It was a busy end of the week for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) in several notable ways… here’s a rundown of some of the key developments:

Location

On Thursday, the league announced that the 2026 AUSL Championship will be held at Texas A&M University in College Station at Davis Diamond.

College Station was selected as the host site in partnership with Compete College Station, Texas A&M Athletics and the 12th Man Foundation.

The AUSL website stated that “the city’s combination of a premier softball facility, strong partnership with Texas A&M and proven track record of hosting championship-level events made it a natural choice to host the league’s final weekend.”

AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng helped finalize the championship site and praised the university and the city for being the perfect location for championship week in late July.

“We’re thrilled to bring the AUSL Championship to College Station and Texas A&M,” she commented.

“This is one of the top softball venues in the country, and College Station has established itself as a premier destination for major sporting events. The combination of elite facilities, a passionate fan base and a strong local partnership make this an ideal setting for our championship weekend.”

Dates & Format

Per the AUSL, the playoff format is expanding to include a play-in game between the second- and third-ranked teams, with the top-performing team earning a bye into the best-of-three AUSL Championship. 

Here is the schedule for that game and the best of three title series:

• AUSL Championship Play-In Game (Thu, Jul 23, 2026 @ 8:00 pm)
• AUSL Championship Game 1 (Sat, July 25, 2026 @ 12 pm)
• AUSL Championship Game 2 (Sun, July 26, 2026 @ 1 pm)
• AUSL Championship Game 3 (Mon, July 27, 2026 @ 6 pm)

Tickets For the Championship Series on Sale

Tickets for the Championship Series went on sale for the general public on Friday.

Click HERE to buy tickets which range from $20 to $45 depending on location in the stadium:

• Club: $45.00
• Prime Reserved Home Plate: $35.00
• Reserved Home Plate: $30.00
• Reserved: $25.00
• Reserved End: $20.00

Tickets for the AUSL regular season, which starts on June 9^th, are also on sale; Click HERE to see the regular season games and links to buy tickets.

The league has expanded to six teams after previously being four and includes the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts and defending champions the Utah Talons.

A Pro Softball First: A Game Televised on Network TV

You have to hand it to the AUSL leadership for securing some impressive TV broadcast partnerships.

Game 1 of the AUSL Championship on Saturday, July 25, will air nationally on ABC, marking the first professional softball game ever to be broadcast on network television.

The other games will all air on ESPN.

Another Gold Ticket Honoree

Earlier this week, Line Drive Media did a story titled: The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) Has Awarded 8 Golden Tickets with More to Come Before the May 4 Draft (April 15, 2026)

On Friday, Belmont pitcher Maya Johnson became the latest college star to receive a Golden Ticket to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League following the Bruins’ game versus Illinois State.

Jessica Mendoza presented the Golden Ticket, marking Johnson’s selection in the league’s 2026 College Draft.

Maya is the first-ever mid-major player to be drafted to the AUSL.

This season (2026), she’s 21-2 as of Friday with a 0.63 ERA and has 294 strikeouts in 155 innings pitched

Last year for the Bruins she went 24-6 with a 1.52 ERA and threw 23 complete games including 11 shutouts.

Maya also had 366 strikeouts in 207 innings and was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year and an NFCA 1^st Team All-American.

Here’s a video clip of the presentation:

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Media