When people talk about the growth of women’s sports, the conversation often centers on basketball and soccer – and for good reason. The WNBA is experiencing unprecedented growth while the NWSL continues to break attendance and valuation records. Both sports continue to see increased investment from major brands, investors, and media companies.  

However, while much of the attention is currently focused on those leagues, another sport has been busy building one of the strongest foundations in all of women's sports: softball.

In fact, a strong argument can be made that softball is the most promising growth opportunity in sports right now for a simple reason: the fan base already exists.

 

Women’s College World Series: The Greatest Show On Dirt 

For years, women's college softball has consistently delivered some of the strongest viewership numbers in women's sports. This year’s Women's College World Series (WCWS) delivered the most-watched college softball game in history, when 3 million viewers (2.5 million average) tuned in to watch Texas defeat Texas Tech and take home the national championship. Overall, the WCWS averaged 1.6 million viewers on ESPN networks, making it the most watched most-watched WCWS ever. 

Those numbers aren't an anomaly. In 2025, the WCWS averaged 1.3 million viewers, which just so happened to be more than the Men's College World Series in the same year, with an average of 1.2 million viewers. The deciding game between Texas and Texas Tech peaked at 2.8 million viewers, then the most-watched NCAA softball game ever.

Success like this doesn’t happen overnight – it is the result of decades of building a passionate fan base, compelling rivalries, recognizable stars, and notably, a strong participation pipeline. In 2024, more than 9.2 million people played softball in the U.S. alone. Softball remains one of the five most popular high school sports for girls, while Little League Softball includes more than 360,000 athletes across 25 countries. Every state in the U.S. offers a fast-pitch softball state championship.

All that said, the foundation for women’s softball has been there. What softball has lacked is a sustainable professional pathway.

 

Enter The Athletes Unlimited Softball League

In 2025, the game was changed forever with the launch of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). While professional softball leagues have certainly existed in the U.S. before, none entered the market with the same level of momentum, visibility, and investment as the AUSL. Built on the success of Athletes Unlimited's existing softball competition, the league launched with a major media partnership with ESPN and an 8-figure strategic investment from Major League Baseball – the first comprehensive partnership of its kind between MLB and a professional women's sports league.

For the AUSL, its inaugural season essentially served as a proof of concept. To kick things off, the league featured four teams operating in a touring model. In year one, the AUSL set out to answer a simple question: Would fans support professional softball?

Spoiler Alert: The Fans Showed Up

The answer was a resounding yes.

In its first season, the league recorded 24 sellouts, generated more than $1 million in merchandise sales, and delivered 333 million social impressions.

Now, the AUSL enters its second season with even greater momentum – and a significant evolution of its business model. For the first time, the league is operating as a traditional city-based league. In 2026, fans can rally behind six teams: the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Oklahoma City Spark, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts, and Utah Talons. That may sound like a small change, but it fundamentally transforms the league and the fan experience.

Fans are no longer simply supporting individual athletes. They can now invest emotionally in hometown teams, local rivalries, and community identities. As sports leagues have demonstrated for generations, city-based models lend to deep fan engagement, strong attendance, community investment, and the kind of loyalty that sustains leagues over the long term. They also create opportunities for athletes to become hometown heroes.

Beyond the shift to a city-based structure, the AUSL is expanding from four teams to six as it enters 2026 with the largest media footprint in professional softball history. New investments from organizations, including the Milwaukee Brewers and Ryan Sanders Baseball, further signal growing confidence in the league's future.

The Bottom Line

For years, college softball has demonstrated that millions of people are willing to watch women's softball. Now, the AUSL has the opportunity to prove that millions of people are willing to show up for professional softball as well.

If Season 1 of the AUSL was about proving the concept, Season 2 is about building the future – and based on the numbers, the future of softball looks incredibly bright.

 

MEET CAROLINE FITZGERALD