Cydney Henderson | USA TODAY
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is officially set to debut in early June and the women’s professional softball league now has major investor: Major League Baseball.
MLB and the AUSL announced a wide-ranging partnership on Thursday, marking MLB’s first investment in a women’s professional sports league. The partnership coincides with an exciting time in the sport — not only is the 2025 Women’s College World Series set to begin Thursday, softball is set to make its Olympic return in Los Angeles in 2028.
“This announcement today is really a watershed moment for the AUSL,”Athletes Unlimited CEO and co-founder Jon Patricof told USA TODAY Sports. “For us, the sport has tremendous momentum in many ways. It’s been a sleeping giant. It’s performed so well at the college level, but maybe received less attention than some other sports out there. Major League Baseball is really going to be able to come in and help us shine a light on the incredible athletes and incredible action that exists in pro softball.”
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.
“We brought on board almost all the legends of the game, including seven members of the 2004 gold medal-winning Olympic softball team involved as coaches, general managers and advisors,” Patricof said, referring to Lisa Fernandez (Talons GM), Stacey Nuveman-Deniz (Bandits head coach), Cat Osterman (Volts GM, advisor), Kelly Kretschman (Volts head coach), Jennie Finch (advisor), Jessica Mendoza (advisor) and Natasha Watley (advisor). Patricof added, “Kim Ng is on board as the commissioner and now Major League Baseball is on board as a strategic partner.”WOMEN’S SPORTS: The latest news and insider insights from USA TODAY Studio IX.
Here’s everything you need to know about the AUSL’s partnership with MLB:
MLB partnership will amplify pro softball league
The AUSL’s inaugural season kicks off June 7 and will feature four teams — Talons, Bandits, Blaze and Volts — playing a 24-game season across 10 cities, including Chicago, Austin and Salt Lake City. The AUSL season will complement the league’s pre-existing All-Star Cup, where 60 players compete for an individual championship using Athletes Unlimited’s innovative scoring system that makes every softball play meaningful.
Athletes Unlimited’s creativity is what first caught MLB’s eye. Tony Reagins, MLB’s Chief Baseball Development Officer, told USA TODAY Sports that Athletes Unlimited offered “something that was a bit different” and “unique.”
“We’ve really been watching the organization from afar for a couple years. We watched how they operated the business — very creative initially in the softball space, utilizing their players and getting the players more involved in different ways on and off the field,” Reagins said. “We wanted to align ourselves with an organization that we thought had a like mind in the long-term goal of promoting women’s sports, softball in particular, and Athletes Unlimited really checked all the boxes.”
With the partnership, MLB will leverage its broadcast partners and platforms to promote the visibility of the AUSL. Major League Baseball’s financial investment will also assist with AUSL’s “operational costs and key growth initiatives,” MLB announced. Patricof added, “The MLB is going to be supporting AUSL really in all facets, marketing, promotion, and commercial development of the league.”
AUSL taps Kim Ng as commissioner
Kim Ng was named the commissioner of the AUSL in April, highlighting another tie between professional softball and baseball. Ng played college softball at the University of Chicago and went on to become the first woman to serve as the general manager of a major North American men’s professional sports team when she was named the Miami Marlins GM in 2020.
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“To see what she’s been able to accomplish as a professional and an executive in baseball and now be able to take the reins as commissioner of AUSL is exciting, because I know her work ethic, intellect and what she will put behind this effort,” Reagins said. “These discussions (between AUSL and MLB) happened before Kim was named commissioner. But to then have Kim come on board and have that familiar face that you know from a historical perspective, it made the partnership make even more sense. We think we have a great ally with Kim being at the helm of AUSL.”
At the time of her appointment, Ng said, “Softball was my first love growing up, so it’s both gratifying and humbling to be given this responsibility at such a pivotal moment for the sport.”