Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball announces multi-year deal to bring the league to Kansas

The GIST: Last Friday, Athletes Unlimited (AU) Pro Softball announced a multi-year agreement with Wichita State University to bring pro softball to Kansas, creating the first pro women’s sports league to play a full season in Wichita. Clicking our ruby slippers.

The details: Starting next summer, Wichita State’s Wilkins Stadium will host AU Pro Softball’s AUX competition, an event showcasing the world’s premier softball players as they play 18 games across two weeks to crown an individual champion. Ticket deposits are already available for the must-watch June tournament starring several AU softball standouts.

• Wichita State alum Sydney McKinney — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 AU Pro Softball College Draft — will join Olympians and former AUX Softball champions Rachel Garcia and Danielle O’Toole. See them in a crown.

The company: Since its 2020 launch, AU has seen overnight success in its women’s pro softball, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse leagues thanks to its player-centric, mission-driven model. An advisory board featuring former softball athletes Jessica Mendoza and Cat Osterman really drives this point home, and AU was also named one of 2023’s most innovative companies.

The trend: The organization thrives by targeting women’s sports with surging youth participation and widespread college fandom that lack strong pro pipelines in the U.S. AU’s intentionality differentiates it from women’s pro leagues of years past as it focuses on big-name investors and putting athletes first. Using its starpower to shine.