Athletes Unlimited softball is back, with the league entering its third five-week season Friday.

Defending champion Aleshia Ocasio is back in Rosemont, Illinois, as is reigning AUX champion Danielle O’Toole. Other familiar faces will also grace the field as all look to claim the third Athletes Unlimited softball crown.

The league as a whole is trending upward, with an increase in viewership and social engagement following the AUX season.

Just Women’s Sports has three players to watch as the season kicks off.

Danielle O’Toole

O’Toole enters the season as one of the favorites to take the crown after amassing 1,436 points during the shortened AUX season to take that title. The left-handed pitcher had the lowest ERA of the AUX season at 1.69 through 28 innings pitched.

She was the only pitcher with an ERA under 2.00, although Georgina Corrick managed a 2.14 ERA across 39 innings pitched coming off a loaded NCAA season.

The last full season didn’t go as well for O’Toole, who amassed just 680 leaderboard points in 2021 while managing a rotator cuff injury that she carried with her through the Tokyo Olympics while playing for Team Mexico. But she’s back this summer, healed and showcasing just what she’s capable of with her AUX win.

“I was in a really bad place, and I worked really hard to try to be able to get back to a place where I could live every day and like and be free and be happy,” she said following the AUX season. “I was not trying to come out and win [the title]. I looked at AUX as a unique opportunity to get better and an opportunity to prepare for the regular AU champ season. I wasn’t planning on doing as well as I did.”

O’Toole also appears to be entering her final professional softball season, with the pitcher posting on Instagram a photo with the caption: “The calm before the last storm.”

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Dejah Mulipola

Dejah Mulipola was one of the favorites to win the AUX crown, winning game MVP four times and holding the lead in the standings after the first week of action. She finished in third with 1,368 leaderboard points.

While Mulipola couldn’t get it done in the shortened season, she’s showing signs of improvement from her rookie season in 2021. After posting 13 hits last season, she equaled that in a shorter amount of time at AUX while scoring a league-leading 14 runs in San Diego. She also tied for the league lead with 11 RBIs – three more than she had last season.

Mulipola’s .625 slugging percentage during the shortened season was only bested by Rachel Garcia’s .667. No other batter finished above .600.

The catcher’s bat stayed hot at the World Games for Team USA, where she notched eight hits in 13 at-bats through five games. With five RBI, four runs scored, and a .682 slugging percentage, she helped the United States score a gold medal and revenge from last year’s Olympics, beating Japan 3-2 in the final.

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For her performance at the plate, Mulipola was named to the All-World Team alongside fellow AU pro Haylie McCleney, who was named MVP of the tournament. Mulipola was just as good behind the plate, as she was named the best catcher of the tournament.

Sis Bates

Sis Bates enters her second AU softball season as one of the best defensive players in the game. She finished ninth last season, her first in the pros after a standout career at the University of Washington.

During the AUX season a little over a month ago, Bates recorded 21 putouts and a .952 fielding percentage in 12 games. In all but three games, her fielding percentage was perfect. Twice, she featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays for her efforts on defense. At the end of the two weeks, she was named the league’s Defensive MVP.

A walking highlight reel 🎞

Sis Bates has been INSANE throughout this AUX Softball season 🥎#AUX | #AUSB pic.twitter.com/I2z0cmbpfO

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) June 22, 2022

“It was so awesome,” Bates told Softball America. “I hadn’t been able to play since the last AU (season). This was my first year coaching, which was a little different for me. Being able to put on a uniform again and do what I love was the best experience.”

For as good as she is at taking control of the ball, she’s pretty good at hitting it too. She recorded nine hits and four runs during the AUX season. During the 2021 season, she registered 14 hits and tied for the league lead with five doubles. No matter where she is on the field, Bates is a threat.

The third season of Athletes Unlimited softball gets underway at 7 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN2.

The NWSL is expanding its footprint across ESPN, with the broadcaster signing on to carry 16 additional regular-season games in both the 2026 and 2027 seasons, upping the platform's total to 33 matches per year.

ESPN will also introduce a season-long "Match of the Week" centerpiece series, as well as live coverage of NWSL Decision Day, when eight concurrent matches will close out the season on the same day. 

"The NWSL showcases some of the best athletes in the world," ESPN EVP of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant said in a press release. "We are proud to increase our commitment on ABC and ESPN, and to further elevate women's sports and the athlete stories."

