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Pro News: Athletes Unlimited Softball League Drafts 19 Players From 2024 USA Women’s National Program (Feb. 1, 2025)

By Brentt Eads

February 1, 2025

There are 19 members of the 2024 WNT Program drafted to the inaugural AUSL season.

Pro News: Athletes Unlimited Softball League Drafts 19 Players From 2024 USA Women’s National Program (Feb. 1, 2025)

Yesterday, we profiled this week’s first-ever Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) draft which featured four teams picking over 12 rounds for a total of 48 softball standouts.

Below is a release from USASoftball.com published earlier showing how many via the draft are current or former members of Team USA’s program…

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Athletes Unlimited has announced the athletes selected to participate in the inaugural season of the 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), with a live draft taking place on Wednesday, January 29.

The draft included 33 former and current members of the U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT), including 19 athletes from the 2024 season.

In its first year, the league will consist of four teams competing in a 30-game season, with matchups held in six-to-eight different cities across the U.S. Starting in 2026, AUSL will transition to a city-based league format.

Taylor Edwards is one of six drafted in this year’s inaugural AUSL season who played on the USA 2020 Olympic Team.

The upcoming season will feature six U.S. Olympic Silver Medalists from 2020:

  • Ali Aguilar
  • Taylor Edwards
  • Rachel Garcia
  • Bubba Nickles
  • Dejah Mulipola
  • Kelsey Stewart-Hunter

 

Additionally, 11 members of 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup Finals squad will be participating, along with eight members of the 2024 Japan All-Star Series roster.

Furthermore, nine former Women’s National Team (WNT) members and one former Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) member will also compete.

In addition to the drafted athletes, USA Softball is represented by several prominent figures:

  • Two-time Olympic Medalist Kelly Kretschman will serve as the head coach of the AUSL Volts,
  • Three-time Olympian Cat Osterman has taken on the role of General Manager (GM) for the Volts,
  • Former U.S. Women’s National Team assistant coach Howard Dobson will lead the Talons,
  • Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lisa Fernandez will serve as the GM of the Talons,
  • Alisa Goler, an assistant coach for the 2024 U-18 Women’s National Team, will act as the head coach for the AUSL Blaze a
  • 2005 Elite Team member Dana Sorenson will be the Blaze’s GM.
  • Three-time Olympian Stacey Nuveman-Diaz will lead the AUSL Bandits as their head coach.

The inaugural 30-game season of the AUSL will feature a total of 48 athletes, with ESPN broadcasting 18 games exclusively on its networks.

For viewers in the United States, all games will be available across the ESPN network of channels.

Legendary U.S. Olympians Jessica Mendoza, Cat Osterman, and Natasha Watley have signed on as advisors to the AUSL, providing guidance to AU leadership and current athletes on the strategic direction of the new league.

Additionally, USA Softball is a strategic partner of AUSL.

 

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