The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) threw its very first pitch this weekend, as the four-team pro league ushers in a new era of US softball.

Saturday saw the inaugural season kick off in two sold-out stadiums, as the Bandits recorded the league's first-ever win by defeating the Talons 3-1 in Rosemont, Illinois, before the Volts capped opening day with a 5-1 extra-inning victory over the Blaze in Wichita, Kansas.

"To be able to run for those who walked for us is just incredible, and I'm really excited to be a part of it," said Volts outfielder McKenzie Clark following their historic opening win, acknowledging the sport's trailblazers who fought for and built AUSL from the ground up.

The Volts currently sit atop the AUSL standings with a 2-1 record, followed by a second-place tie between the Talons and Bandits at 1-1. The Blaze narrowly trail with a 1-2 tally.

The traveling seven-week inaugural season will see each team contest 24 games across 10 cities to determine the top two squads who will compete in a best-of-three championship series in late July.

With rosters full of former collegiate standouts, NCAA softball fans will have plenty of favorites to root for, as rookies like Talons infielder and 2025 Collegiate Player of the Year Bri Ellis (Arkansas), Volts catcher Michaela Edenfield (Florida State), Blaze pitcher Emma Lemley (Virginia Tech), and Volts pitcher Sam Landry (Oklahoma) make their professional debuts.

"I was like, 'I was born ready. Give me the ball,'" Landry — the No. 1 overall pick in the first-ever AUSL College Draft — told her coaches prior to starting in the circle in Monday's 3-1 Volts loss to the Blaze.

How to watch the AUSL this season

AUSL is back in action on Tuesday night, with the Talons and Bandits closing out their three-game opening series at 8 PM ET. Live coverage of the game will air on ESPN2.

Teams will then hit the road for their next locales, with the Volts kicking off a series against the Bandits in Sulphur, Louisiana, at 7 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on ESPN2.

Meanwhile, the Talons and Blaze will be en route to Chattanooga, Tennessee, with their series first matchup taking the field at 6:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on MLB.com.

Former Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley made her retirement official on Tuesday, announcing her exit from professional basketball in a piece for The Players Tribune, nearly three years after her final WNBA game in September 2022.

The 14-year league veteran spent the last decade of her career playing for her hometown team, helping lead the Sky to a WNBA championship in 2021 while also picking up three All-Star nods and two WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year awards.

With a career average of 10.9 points per game and 39.4% shooting from beyond the arc, Quigley also claimed four 3-Point Contest victories, winning in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022 to set a record that still stands across the WNBA and NBA.

Chicago's all-time leading scorer for years, Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot — Quigley's wife — usurped her crown just two weeks ago.

"I love knowing that I can look back on my career and say it was really, really good — but it was part of the beginning of something truly great," Quigley wrote.

Explaining that she "never actually meant to do an Irish goodbye," Quigley initially took time off to become a mom, a process that took longer than expected.

Alongside Vandersloot, Quigley welcomed their first child, daughter Jana Christine, on April 8th — an event that spurred her to officially announce her retirement.

"[A]s special as the Sky winning a championship felt, and as proud of a moment as that was, bringing a baby into the world is our accomplishment we're most proud of," said Quigley.

On Tuesday, 2024/25 UEFA Champions League winners Arsenal announced that the Gunners are making the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium their permanent home for all WSL matches on the heels of last season's successful nine-game run in the north London venue.

Arsenal dominated the WSL in attendance during their 2024/25 campaign with a total of 415,000 tickets sold, a 20% increase over the Gunners' 2023/24 season.

Even more, the club averaged crowds of over 34,000 fans for the team's nine matches hosted at the men's side's historic Highbury home.

Both Arsenal's and the league's season-high attendance came in February, when 56,784 fans packed Emirates for the Gunners' North London Derby match against Tottenham.

While all of Arsenal's 11 WSL home games will kick off at Emirates, the reigning European champs will open their UWCL defense at the significantly smaller, 4,500-capacity Meadow Park, with future Champions League matches moving to Highbury should the Gunners advance to the tournament's knockout rounds.

"For us, this is just the beginning, and bringing every WSL match to the Emirates is another step for more supporters to be part of this special journey," said Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers in a club statement. "We'll come back next season, with fire in our hearts, more determined, more ambitious, and more together than ever."

Women's teams are big business, with global sports business conference SPOBIS International reporting this week that average WNBA franchise valuations rose to $90 million in 2024, while NWSL clubs weighed in at $104 million — doubling their 2023 mark.

In May, the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty sold shares at a $450 million valuation, qualifying them as the world's most valuable women's sports team.

SPOBIS's top five includes the WSL's Chelsea FC ($326 million) alongside NWSL side Angel City FC ($250 million), the WNBA's Dallas Wings ($208 million), the Kansas City Current ($182 million), and the Las Vegas Aces ($140 million).

US women's sports teams hold a key advantage in the race to the top of the valuations table, with WNBA and NWSL squads able operate independently from men's systems.

Having separated from their men's side last year, Chelsea FC was the only non-US team to make the list, bolstered by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's $26.6 million purchase of a 10% stake in the 2024/25 WSL champs last month.

Other European teams in line for similar value boosts include OL Lyonnes and the London City Lionesses, both independently owned and operated by Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang.

With many factors contributing to a team's overall value — namely capital, media deals, viewership, ownership structures, and popularity — it's tough to predict the next big thing in women's sports, but these numbers point to a red-hot market across major pro leagues.

US Soccer is heading back to college, announcing Tuesday that the federation is launching a NextGen College Soccer Committee (NCS) to help solidify NCAA soccer's place in the national development system.

The NCS will "aim to integrate the college game more deeply into the broader US Soccer ecosystem, while ensuring it remains a strong, sustainable platform for student-athlete education, player development, and community engagement."

As professional soccer careers become more viable on the women's side, an increasing number of prospects are opting to sign directly with clubs out of high school rather than follow the traditional collegiate track.

Skipping college to go pro is common in other countries, where many clubs run their own academies for promising young players.

To "properly consider the development pathway and progression to college soccer," US Soccer is also working with pre-professional organizations like Elite Clubs National League, Girls Academy, and other US youth leagues.

Members of the NCS include Kansas City Current co-owner Angie Long, NWSL COO Sarah Jones Simmer, and former Duke standout and current MLS executive Ali Curtis.

With Tuesday's announcement, US Soccer appears to be acknowledging the challenges of maintaining NCAA soccer's appeal in the face of increasingly diverse pro opportunities — while also doubling down on the value of the college game.

"College soccer is integral to the fabric and future of our sport in this country," said US Soccer CEO JT Batson. "The individuals joining this group bring unique perspectives and expertise that will help us build a model where college soccer can thrive in a modern, connected system."