Days before its opening day of its second full season, Athletes Unlimited Softball League is getting a new influx of cash.
AUSL announced a new group of strategic investors on Thursday, June 4 that includes Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan. Ryan’s partners with Ryan Sanders Baseball – Reid Ryan and Don Sanders – are also investing in the league.
The Brewers become the first MLB club to invest directly in the AUSL. Folks who were already invested in AUSL include NBA superstar Kevin Durant and his longtime business partner Rich Kleiman.
"The momentum just continues to build. It's building for softball as a whole and the AUSL is seeing that momentum on every level, and so we couldn't be more excited to be bringing in the Brewers and Ryan Sanders. I think it's a testament to their belief in the opportunity and the future ahead," Jon Patricof, the CEO and co-founder of Athletes Unlimited, told USA TODAY Sports. "For us, not only their capital, but their expertise are going to be hugely valuable."
These investments deepen the relationships that AUSL already has with MLB and Ryan Sanders Baseball. MLB invested in the AUSL last year and has broadcast games on its network as part of their partnership.
Ryan Sanders Baseball operates two minor league teams, the Round Rock Express and the Corpus Christi Hooks. They are the AUSL’s operating partner of the Texas Volts, who drafted Texas Tech superstar pitcher NiJaree Canady with the No. 2 overall pick this season. The Volts will play at the Ryan Sanders-operated Dell Diamond ballpark in Round Rock, Texas.
"I think people look at the track record that Athletes Unlimited has in the sport now and understand that we're here to stay, that we're big believers in building a sustainable long-term softball league, and I think that that's resonated," Patricof said. "You're seeing more and more organizations recognize that this sport is a national phenomenon."
The announcement comes as the AUSL prepares to launch its second season, with games beginning on June 9.
Led by Commissioner Kim Ng – the former general manager of the Miami Marlins – the AUSL enters its second full season following an inaugural campaign that included 24 sellouts and more than $1 million in merchandise sales. Last year, the AUSL was a barnstorming organization of sorts, with four teams playing games in 10 different cities. This season, they’ll have six teams playing in permanent home markets.
In addition to the Volts in Round Rock, teams will also be based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Durham, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; Chicago and Salt Lake City. The team in Durham – the Carolina Blaze – had the No. 1 overall draft pick and selected Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens. The Volts landed Canady with the second pick.
"I think what the ratings show, what the interest we saw last summer in our tour, is that this sport is resonating with fans across the country," Patricof said. "That momentum from the College World Series – we're very confident is going to spill over into the AUSL. And obviously, as we head into 2028 with the Olympics, there's a tremendous amount of momentum broadly. I think for any pro league to survive, you need to be part of a healthy ecosystem, and I think we're very much big believers of that."
Indeed, viewership in women’s college softball is on the rise. ESPN said it averaged 1.5 million viewers through 14 games for the Women’s College World Series games preceding the final series between Texas and Texas Tech, making it the most-watched pre-finals on record for the WCWS. ESPN said overall viewership is up 33% year over year.
The AUSL this season will have more than 90 games distributed across ESPN platforms, CBS Sports Network and MLB Network. The league also added partners like Sephora and Adidas, the latter of which is their official uniform outfitter. Rawlings this season will hand out its iconic Gold Glove award to the top defender in AUSL.
"Having the games accessible are a big deal, but it's really also getting their promotional, marketing support and editorial support, and we're starting to see that in ways that we really have never seen before for pro softball," Patricof said. "I think that's a huge shift and a huge new development that I think we're excited to benefit from."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB legend Nolan Ryan among new investors in pro softball league AUSL