Major League Baseball announced Thursday a strategic investment in Athletes Unlimited Softball League, a women’s professional softball league in the United States founded in 2024 and run by Athletes Unlimited.
AUSL will launch its inaugural season on June 7.
The investment, which is part of MLB’s ongoing commitment to supporting the growth of softball at all levels, will include joint sales and marketing efforts, extensive promotional support and broadcasts on MLB Network and MLB.TV to raise the visibility of the AUSL and its athletes.
“Major League Baseball’s investment in the AUSL,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement, “represents an opportunity to support softball’s long-term growth and expand our engagement with these outstanding athletes and their fans.”
With women’s sports – and softball, specifically – experiencing an explosive rise in popularity, the AUSL is a new avenue for the world’s best softball players to compete professionally. The league’s commissioner is Kim Ng, who previously served as senior vice president of baseball operations for MLB and the first female general manager of a major American men’s professional sports team while with the Miami Marlins from 2020-23.
“As a part of our broader commitment to growing softball and creating more opportunities for women and girls in sports, this agreement reflects our confidence in Kim Ng’s leadership, the AUSL vision and the incredible talent of its athletes,” Manfred said. “During this extraordinarily exciting time for women’s sports, we want softball to thrive. MLB is committed to help build a sustainable and impactful league that drives fandom, serves the softball community and benefits all female athletes.”
The AUSL’s first season will be a barnstorming affair. Four teams — the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts — will compete in a traveling circuit that will feature 24 games per team in a traditional format in 10 different cities from June 7-July 23, culminating in the top two teams competing in the best-of-three AUSL Championship from July 26-28 at the University of Alabama’s Rhoads Stadium.
Opening Day for the AUSL will take place Saturday, June 7, in Rosemont, Ill., and Wichita, Kan.
“This is a watershed moment for women’s sports and especially for softball,” Ng said in a statement. “MLB’s investment will supercharge our efforts to build the sustainable professional league this sport has long deserved and sends a powerful message about the value of female athletes and the importance of creating professional opportunities for them. Together, we’re going to reach new fans and inspire the next generation of softball players.”
MLB has a longstanding association with USA Softball, has sponsored the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and has supported growth of the sport through PLAY BALL, the Nike RBI program, the Elite Development Invitational, the Breakthrough Series and other youth engagement initiatives.
But this is MLB’s first investment in a professional softball league. The financial assistance from MLB will help the AUSL with league operational costs, and many areas of MLB’s business operations will engage with the AUSL, including collaborative sales and marketing efforts. AUSL athletes and storylines will be featured across MLB’s digital platforms and incorporated into MLB events such as the All-Star Game and postseason, and MLB Network and MLB.TV will broadcast select AUSL games (including Opening Day in Wichita between the Volts and Blaze).
The AUSL is part of Athletes Unlimited, which was co-founded in 2010 by Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros and owns and operates a portfolio of professional women’s sports leagues, including basketball and volleyball. Following the AUSL season, Athletes Unlimited will also stage the AUSL All-Star Cup, a 24-game competition in August that features 60 players and an innovative scoring system resulting in an individual champion.
