Ucla Softball Has Deep Impact On Athletes Unlimited Softball League

Natasha Watley grew up dreaming astir playing for nan Atlanta Braves.

Sharlize Palacios wanted to suit up for her hometown San Diego Padres.

Megan Grant and Maya Brady thought softball would extremity aft graduation.

The 2003 Honda Award winner. A 2024 second-team All-American. The single-season NCAA location tally grounds holder. And a freshman of nan twelvemonth honoree.

The Portland Cascade’s Megan Grant fields nan shot during a crippled against nan Oklahoma City Spark connected July 4 successful Edmond, Okla.

(Courtesy of AUSL)

All of whom ne'er dreamed of being a master softball player. Not because their emotion for nan athletics dwindled. Nor because master routes were not an option. Pro softball leagues person existed since 1976, but they person lacked nan visibility and accessibility imperative to flourishing and gaining popularity.

“From my acquisition increasing up, and it’s nan aforesaid amongst a batch of athletes that are my age, we didn’t person a batch of domiciled models to look up to,” said Chicago Bandits outfielder Jessica Clements, who spent her elder play astatine UCLA successful 2025. “We had Jennie Finch, Natasha Watley, Monica Abbott, but nan likelihood of playing professionally were slim. There wasn’t a batch of opportunity, and a batch of younger kids were unsure of what nan situation would look for illustration successful galore years.”

That’s changing pinch AUSL, nan Athletes Unlimited Softball League.

The AUSL — which launched successful 2025 and builds disconnected erstwhile iterations of master softball — saw a 181% summation successful mean viewership crossed ESPN platforms successful 1 year, including a record-high 404,000 viewers for a June 21 crippled betwixt nan Portland Cascade and Texas Volts.

Among nan 96 progressive players successful nan AUSL, 13 are erstwhile UCLA softball players — omitting 2 wide managers, a caput coach and an adjunct coach that are a portion of nan AUSL and hail from nan Westwood programme — making UCLA nan astir well-represented schoolhouse successful nan league. That pipeline was connected afloat show this play astatine Texas A&M’s Davis Diamond, wherever nan Utah Talons — who boast a roster pinch 5 erstwhile Bruins, including UCLA softball subordinate caput coach Lisa Fernandez arsenic nan wide head — clinched their 2nd consecutive AUSL title complete nan Chicago Bandits connected Sunday. UCLA alum Jadelyn Allchin was named nan AUSL title MVP.

And UCLA softball’s beingness successful each facets of AUSL is nary coincidence.

The Bruins characteristic 12 NCAA championships and 119 All-American honorees, some of which rank first each time, and that’s not including an AIAW title and 1 All-American earlier nan NCAA era. But while nan programme is known for its accolades, nan power UCLA and its players person made connected nan athletics stretches acold beyond immoderate banners aliases trophies.

“When you look astatine nan history of softball successful nan past 40 years, you can’t spot a U.S. nationalist team, immoderate pro task aliases excellence astatine immoderate level of softball without having an power of UCLA successful it,” said Oklahoma City Sparks wide head Kirk Walker, who spent 24 years coaching arsenic an adjunct coach successful Westwood.

There person been only 3 coaches — Sharron Backus, Sue Enquist and Kelly Inouye-Perez — successful UCLA history, each of whom created unparalleled occurrence and a programme built connected a modular of excellence and a familial culture. But nary facet of nan UCLA civilization whitethorn beryllium much important than nan “Bruin Bubble” — a conception astatine nan very bosom of nan programme centered connected alumni involvement.

“It comes from nan women who were location from nan beginning, paving nan measurement for players for illustration america and players that are to come,” said Sparks infielder Delanie Wisz, who competed astatine UCLA from 2020 to 2022. “The thought of nan ‘Bruin Bubble’ and buying into thing bigger than yourself, coach Sue Enquist, coach Sharron Backus and coach Inouye-Perez person done a really bully occupation of keeping that astatine nan forefront, and making judge that we’re playing for thing overmuch bigger than immoderate individual award.”

While nan puerility aspirations of nan Bruins successful nan AUSL ne'er reached nan tallness of master softball, a communal extremity connected them each — playing for their dream schoolhouse successful Westwood and learning from individuals who person achieved immeasurable occurrence greater than immoderate grounds aliases championship.

Utah Talons General Manager Lisa Fernandez shows disconnected her 2025 AUSL title ringing successful Salt Lake City, Utah.

(Courtesy of AUSL)

Backus and Enquist group nan instauration for what softball is today, paving nan measurement for caller opportunities by sacrificing for nan greater bully of softball’s future.

While nan duo group nan way ablaze, they person passed nan baton to a trio of coaches — Inouye-Perez, Walker and Fernandez, who person spent a mixed 72 years successful Westwood.

And nan group has not stopped moving since.

The Bruins are not only responsible for creating nan adjacent procreation of pro softball players done nan UCLA program, but besides furthering nan connection and ngo of Backus and Enquist.

“From erstwhile I was successful assemblage to now, there’s been a large displacement successful really things go,” said Rachel Garcia, two-time Honda Cup victor astatine UCLA and a Volts pitcher successful nan AUSL, “but astatine nan extremity of nan day, Lisa Fernandez, Kelly Inouye-Perez, Kirk Walker, that would beryllium who I’d want to play for each azygous day, because I cognize that they are capable to springiness nan girls what they request successful bid to execute astatine nan champion that they tin be.”

While Inouye-Perez continues to steer nan Bruin ship, Walker and Fernandez service successful wide head roles for nan Sparks and Talons, respectively.

The Utah Talons’ Jordan Woolery fields nan shot during a July 11 AUSL crippled against nan Oklahoma City Spark successful Edmond, Okla.

(Morgan Givens / AUSL)

Grant emphasized that each 3 coaches could easy locomotion distant because of nan imprint they near and nan resume they built. Yet, Inouye-Perez and Fernandez not only chose to instrumentality astir nan game, but to reinvest their clip successful furthering nan convention and athletics altogether.

“I judge nan work to thief transportation nan torch and move it forward, and manus it disconnected to nan Jennie Finches and nan Cat Ostermans,” Fernandez said. “They’re going to manus it disconnected to nan adjacent procreation that are going to proceed to build this crippled and hopefully it’ll go thing wherever small girls tin go, ‘I’m going to beryllium a master softball player, and beryllium a domiciled exemplary for those who person nan opportunity to watch me.’ And astatine nan extremity of nan time that’s nan existent value.”

Integral to pushing nan crippled guardant is taking advantage of nan traction and momentum gained by nan 2028 Summer Olympics, wherever softball will return to nan shape for nan first clip since 2021.

Fernandez highlighted that erstwhile softball was added to nan Olympics successful 1996, it was nan pinnacle of nan sport. But erstwhile it was removed pursuing 2008 because nan IOC didn’t spot capable world title for nan golden medal, she felt that she failed. It was a setback that inspired her push to get nan athletics to a spot wherever it did not person to trust connected nan big state to see it among Olympic events.

“A ngo that’s adjacent to my bosom is nan maturation of nan athletics globally because it is truthful important for it to beryllium successful nan Olympics, not conscionable successful 2028 but successful 2032,” said Talons pitcher Megan Faraimo, who competed astatine UCLA from 2019 to 2023. “I don’t want to beryllium nan past procreation to make it into nan Olympics. I want to protect nan early of everyone coming aft me, and that intends capitalizing connected it being successful L.A. We tin usage that to past push nan athletics into 2032 and hopefully get backmost connected that Olympic rhythm.”