas, including Chicago, Austin and Salt Lake City. Here are the complete rosters: Head coach:Stacey Nuveman Deniz General Manager:Jenny Dalton-Hill CatcherJordan Roberts(Florida) CatcherKelly Torres(Duke) InfielderSydney McKinney(Wichita State) InfielderDelanie Wisz(UCLA) InfielderErin Coffel(Kentucky) InfielderSkylar Wallace(Florida) Utility playerCori McMillan(Virginia Tech) OutfielderMorgan Zerkle(Marshall) OutfielderBubba Nickles-Camarena(UCLA) OutfielderBella Dayton(Texas) PitcherTaylor McQuillin(LHP, Arizona) PitcherEmiley Kennedy(LHP, Texas A&M) PitcherOdicci Alexander(RHP, James Madison) PitcherSarah Willis(RHP, UCF) PitcherLexi Kilfoyl(RHP, Oklahoma State) PitcherDevyn Netz(RHP, Arizona) Player to Watch:The Bandits went for a "franchise pitcher" with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 AUSL Draft inLexi Kilfoyl.The Oklahoma State alum was named the Rookie of the Year in the 2024 Championship Season after finishing in second place on the leaderboard behindBubba Nickles-Camarena, who is now her teammate on the Bandits teammate. Kilfoyl recorded a league-high 39 strikeouts and 59.2 innings pitched in 12 appearances. Saddle up, it's game week🤠pic.twitter.com/sXF3YuoASK — Bandits | Athletes Unlimited Softball League (@AUSL_Bandits)June 3, 2025 Head coach:Alisa Goler General Manager:Dana Sorensen CatcherTaylor Edwards(Nebraska) CatcherKayla Kowalik(Kentucky) InfielderDanielle Gibson Whorton(Arkansas) InfielderBaylee Klingler(Washington) InfielderAna Gold(Duke) InfielderAubrey Leach(Tennessee) InfielderAnissa Urtez(Utah) OutfielderAliyah Andrews(LSU) OutfielderCiara Briggs(LSU) OutfielderKalei Harding(Florida State) OutfielderKorbe Otis(Florida) PitcherEmma Lemley(Virginia Tech) PitcherBrooke McCubbin(Clemson) PitcherAleshia Ocasio(Florida) PitcherKeilani Ricketts(Oklahoma) PitcherHope Trautwein-Valdespino(Oklahoma) Player to Watch:Blaze has a veteran leader inAleshia Ocasio, who is entering her eighth season of professional softball. Ocasio has played for Athlete's Unlimited since its inception in 2020, winning the individual championship title in 2021 and finishing third in 2024. Last year, Ocasio recorded 22 strikeouts over 39 innings with a 2.51 earned run average in 11 appearances (six starts). Ocasio is also a two-way star and it remains to be seen if she will pick up the bat this season. our unis are 🔥🔥🔥which is your fav???pic.twitter.com/TaglSgAaJF — blaze | athletes unlimited softball league (@AUSL_Blaze)June 5, 2025 Head coach:Howard Dobson General Manager:Lisa Fernandez CatcherAlly Shipman-Shrout(Alabama) CatcherSharlize Palacios(UCLA) InfielderBri Ellis(Arkansas) InfielderTori Vidales(Texas A&M) InfielderSydney Romero(Oklahoma) InfielderHannah Flippen(Utah) InfielderAli Aguilar(Washington) OutfielderSierra Sacco(Mississippi State) OutfielderCaroline Jacobsen(Clemson) OutfielderJadelyn Allchin(UCLA) OutfielderVictoria Hayward(Washington) PitcherMegan Faraimo(UCLA) PitcherMariah Lopez(Utah) PitcherRaelin Chaffin(Mississippi State) PitcherMontana Fouts(Alabama) PitcherLauren Derkowski(Michigan) Player to Watch: Bri Ellisis carrying a hot bat into the AUSL's inaugural season. Ellis was named the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the most prestigious honor in college softball, after a historic senior season where she set Arkansas' single-season program record for home runs (26) and RBIs (72). Ellis and the Razorbacks fell short of the Women's College World Series, but she was drafted second overall in the 2025 AUSL College Draft. Can't go without mentioningpitcher Montana Fouts,who is reuniting with her collegiate catcher Ally Shipman-Shrout. Our flock is looking fly this summer. 🦅Introducing our 2025 uniforms!pic.twitter.com/NUwrsZgDDh — Talons | AUSL (@AUSL_Talons)June 5, 2025 Head Coach: Kelly Kretschman General Manager:Cat Osterman CatcherMichaela Edenfield(Florida State) Catcher Mary Iakopo (Texas) InfielderSis Bates(Washington) InfielderTiare Jennings(Oklahoma) InfielderSierra Romero(Michigan) InfielderKelsey Stewart-Hunter(Florida) InfielderJessi Warren(Florida State) Utility playerDanieca Coffey(LSU) Utility playerAli Newland(LSU) OutfielderMcKenzie Clark(Clemson) OutfielderAmanda Lorenz(Florida) PitcherRachel Garcia(UCLA) PitcherPayton Gottshall(Tennessee) PitcherSam Landry(Oklahoma) PitcherMariah Mazón(Oregon State) PitcherMiranda Stoddard(Arizona) Player to Watch:Two-way starRachel Garciahas won at every level. She led the UCLA Bruins to a national championship in 2019, picked up a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic with Team USA and was crowned the 2023 AUX Season championship. Is an AUSL championship next? Kretschman said the team was built to "compliment" Garcia, who was drafted No. 4 overall by the Volts in the AUSL Inaugural Draft. CLEAN 🧼Here are our 2025 Volts uniforms ⚡️pic.twitter.com/M1JlPF3gfA — VOLTS | AUSL (@AUSL_Volts)June 5, 2025 The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:AUSL 2025: Athletes Unlimited Softball League teams, roster, schedule
