The Major Baseball League finally supports a professional female softball league, putting its support and influence behind the Softball League for Athletes Unlimited, which will make its debut this summer with four teams on tour across the country.
MLB announced Thursday morning – which was also, without coincidence, the beginning of the NCAA Women’s College World Series – that it bought a share participation in Ausl. According to ESPN, MLB’s participation in Ausl is more than 20%. MLB will also help the distribution of marketing and content.
This is the first time that the MLB has invested in a professional softball league.
“The investment of Major League Baseball in Ausl,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, in a press release, “represents an opportunity to support long -term growth in softball and to expand our commitment to these exceptional athletes and their fans.”
The Ausl Commissioner is Kim Ng, a pioneer of women in baseball who previously was director general of the Miami Marlins from 2020 to 2023, making her the first woman to occupy this post in the MLB.
“This agreement reflects our confidence in Kim Ng’s leadership, the Ausl vision and the incredible talent of his athletes,” said Manfred. “During this extraordinarily exciting period for female sports, we want prosperous softball.”
Here is everything you need to know about the inaugural season of Ausl …
When does the ausl season start?
The opening day will take place on June 7 with matches in Rosemont, Illinois and Wichita, Kansas.
The four teams – the bandits, the heels, Blaze and Volts – will each play 24 games until July 23. The two teams with the best records will then meet in the Ausl championship, a series of three games to play in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, from July 26 to 28.
Where will the Ausl Games be played?
The four team league will stop in 10 cities. In addition to Rosemont, Wichita and Tuscaloosa, Ausl will play Sulphur, Louisiana; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Norman, Oklahoma; Omaha, Nebraska; Seattle, Washington; Salt Lake City, Utah; And Round Rock, Texas, during the regular season.
After the championship, Ausl will then hold a cup of stars with matches played in Holly Springs and Greenville, in North Carolina and Rosemont, Illinois, in August. The match in Greenville will coincide with the Little League Softball World Series.
How to watch the ausl games?
Select The Ausl Games will be broadcast on MLB Network and MLB.TV – The Direct Streaming Service for Consumer of the League. The MLB network will broadcast the opening of the season at Wichita Live at 7:30 p.m. he.
A complete broadcasting calendar will be announced on a later date, but Ausl already has an agreement of 33 games with ESPN. The CEO athletes and co -founder Unlimited Jon Patricof told ESPN that the 72 Ausl games will appear on Linear TV.
Who are the players in Ausl?
The AUSL organized a draft in January with a pool of players who had already exhausted their eligibility in college. The former launcher of Oklahoma State Lexi Kilfoyl was the first global choice, going to the bandits. The former UCLA launcher Rachel Garcia, a double national player of the year, landed with the Volts.
A second draft took place earlier this month with current academic players who will not have eligibility for the NCAA after this college season. The national player of the year BRI Ellis, the Arkansas slugger, was chosen by the heels, while Duke Ana Gold’s field player was selected by the fire.
The oldest player in the League is the 33 -year -old launcher, Keilani Ricketts Tumanuvao, who was a double national player of the year and helped Oklahoma win a world series in 2013. She has just finished her first season as a pitch coach at the Pacific University.
Complete lists can be found here.
How much money do the players Ausl earn?
According to the League website, the average salary is $ 45,000, but players can earn up to $ 75,000.
What is the next step for the AUSL?
In 2026, Ausl aims to develop in a league based on the city instead of a tour on tour.