This media rights extension builds on the league's ongoing blockbuster four-year, $240 million TV deal with ESPN, adding inventory for the final two seasons of the November 2023 agreement.

The deal expansion comes in light of the league's significant growth this season, with the NWSL seeing gains across both attendance and viewership, including a 72% year-over-year ratings rise on ESPN.

"This supplemental agreement underscores the growing demand for women's soccer and ensures our players and clubs receive the visibility they deserve on some of the most prominent sports platforms," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a statement.

The 2025 WNBA season is over for Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, but the 23-year-old star is still making headlines, with Reebok set to drop her signature Angel Reese 1 sneakers on Thursday.

The Angel Reese 1 is a cornerstone of Reebok's re-entry into the basketball market, with the sportswear giant engineering the signature shoe for on-court performance by including features like responsive cushioning and added upper support.

Inspired by the brand's classic Mobius line, the shoes will hit the shelves in three colorways — an iridescent white "Diamond Dust," a bold pink "Mebounds," and a black and white "Receipts Ready" — with Reese's personal logo incorporated into the design.

Reese first signed with Reebok as an NIL athlete at LSU in 2023, a little over six months after winning the NCAA championship with the Tigers.

This week's rollout follows the July sneak peek of the signature sneakers worn by Reese on the cover of NBA 2K26's WNBA Edition.

"This isn't just a shoe, it's my style, my story, and my stamp on the game," Reese said in Reebok's press release. "I wanted to design a basketball shoe that elevates performance, innovation, style, and creative expression, all at once."

"Reebok and I built something that's true to who I am, and I hope it pushes others to stand in their power too."

How to buy the Angel Reese 1 Reebok sneakers

All three colorways of the Angel Reese 1 sneakers will be available for a retail price of $120 beginning at 10 AM ET on Thursday at Reebok.com as well as in select stores.

No. 5 New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart isn't letting Sunday's left knee knock take her off the 2025 WNBA Playoffs court, with the forward planning to compete in Game 2 against the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night.

An emotional Stewart finished Game 1 on the bench, going down with a knee injury in overtime of the Liberty's 76-69 upset win over the Mercury on Sunday.

"What I felt in that moment scared me more than anything," Stewart told reporters on Wednesday morning.

A Monday MRI revealed a sprained MCL, and though the two-time WNBA MVP did not practice on Tuesday, she participated in the team's Wednesday shootaround and said her pain had diminished to a three out of 10.

"[As long as] I don't wake up from my nap and feel like s—t," said Stewart, "I'm willing to take that [chance of re-injury] because I want to be out with my team, and they told me that structurally everything looks OK."

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Even when the game-day status for Stewart was still unknown, New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello promised that the defending champions would give their star "as much time as we can."

"We know what's at stake," Brondello told reporters on Tuesday. "We don't want to go back to Phoenix [for Game 3], but they're going to come in hungry."

Stewart echoed that sentiment on Wednesday morning, saying "We want to finish it here. Not having to go back to Phoenix is our main priority."

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury vs. New York Liberty in Game 2

No. 5 New York will look to oust No. 4 Phoenix from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs with a first-round sweep on Wednesday night, when the Liberty host the Mercury for Game 2 at 8 PM ET.

The matchup will air live on ESPN.

Star sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is reaching new heights, setting a new US record for the 400-meter race in the event's Tuesday semifinals at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist finished the flat event in 48.29 seconds, shaving more than 0.40 seconds off the previous US record of 48.70 seconds set by track legend Sanya Richards-Ross in 2006.

Both her personal best and the fastest time in the world for that event this year, McLaughlin-Levrone's performance also makes her the seventh-fastest woman of all time in the 400-meter dash — elevating expectations that she could challenge the long-standing world record of 47.60 seconds, set by then-East German sprinter Marita Koch in 1985.

Known for her dominance in the 400-meter hurdles, the 26-year-old made the decision to focus on the flat 400-meter event ahead of this year's competition. 

"I definitely wasn't expecting that time," she said afterwards. "It just shows the fitness is there. I'm excited for the finals and grateful to have taken down a record by an amazing woman."

How to watch McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400-meter final

McLaughlin-Levrone will take aim at the 2025 World Athletics Championships' 400-meter podium — and, perhaps, another record time — during the event's final on Thursday.

The US star will race against 2024 Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino and silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser when the final begins at 9:24 AM ET.

Live coverage will air on USA Network.