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Athletes Unlimited Softball League is putting down roots in Year 2.
The league’s second season—which begins in June—will be played in host cities associated with each team: Chicago; Durham, N.C.; Oklahoma City; Hillsboro, Ore.; Round Rock, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah.
The league’s six teams are now the Chicago Bandits, Carolina Blaze, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts, and Utah Talons. In its inaugural season AUSL featured four teams—the Bandits, Blaze, Talons, and Volt— and had a touring model, playing games in 10 different U.S. cities.
“That fans of AUSL can come and really know what to expect—it’s huge in terms of us being able to sell,” Athletes Unlimited commissioner Kim Ng told Front Office Sports. “Knowing that you have these six markets where you can go to see each of these teams on a regular basis is going to be helpful in solidifying AUSL as a must see.”
AUSL expanded to six teams this offseason with the addition of the Oklahoma City Spark and the Portland Cascade. In December, the league executed an expansion draft for existing players and an allocation draft for new players. The Spark and Cascade picked from a pool of unprotected players followed by the allocation draft, which allowed all six teams to select from players who weren’t previously on AUSL rosters.
To determine the host cities, AUSL evaluated locations during its inaugural season, considering factors like fan base, facilities, and stakeholders engagement with the league. In North Carolina, for example, AUSL met with the sports commission in Durham and were impressed by the engagement and introduction to the community. Additionally, Duke softball’s national presence was considered another strong factor in AUSL calling Durham one of its homes.
Duke’s softball stadium will be the Blaze’s home venue, and the team is highlighted by two former Duke players, Ana Gold and Jala Wright.
The Bandits will play at The Stadium at Parkway Banks Complex in Rosemont, just outside of Chicago, which has been the home of Athletes Unlimited Softball since its launch in 2020. The Spark will play at Tom Heath Field at Oklahoma Christian University, and the Talons at Dumke Family Stadium at the University of Utah. Hillsboro Ballpark just outside of Portland will be home to the Cascade. The Volts, led by Texas standouts in general manager Cat Osterman and coach Ricci Woodard, will play at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
AUSL rosters will be filled out through the AUSL college draft in the spring, which will include college softball’s first million-dollar player, NiJaree Canady. Whether Canady signs with AUSL is unclear at this point.
“With a generational talent—we’ve used that term about her before—anyone of that ilk with her particular set of skills and ability that person could be a huge asset to the league,” Ng said. “We’ll see how this all turns out but would love to have her and anybody of that type of talent.”
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