It's Time for Professional Softball!

Courtesy of USA TODAY

By Addison Aguirre, Sports Editor

For over 100 years, softball has never had a team they could play for after college professionally, except for the USA Olympic team. On June 4, 2025, Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros created the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) for the best of the best softball players.

Thanks to the MLB investing 10 million dollars, the founders wouldn’t have been able to start the league as soon as possible. Softball players playing in from T-ball to 18u have a new hope and dream of being able to play for this new league.

“Softball is underpaid compared to men’s sports, ”Freshman Cienna Wilson said. “They don’t have much money to give, but the men’s league gets many sponsorships and donations. It makes a big difference in the league and popularity.”

This has given people more opportunities to do more after softball. It’s very uncommon for people to make any money from softball unless they get a brand deal like Nijaree Canady or make their own gear like bats, gloves, cleats, and catcher gear. Nijaree Canady played for Stanford and got paid $1,050,000 to transfer over to Texas Tech and she is sponsored by Easton.

“If this league were made about 10 years ago, I feel like this would have motivated me more to work harder to go D1 and make the little girl in me proud,” Cailyn Jordan Apacible. She was the starting 2nd baseman for Felician University in New Jersey, which is a D2 softball program.

The AUSL currently recruits players from 2013 to current college players. Their four teams are Talons, Blaze, Volts, and Bandits, which don’t have a specific location to play. Out of the 60 people playing in the AUSL, there are seven past or current players for UCLA, six for Florida, Oklahoma, and five for LSU.

“I think the world of softball has expanded for every person who plays softball and opened up opportunities,” Freshman Abigail Hernandez said.

Girls now have a bigger dream than just making it to college. These players want to work harder to make it to the AUSL. Girls are inspired and look up to the women playing in the AUSL now and hope to one day play for them.