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As it heads into its first season of play, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is adding one big-money player to its bench: Major League Baseball.
This morning, Major League Baseball announced a “strategic investment” in the AUSL—the first such partnership for MLB with a women’s sports league—during an event at MLB’s Flagship Store in New York City with Commissioner Rob Manfred, AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng, softball greats Jennie Finch and Natasha Watley, MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds, and four-time MLB All-Star pitcher Dellin Betances.
It’s a strong show of support for Athletes Unlimited, the multi-league mini-empire of women’s sports—including basketball and volleyball leagues—that launched its self-contained version of softball in 2020, with captains picking different teams for each session and players earning points for their individual play.
According to Jon Patricof, AU’s CEO, who co-founded the company with Jonathan Soros in 2020, conversations with MLB began in AU’s earliest days and accelerated in early 2024 with help from advisors at CAA Evolution.
“In some ways, it’s happened very quickly, and in others, it’s taken now a number of years to build a good trust and a reputation,” Patricof said. “The way AU has conducted itself since back in 2020 has been important and helpful, building great relationships with the players, and then, over time, building piece by piece a relationship with ESPN, a relationship with Little League Softball, and a good working relationship with MLB.”
While MLB’s financial backing will help the AUSL with operational costs and growth efforts, baseball plans to use its marketing, events, distribution, editorial, digital and social platforms, and content to increase the AUSL’s profile. The league plans to enhance the AUSL’s existing ESPN broadcast schedule by airing games on MLB Network and MLB.TV.
The AUSL and its athletes will also be part of MLB events including All-Star weekend and the postseason, as well as developmental efforts including its Play Ball initiative to boost youth baseball and softball participation; its Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Program; Youth Academies and events, including Elite Development Invitational (EDI); and Breakthrough Series.
Tony Reagins, Major League Baseball’s chief baseball development officer, said MLB saw potential in Athletes Unlimited almost two years ago, but wanted to get to know its leadership and get a sense of whether or not it was built for longevity—which had been an issue for professional softball leagues in the past.
“We got to know Athletes Unlimited and their leadership over the last couple of years, and had great conversations in terms of long term vision—the creativity behind the league, in terms of highlighting the players, getting the players involved, both on and off the field, in a significant and meaningful way—and it started to make sense that this organization was going to be around and that would be a great and viable partner for Major League Baseball,” Reagins said.
In 2024, Reagins and the rest of MLB would be greeted at Athletes Unlimited by a host of familiar faces. AU brought in former Miami Marlins GM Kim Ng as an advisor and surrounded her with a team of advisors that included ESPN announcer, Olympic gold medalist, and former New York Mets executive Jessica Mendoza; Olympic gold medalist and former AU pitcher Cat Osterman; Olympic gold medalist and national champion Natasha Watley; and Olympic gold medalist and national champion Jennie Finch—whose name gave AU’s softball stadium in Rosemont its home address on Jennie Finch Way.
This year, Ng—who served as MLB’s svp of baseball operations from 2011-2020—was named the AUSL’s first commissioner. Just ahead of the AUSL’s Opening Day on June 7 and amid the NCAA Women’s College Softball World Series from May 29 to June 5 or June 6, baseball has the opportunity to give professional softball an assist, just as the sport as a whole is gaining momentum.
“This partnership allows girls to aspire to be the next Jennie Finch and to be the next Natasha Watley, and that’s what’s exciting for us,” said MLB CMO Uzma Rawn Dowler.
The riseball pitch
As both Major League Baseball and the AUSL are aware, softball’s heroes aren’t just ambassadors or advisors: They’re the players young athletes are watching now.
During last year’s Softball World Series, an average of more than 1.1 million viewers watched all 15 games on ESPN, up 2% from the previous year, while the more than 2 million who watched each game of the finals was the championship round’s largest audience ever. Softball had its most-watched regular season since 2015, with increased viewership across the board.
Increasingly, AU Softball is where talent from that tournament ends up domestically. In the AUSL’s first-ever ad, former Florida Gator, 2015 Women’s College Softball World Series champ, and MLB TV guest host Aleshia Ocasio makes her debut as a member of the Blaze. Odicci Alexander led James Madison to its first-ever World Series in 2021 and received a standing ovation from Oklahoma Sooners fans during her final game that year. She now wears the Bandits’ colors.
For Dowler, one of the bigger benefits of the MLB agreement is amplifying the plays and accomplishments of players fans already love.
“We’re definitely looking to grow and help foster that talent and allow young girls and women to aspire to be the next great professional women’s softball player,” Dowler said. “The immediate focus is on helping expand access and visibility and opportunities for young girls and women, but we also believe a stronger softball ecosystem can drive meaningful engagement across the board and drive tandem and hopefully eventually commercial success.”
AUSL gets to test that theory during its Opening Day on June 7 as it hosts its first games in Rosemont, Illinois, and Wichita, Kansas. The Wichita game will air exclusively on MLB Network and MLB.TV, and former professional softball player and Gold Glove-winning MLB Network host AJ Andrews will be on the ground in Rosemont on June 6 and 7, gathering interviews for the MLB Tonight pregame show.
Reagins has spent roughly a decade building a pipeline for athletes to have an opportunity to advance through junior college, college, and into the professional ranks. He helped MLB build youth academy programs to help girls and women advance in softball as far as the league could take them, and now sees Athletes Unlimited’s work—and that of his former colleague Ng—as an extension of that plan.
“A pipeline is really important because that means sustainability, that means long-term health, and long-term growth,” Reagins said. “Athletes Unlimited softball allows us to continue that growth and grow our arc upward.”
For AU and Patricof, the ballfield just got a lot bigger. AU Softball has already made use of its Chicagoland location by partnering with the Cubs and White Sox, but Ng made AU’s presence felt earlier this year at Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers spring training. Patricof sees opportunities for more MLB partnerships throughout the AUSL’s 12-city tour this summer and said discussions around major events such as All-Star weekend, the postseason, and Little League events are ongoing.
“We’re just beginning to unlock the potential of this relationship, and like any relationship, we will just continue to find more and more ways to collaborate and advance the business,” Patricof said. “It takes a lot of different pieces to complete the puzzle. This is far and away the biggest piece, and it’s becoming clear that the AUSL is set up to be a sustainable pro league… and that’s something that people have been looking for a long time.”
