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.

Reigning back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí will soon re-join her Spain teammates at their 2025 Euro training camp, with doctors discharging the star midfielder on Sunday after a brief hospitalization for viral meningitis.

Calling the 27-year-old "a very important player for us," Spain manager Montse Tomé told media on Friday that "The word is definitely scary, but the doctor tells me it is under control."

"Thanks to everyone for the messages I've received and to those who have helped me these past few days," Bonmatí posted to social media. "Fortunately, everything is going well. I hope to be back soon."

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The reigning World Cup champions are still hunting their first-ever Euro title, with national team feeder clubs like FC Barcelona poised to cash in on participating players.

Last week, UEFA upped its club benefits program budget to €9 million ($10.6 million) following a recommendation from the European Club Association — a full doubling of the €4.5 million ($5.3 million) paid to clubs sending players to the 2022 summer tournament.

Under the program, Euro athletes' home clubs will be compensated a daily rate of €985 ($1,159) for releasing the player for the during of the tournament.

With training camp preparation days, clubs across Europe will receive between €19,700 ($23,186) and €36,445 ($42,894) for each player competing at the 2025 Euro, depending on how deep a run that athlete's national team makes in the July competition.

For Bonmatí's home club Barcelona, which sent 18 players to represent eight of the tournament's 16 teams — nearly their entire roster and more than any other club — that means a minimum club payday of €354,600 ($417,346) with a ceiling likely surpassing €600,000 ($706,000).

UEFA's 2025 Euro tournament is already knocking on the door of history, as the European Championship is on track to shatter the competition's overall attendance record — despite not kicking off until next week.

This year's Switzerland-hosted edition has sold more than 570,000 of the 673,000 tickets available as of Thursday.

Given that tally, England's 2022 Euro record of 574,875 is likely to fall in the coming days.

In addition to the tickets already on sale, stadiums will release another 32,000 to accommodate the knockout stages in the coming weeks.

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While Switzerland is poised to claim the Euro's total attendance title by the competition's July 27th finale, England's single-game record crowd of 87,192 — set at the 2022 championship match — will be safe, as no Swiss venue matches the capacity of London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

The 2025 Euro final will be a much more elite affair, as only 34,250 seats are available at Basel's St. Jakob-Park — the largest of the tournament's eight venues.

That said, this summer's European Championship will have more eyes on it than ever before, and not just from the stands.

The 2022 edition shattered viewership records worldwide, but the 2025 Euro has a chance to level up even more, as the tournament has seen its global broadcast footprint expand — particularly in the US.

UEFA inked a media deal with Fox Sports in late May, ensuring that audiences Stateside will have live access to at least 20 of the Euro's 31 matches next month.

While the overall tournament chases new attendance and viewership records, the 16 teams bound for Switzerland will be battling toward the 2025 Euro trophy when the competition kicks off next Wednesday.

The 2025 FIBA AmeriCup 5×5 basketball tournament tips off Saturday in Santiago, Chile, where a youthful Team USA will battle nine other countries from North and South America for both this summer's trophy and a ticket to the 2026 FIBA World Cup.

After falling to reigning champions Brazil in 2023, Team USA will aim to avenge the loss by winning a fifth all-time gold medal at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup final on July 6th.

Led by Duke head coach Kara Lawson, this 12-player US squad follows the federation playbook by tapping top college talent, with the NCAA's finest looking to gain international experience and hone their skills against pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, who leads Brazil's AmeriCup roster.

Full of familiar faces, the USA AmeriCup lineups includes March Madness stars Olivia Miles (TCU), Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Raegan Beers (Oklahoma), and Joyce Edwards (South Carolina).

Also taking the FIBA court for Team USA are NCAA standouts Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA), Kennedy Smith (USC), Hannah Stuelke (Iowa), and Grace Vanslooten (Michigan State).

"[W]e haven't seen the level of physicality and experience we're going to see down there," Lawson said this week. "So that remains to be seen if we're going to be able to impose that athletic, physical play. But there's no doubt we're going to try."

How to watch Team USA at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup

The 2025 FIBA AmeriCup group stage runs from Saturday through Wednesday, with the knockouts tipping off on July 4th in a run-up to the July 6th championship game.

Team USA will open their AmeriCup campaign against hosts Chile at 8:25 PM ET on Saturday, then face Colombia at 8:10 PM ET on Sunday.

Arguably the toughest Group B contest for the US will be their Monday matchup against Puerto Rico at 8:10 PM ET, before the collegiate stars finish up the tournament's group play against Mexico at 2:10 PM ET on Wednesday.

All 2025 FIBA AmeriCup games will stream live on Courtside 1891.

Three-time 1,500-meter Olympic gold medalist Faith Kipyegon fell just short of making running history on Thursday, as the middle-distance star clocked a time of 4:06.42 in her attempt to become the first woman to break the four-minute mile.

"It was the first trial. I have proven that it's possible and it's only a matter of time. I think it will come to our way," said Kipyegon following Thursday's race. "If it's not me, it will be somebody else."

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Still the fastest mile-runner of any woman in history, the Kenyan icon did beat her own previous world record of 4:07.64 by 1.22 seconds, though the time won't count as a new record as the race came during Nike's unofficial Breaking4 event.

With full support from the sportswear giant — the 31-year-old's partner for 16 years — Kipyegon had the benefit of multiple pace-setters, as well as an aerodynamic suit, 3D-printed Nike FlyWeb sports bra, and spiked shoes made specifically for the much-hyped four-minute mile attempt at Paris's Stade Charléty.

"Faith didn't just make history, she proved the future of sport is faster, stronger, and more inclusive than ever," noted Nike president Amy Montagne after Kipyegon's race.

"It was tough, but I am so proud of what I've done, and I'm going to keep on trying, dreaming and pursing big goals," said Kipyegon. "I want to show the world, and especially women, that you have to dare to try."