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AUX Softball: Top players clash in new two-week competition

Aleshia Ocasio returns for AUX after winning the AU Softball title last year. (Jade Hewitt/Athletes Unlimited)

Anyone looking to maintain their softball fix need look no further than AUX Softball, a condensed, three-series season that starts June 13.

On the heels of the Women’s College World Series, the new Athletes Unlimited softball tournament features some of the biggest names in softball. A total of 42 players have signed on for the season, including 2021 Athletes Unlimited champion Aleshia Ocasio.

What is it?

AUX is a new, two-week competition taking place June 13-26 in San Diego, Calif.

How does the points system work?

The rankings work the same way as in regular Athletes Unlimited seasons. Players will accumulate points for offensive and defensive plays as well as team wins. The players at the top of the leaderboard after each three-team, six-game series will then draft new teams. The leader at the end of the three series will be crowned champion.

Who is playing?

The most notable name on the roster, Aleshia Ocasio made a splash in her second AU season, winning the title with 2,096 points – nearly 400 more than the next closest player – and improving on her 11th-place finish from the year before.

The pitcher racked up 784 points on 196 total outs and allowed only 18 runs in a league-high 13 games pitched. Across 66 innings, Ocasio recorded 55 strikeouts and four complete games en route to a 2.32 ERA. With eight MVP honors on the season, she finished just one behind the record set by 2020 champion Cat Osterman.

Amanda Chidester, the runner-up in 2021, and Carrie Eberle, who placed fourth, are also heading to San Diego for AUX, and will serve as team captains for the first series alongside Ocasio.

In her second AU season, Chidester increased her points total from 1,030 (good for 32nd place in 2021) to 1,714. Eberle was named 2021 Rookie of the Year, thriving at the pro level after a successful college career at Oklahoma State.

Of the 13 college athletes drafted by Athletes Unlimited in early May, just three will participate in AUX: Maggie Balint, Georgina Corrick and Danielle Gibson.

Corrick, a pitcher out of South Florida, led the Bulls to the first round of the NCAA tournament this year and was named a finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year award, won by Oklahoma slugger Jocelyn Alo. With a 28-5 record this season, Corrick had the most wins of any pitcher in the NCAA. She also set the program record — and led the country — with 20 shutouts while managing an impressive 0.53 ERA.

Balint, fresh off of her senior season at San Diego State, is also poised to be a threat in the circle. She began her freshman year at Oregon, where she was named to the Pac-12 all-freshman team and Pac-12 first team and was a finalist for NFCA National Freshman of the Year and USA Softball Player of the Year awards. This past season was Balint’s best with the Aztecs. In 41 appearances and 185 innings pitched, she went 18-6 with a 2.12 ERA.

Gibson, one of four finalists for the 2022 Honda Sport Award for softball, brings experience in the infield and at the plate. At Arkansas this season, she drove in 70 runs while posting a .445 batting average. The first-team NFCA All-American led the Razorbacks to the Super Regionals of the NCAA softball tournament, where they lost to eventual WCWS runner-up Texas.

When is it, and how do I watch?

As part of a recent broadcasting deal with ESPN, all AUX games will be aired on ESPN’s family of networks.

Series 1

Monday, June 13

  • Game 1 @ 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU
  • Game 2 @ 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

Tuesday, June 14

  • Game 3 @ 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU
  • Game 4 @ 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU

Wednesday, June 15

  • Game 5 @ 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Game 6 @ 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Series 2

Saturday, June 18

  • Game 7 @ 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU
  • Game 8 @ 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU

Sunday, June 19

  • Game 9 @ 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU
  • Game 10 @ 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU

Monday, June 20

  • Game 11 @ 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Game 12 @ 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Series 3

  • Thursday, June 23
    • Game 13 @ 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU
    • Game 14 @ 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU
  •  Friday, June 24
    • Game 15 @ 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU
    • Game 16 @ 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU
  •  Saturday, June 25
    • Game 17 @ 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU
    • Game 18 @ 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU

Emma Hruby is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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