The AUSL Is Here: And the Carolina Blaze Are Must-Watch

By: Khya Kimber
Women’s Professional Softball has a new home, and if you haven’t been watching it’s time to start. The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is in its second season and already proving that women’s sports, when given the right platform and investment, will show out every single time. The league launched in 2025 with four original teams and saw 24 sellout crowds, over $1 million in merchandise sales, and an 88% rise in viewership across ESPN platforms. MLB took notice and invested. Sephora signed on as a sponsor. And for 2026, the league expanded to six teams with permanent city-based homes.

The regular season runs through July 20, followed by a play-in game and a best-of-three AUSL Championship series.

My Team This Summer: The Carolina Blaze

Carolina Blaze sits one of the most exciting rosters in the league. The Carolina Blaze are one of the four original AUSL franchises, playing their home games at Smith Family Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. As someone who covers women’s sports and believes deeply in amplifying the athletes who don’t always get the spotlight they deserve, the Blaze are my team to lock in on this summer. 

Here’s who I’m watching:

Karlyn Pickens is the headliner. Selected first overall in the 2026 AUSL College Draft fresh off a dominant Women’s College World Series run, Pickens brings a record-setting 79.4 mph fastball that makes her one of the most electrifying pitchers in the sport right now.

Ana Gold is the reigning AUSL Rookie of the Year and she is not done making noise. Gold led the Blaze in batting average (.373) and home runs (5), driving in 17 runs across 23 starts while earning All-Defensive Team honors in her first professional season.

Reese Atwood might be the most decorated catcher to ever come out of college softball. Fresh off her second consecutive national title with Texas, Atwood’s resume includes Softball America National Player of the Year honors, the Johnny Bench Award, NFCA Catcher of the Year recognition, and Texas’ first-ever Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

Aubrey Leach is the quiet force in this lineup. She posted a .368 batting average and a .467 on-base percentage while adding seven doubles, and became the first player in AUSL history to record five hits in a single contest. She does not need a spotlight to produce, and that is exactly the kind of player who wins championships. 

Whether you are a lifelong softball fan or someone who simply loves watching elite women athletes compete, the Blaze and this league are worth every minute of your attention this summer.

I know where mine will be!