Athletes Unlimited commissioner Ng excited as softball surges

Kim Ng is excited about how far Athletes Unlimited softball has come in the past year and believes the sport is surging as her league prepares to expand in 2026. The Athletes Unlimited Softball League's commissioner is brimming with confidence after the league posted what she called promising numbers in its first year. This was the first time Athletes Unlimited added a traditional team format after five years of crowning only individual champions. There were 20 sold-out games in a touring format that visited 10 cities. The AUSL website had 5.3 million views during the season, and the championship series had peak viewership of 347,000 on ESPN. There were 240 million impressions on the AUSL's social channels. "I think it went really well," Ng said. "And we were all just incredibly excited, incredibly thrilled about what we were just able to do, and really, for the future of AUSL." The Talons beat the Bandits for the inaugural team championship in late July. A month later, Kayla Kowalik won the 2025 AUSL All-Star Cup — Athletes Unlimited's second season that crowns an individual champion based on a points system. Next season, there will be six teams in the AUSL for the team season, the four existing squads and two new ones. It will shift from a touring model to a city-based model. There are plenty of reasons to believe expansion will be successful. Before this year's two Athletes Unlimited softball seasons, Major League Baseball and the AUSL announced a partnership that provided the softball league a jump-start. AUSL had $1 million in merchandise sales during the team season, with former Oklahoma pitcher Sam Landry, the No. 1 overall draft pick, having the most-sold jersey. The league took its touring format to Round Rock, Texas, on July 20 and set a state record for a softball crowd (more than 6,500 fans). "When we got to Round Rock, seeing that stadium in particular full, I think that was another moment in time where it gave you a glimpse as to what could be, what is actually possible," Ng said. The AUSL Championship series averaged 230,000 viewers for two games. The 2025 AUSL All-Star Cup followed, and ESPN said those numbers were up 55% from last season. Athletes Unlimited rode the wave of momentum from a year of viewing records in college softball. ESPN said the average of 1.3 million viewers across 15 games on its platforms was the most-watched Women's College World Series ever, surpassing the record set in 2021. Game 3 of the championship series between Texas and Texas Tech was ESPN's most-watched NCAA softball game ever, with 2.4 million viewers. Games 1 and 2 both set championship series records with 2.1 million viewers each, and overall World Series viewership was up 24% from last year. Those are all steps toward one of the league's ultimate goals. Athletes Unlimited works with USA Softball, with a goal of creating a strong domestic league that helps prepare the team for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Team USA coach Patty Gasso said she likes what the league has done, and it has forced players to step up their training. "The players that are in this league — you better be fit, have a good idea of how to stay healthy, how to stay strong, or you're going to lose your position," she said during the AUSL team season. "And you can see the competition, you can see the fire, you could see the excitement." Now, Ng looks forward to the expansion. She said the cities will be named in the next few months. Ng also said the AUSL All-Star Cup will continue, with a few tweaks possible. She said the overall goal is for Athletes Unlimited softball to reach the level of the Women's National Basketball Association and the National Women's Soccer League, and the numbers give her hope. "Does it mean that we're on that trajectory?" she said. "No, not necessarily, but I think it gives you … a good deal of context as to where we stand, so we're just really happy about those." ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB