Georgina Corrick is grateful for the opportunity to be playing professional softball, even though it comes so soon after the conclusion of the NCAA season.

A pitcher who spent her collegiate career at the University of South Florida, Corrick’s NCAA career only ended in May. The team lost in its regional to both Florida State and Mississippi State, both performances that Corrick says didn’t go the way she wanted. Admittedly, there was “a little bit too much” on her plate.

One month later she’s in San Diego with AUX Softball, competing in the shortened three-series competition. Crediting her trainers for helping her properly recover, she’s been excited to get to experience Athletes Unlimited — even if for a short period of time.

Following the AUX season, Corrick will take a very limited amount of time before heading overseas to play with the Great Britain national team. She won’t be back until early August, which would have meant arriving late for the full third season of Athletes Unlimited.

“At the end of the day, I really just wanted to be here and be a part of AU in general,” Corrick told Just Women’s Sports. “And if AUX was the only season I’d really be able to compete, I absolutely wanted to do that.”

Making her professional debut, @USFSoftball’s Georgina Corrick gets the start in the circle for #AUX opening day.

The NFCA D1 Pitcher of the Year, she’s coming off a spectacular season leading the country in ERA, shutouts, strikeouts and wins.@georgecorrick | @AUProSports pic.twitter.com/IimzbgzoTA

— Savanna Collins (@savannaecollins) June 13, 2022

There’s also career longevity to consider, as well as not wanting to overburden herself this summer.

“It’s just one of those things that for the time and what kind of I knew my limitations were, it just didn’t make a lot of sense,” she said. “If I want to keep playing until 2028 for the next Olympics — which I really do — I probably can’t keep pushing myself to do those insane amounts of workloads.”

While softball has yet to be admitted to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, many players — including NCAA and newly-minted Women’s Professional Fastpitch star Jocelyn Alo — have been vocal about wanting to play.

Despite the short rest and admitted nerves, Corrick has been tearing it up in the circle through two weeks of play.

Through six appearances and 16 innings pitched, the ace has a 1.68 ERA — the second best amongst all pitchers behind Danielle O’Toole (1.62) — and has only allowed four earned runs. In a league that has a plethora of sluggers and high-powered scoring, that’s not too bad for a rookie.

Consider this: last year’s champion, Aleshia Ocasio, has given up 11 earned runs and has a 4.30 ERA through six appearances and 19 innings pitched. Haylie Wagner, with four appearances and 14 innings pitched, has a 3.34 ERA with seven earned runs allowed.

That doesn’t mean the prospect of Athletes Unlimited wasn’t overwhelming.

“Now I’m playing against the lineup where my nine batters that I’m facing are the nine best batters in the country,” said Corrick. “It’s a very overwhelming concept sometimes to take as a pitcher. I can’t look too far forward.

“These are some of the best hitters in the nation. People you’re expected to give up hits, you’re expected to give up walks and runs. No one’s gonna hold that against you.”

And, she says, Athletes Unlimited keeps the players honest.

“That’s the coolest thing I’ve noticed about here,” Corrick said. “No one’s picking sides. No one’s calling anything out. Because at the end of the day, the girl that you’re picking might be your teammate next week, or she might be your captain.”

Congratulations to @USFSoftball's Georgina Corrick, #USFalum, @SoftbalAmerica NCAA Pitcher of the Year and Academic All-American Team Member of the Year for division I softball. https://t.co/UfHvozw5FR #GoBulls! #GoBulls! pic.twitter.com/dS70t526ff

— USF Alumni Association (@USFalumniAssn) June 16, 2022

Those who followed Corrick through college aren’t surprised by her success so far with Athletes Unlimited. During her senior season, Corrick had an astounding 0.51 ERA to lead the NCAA while amassing 37 wins and only allowing 20 earned runs innearly 275 innings pitched. With one of the highest workloads in all of Division I, she held strong with 418 strikeouts.

Now the school’s all-time leader in strikeouts, she was one of three finalists for USA Softball’s College Softball Player of the Year award that was eventually given to Alo.

Making the transition from college to the pros is something that Corrick was excited about, but she’s been cognizant of making sure she remains true to who she is beyond all of the accolades. She didn’t want to have to reinvent herself in order to try to fit in, and two weeks in, it’s been working.

“I’m someone who a lot of people will tell me who I am, you know, the awards, the accolades, like, ‘this is Georgina Corrick, she is blank, blank, blank,’” Corrick said. “As opposed to, ‘this is George, this is who she is.’

“I think my team this year, this week, especially if you were able to like see in the dugout and see what we were doing, we’re having so much fun. And that’s kind of what my brand is. That’s what my personality is. I want them to know who I am as a person.”

The battle for continental soccer glory continues on Wednesday, as the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC land in Mexico for the 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals.

After advancing past last fall's group-stage play, both NWSL sides now face Liga MX standouts in the knockout rounds with a ticket to Saturday's Champions Cup Final on the line.

The back-to-back semifinals will take place on Wednesday in Nuevo León, Mexico, with live coverage streaming on Paramount+:

• Club América vs. Gotham FC, 7:30 PM ET: Both the Bats and this year's Liga MX regular season champions are looking to bounce back, as Gotham attempts to shake off a recent NWSL skid while América seeks redemption after stumbling in their season-ending league tournament earlier this month.

• Tigres UANL vs. Portland Thorns, 10:30 PM ET: Expect a high-energy clash between the three-time NWSL champs and six-time Liga MX title-winners, with the Thorns coming off a five-match undefeated streak and the Tigres shooting to impress in front of their home crowd at Estadio Universitario.

It's not just hardware and continental bragging rights on the line, though.

Saturday's 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup victors will also earn automatic qualification into FIFA's 2026 Champions Cup — a six-team tournament between confederation winners — and the first-ever Club World Cup, which will kick off in 2028.

After a first-round weekend of pitcher's duels and red-hot bats, the 2025 NCAA softball tournament's best-of-three Super Regionals field is set — and it's missing four of the 16 national seeds.

No. 10 LSU fell on Saturday after two upset losses to unseeded SE Louisiana, before Sunday saw No. 13 Arizona and No. 14 Duke follow suit while unseeded Ole Miss, Georgia, and Nebraska all punched second-round tickets.

Eventually ousting SE Louisiana in the winners' bracket to advance to their first Super Regionals in 11 years, the Huskers rode in on the back of two-time All-American pitcher Jordy Bahl, with the Oklahoma transfer throwing 12 innings and hitting four home runs across Nebraska's three Regional games.

Elsewhere, unseeded Liberty booked a program-first trip to the Supers by eliminating top-seed Texas A&M — the first time the NCAA bracket's overall No. 1 seed failed to advance from Regionals.

Should they similarly bounce No. 16 Oregon this weekend, Liberty will become just the second mid-major team to make the Women's College World Series (WCWS) since 2014, joining James Madison's 2021 Cinderella run.

Rounding out the rest of the Super Regional round's 16 teams are No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 Florida State, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Tennessee, and No. 8 South Carolina, as well as No. 9 UCLA, No. 11 Clemson, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 15 Alabama, and the aforementioned No. 16 Ducks.

Super Regional weekend to feature blockbuster matchups

The 16 contenders will battle head-to-head for eight available WCWS berths, with the four-time defending champion Sooners now leading the field.

To advance, however, Oklahoma must first outlast Alabama, a team with which the Sooners have a long, contentious postseason history — the pair have faced off in five of the last 12 NCAA tournaments.

After Oklahoma bounced Alabama from the 2019 WCWS semifinals — the last time the pair squared off before becoming SEC rivals — the Tide enacted revenge by narrowly beating the Sooners in April's conference play, teeing up a tense weekend Super Regional series.

After narrowly missing this weekend's hosting rights as the No. 9 seed — UCLA's lowest seeding since 2016 — the Bruins proved why they are the sport's winningest program, run-ruling ever Regional game while allowing just two runs all weekend.

The 12-time champions will now travel to Gamecock territory, where No. 8 South Carolina will try to boost the Bruins and book their first WCWS ticket in 28 years.

Powerhouses still rule the diamond, but parity has never been higher in college softball, with this year's NCAA tournament already delivering whiplash results.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA softball Super Regionals

The best-of three NCAA softball Super Regionals kick off on Thursday and run through the weekend, with possible winner-take-all clashes finalizing the WCWS slate on Sunday.

First games are as follows:

• No. 12 Texas Tech at No. 5 Florida State, 7 PM ET on Thursday (ESPN2)
• No. 11 Clemson at No. 6 Texas, 9 PM ET on Thursday (ESPN2)
• Georgia at No. 3 Florida, 11 AM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• No. 9 UCLA at No. 8 South Carolina, 1 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• No. 15 Alabama at No. 2 Oklahoma, 5 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• Nebraska at No. 7 Tennessee, 7 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• Ole Miss at No. 4 Arkansas, 8 PM ET on Friday (ESPNU)
• Liberty at No. 16 Oregon, 10 PM ET on Friday (ESPNU)

With the 2025 PWHL Finals in full swing and new franchises on the horizon, the league rolled out a detailed expansion plan to build its two new teams on Monday.

The expansion process will see 24 current PWHL players — four from each of the six founding teams — join either Vancouver or Seattle next month.

To be eligible for selection, athletes must be either under contract or have rights held by a current team for the 2025/26 season. 

Each original team can protect three eligible athletes at the outset, with squads reserving the right to protect one additional player should the incoming clubs select two players off the same roster.

In the lead-up to June 9th's expansion draft, Vancouver and Seattle will have five days to sign up to five unprotected players each.

After that window closes, Seattle and Vancouver will increase their rosters to a required total of 12 players via expansion draft selections, with the number of picks for each team determined by how many athletes the new franchises choose to sign.

Finally, the West Coast squads will then complete their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the PWHL's June 24th entry draft.

With such a broad unprotected player pool, about half of the PWHL's current athletes — including some of its brightest stars — will be up for grabs, ensuring a very different landscape when the league takes the ice for its third season.

Team USA hockey titan Hilary Knight is hanging up her international skates, with the record-10-time world champion announcing Tuesday that the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy, will be her fifth and final Olympic run.

"It's time," Knight told USA Today. "I'm at peace. I just have this feeling that it’s time."

Going out on her own terms is top-of-mind for the USA hockey great, with Knight acknowledging "That is such a privilege that only a handful of competitors get."

Making her national team debut at 17, the now-35-year-old is one of the sport's most decorated athletes, winning Olympic gold in 2018 to complement three silver medals in 2010, 2014, and 2022.

Just last month, Knight led the US to victory at the IIHF Women's World Championship, and currently sits as the tournament's all-time leader in goals (67), points (120), and assists (50).

Despite her impending step off the international ice, Knight, who currently captains the PWHL's Boston Fleet, plans to continue playing for the second-year league — a pro venture she helped bring to life in 2023.

"I understood what the sport gave me and I wanted to give that to other people," Knight said. "Obviously, there's tons of work that always needs to be done, but I think we now have a career path."