Athletes Unlimited Softball League: The player draft and what else to know

The new Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is having its inaugural player draft on Jan. 29 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN3 and Youtube). The league will feature four teams playing a 24-game season in a traditional format and will be in addition to the existing AU Pro Softball Championship Season, which launched in 2020 and is 30 games over five weeks in July and August.

Check out what you need to know about the new league and see who each team drafts and adds to its first AUSL roster.

What is AUSL?

Launching in 2025, the new Athletes Unlimited Softball League will complement the existing AU Pro Softball Championship Season, which will be renamed the AUSL All-Star Cup and will follow the conclusion of the AUSL season. The AUSL All-Star Cup will continue to use AU's scoring model to crown an individual champion.

The AUSL season will start in June and will feature four teams (Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts). The league will be going on tour to 6-8 cities in its first season and then in 2026 will move to a city-based format. ESPN will broadcast at least 18 games exclusively in 2025 (ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU).

The draft

Round 1:

No. 1: Bandits -- Lexi Kilfoyl, pitcher

No. 2: Blaze -- Carley Hoover, pitcher

No. 3: Talons -- Megan Faraimo, pitcher

No. 4: Volts -- Rachel Garcia, pitcher

round 1 complete ✅#AUSL pic.twitter.com/MFA80HMCyS

Round 2:

No. 5: Blaze -- Aleshia Ocasio, pitcher

No. 6: Talons -- Georgina Corrick, pitcher

No. 7: Volts -- Amanda Lorenz, outfielder

No. 8: Bandits -- Taylor McQuillin, pitcher

The rest of the picks.

How are players being drafted onto teams?

Each team will draft 12 players from a pool of more than 80 available players. Former UCLA star Maya Brady (Tom Brady's niece) is one of the most recent players to sign with the league. The four remaining spots will be filled by free agents and incoming college players who are finishing their eligibility.

The Bandits won a lottery to pick No. 1 overall, to be followed by the Blaze, Talons and Volts. Following the first round, the first pick of each round will rotate among the four teams:

• Round 1: Bandits, Blaze, Talons, Volts

• Round 2: Blaze, Talons, Volts, Bandits

• Round 3: Talons, Volts, Bandits, Blaze

• Round 4: Volts, Bandits, Blaze, Talon

Who will be drafting for each team?

There are four teams drafting on Wednesday night -- the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts. The four teams will be led by GMs with extensive and storied softball careers.

• Jenny Dalton-Hill (Bandits)

• Dana Sorensen (Blaze)

• Lisa Fernandez (Talons)

• Cat Osterman (Volts)

Here are the coaches for the first season:

• Stacey Nuveman-Deniz (Bandits)

• Alisa Goler (Blaze)

• Howard Dobson (Talons)

• Kelly Kretschman (Volts)

In addition to the coaches and general managers, former MLB Executive Kim Ng is a Senior Adviser. Softball legends Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza and Natasha Watley are advisers to the AUSL.

Players available to be drafted

Pitcher

• Alana Vawter -- South Carolina

• Aleshia Ocasio -- Florida

• Allie Light -- SDSU

• Brooke Yanez -- UCLA

• Carley Hoover -- LSU

• Chenise Delce -- Arkansas

• Estelle Czech -- Texas

• Georgina Corrick -- USF

• Hope Trautwein -- Oklahoma

• Keilani Ricketts -- Oklahoma

• Lexi Kilfoyl -- Oklahoma State

• Mariah Mazon -- Oregon State

• Megan Faraimo -- UCLA

• Montana Fouts -- Alabama

• Odicci Alexander -- JMU

• Payton Gottshall -- Tennessee

• Rachel Garcia -- UCLA

• Sarah Willis -- UCF

• Taran Alvelo -- Washington

• Taylor McQuillin -- Arizona

Catcher

• Dejah Mulipola -- Arizona

• Jordan Roberts -- Florida

• Jordyn Rudd-Lee -- Northwestern

• Julia Cottrill -- Texas A&M

• Kelly Torres -- Duke

• Mia Davidson -- Mississippi State

• Ryan Henry -- Villanova

• Sharlize Palacios -- UCLA

• Taylor Edwards -- Nebraska

Middle Infielder

• Ali Aguilar -- Washington

• Anissa Urtez -- Utah

• Aubrey Leach -- Tennessee

• Billie Andrews -- Nebraska

• Erin Coffel -- Kentucky

• Hannah Flippen -- Utah

• Josie Muffley -- Florida State

• Sierra Romero -- Michigan

• Sis Bates -- Washington

• Skylar Wallace -- Florida

• Sydney McKinney -- Wichita State

• Sydney Romero -- Oklahoma

• Tiare Jennings -- Oklahoma

Corner Infielder

• Andrea Filler -- Northwestern

• Ashley Prange -- Alabama

• Baylee Klingler -- Washington

• Daisy Munoz -- Cal State Fullerton

• Delanie Wisz -- UCLA

• Jessi Warren -- Florida State

• Kelsey Stewart-Hunter -- Florida

• Lillian Piper -- Ohio State

• Nadia Taylor -- Texas

• Tori Vidales -- Texas A&M

Outfielder

• Aliyah Andrews -- LSU

• Amanda Lorenz -- Florida

• Bella Dayton -- Texas

• Bubba Nickles -- UCLA

• Caroline Jacobsen -- Clemson

• Ciara Briggs -- LSU

• Ciara Bryan -- Louisiana Lafayette

• Erika Piancastelli -- McNeese

• Jadelyn Allchin -- UCLA

• Jenna Kean -- Louisiana Lafayette

• Kalei Harding -- Florida State

• Madison Huskey -- Washington

• Megan Wiggins -- Georgia

• McKenzie Clark -- Clemson

• Morgan Debord -- Minnesota

• Morgan Zerkle -- Marshall

• Victoria Hayward -- Washington

Utility

• Ali Newland -- LSU

• Allie Skaggs -- Arizona

• Hayley Busby -- Oklahoma State

• Karli Spaid -- Miami of Ohio

• Kayla Kowalik -- Kentucky

• Makena Brocki -- SDSU

• Maya Brady -- UCLA

• Pal Egan -- Florida

• Sahvanna Jaquish -- LSU

• Samantha Show -- Oklahoma State

• Sara Fessler -- Youngstown State

• Suzy Brookshire -- Long Beach State

• Valerie Cagle -- Clemson