Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) made a historic move this week, signing Tennessee senior pitcher Karlyn Pickens to the first-ever NIL deal with a pro league seen in the NCAA sport.

As part of her contract, Pickens will use social media and participate in other marketing opportunities to promote the newly expanded AUSL as the premier place for NCAA athletes to launch their professional softball careers.

"When I was growing up, I didn't really see [pro] softball… I didn't really think there was an option to go pro," said the Lady Vols star in Wednesday's AUSL announcement. "It's been just a few years, and now everyone's dream is to go to AUSL and continue their softball career."

After kicking off her NCAA tenure as the 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year, the two-time All-American and reigning Softball American Pitcher of the Year posted a 1.17 ERA across her 44 appearances last season, leading the Lady Vols from the circle all the way to the Women's College World Series semifinals in Oklahoma City.

Pickens also shattered records along the way, becoming the first collegiate ace to top Tennessee legend Monica Abbott's fastest NCAA pitch mark of 77mph from 2012 with a 78.2mph throw last March — before breaking her own record by hurling a blistering 79.4mph pitch at the Super Regionals last May.

Making NIL history this week is likely the 22-year-old's first step with the AUSL, which recently locked its six teams into home cities across the US last month — including assigning the Blaze to Pickens's home state of North Carolina.

"I never would've imagined that the pro softball league is what it is now, but it's also come to my home state," said Pickens.

How to watch new AUSL NIL athlete Karlyn Pickens

Pickens will kick off her senior season with No. 4-ranked Tennessee at this week's 2026 NFCA Leadoff Classic, where the Vols' slate includes clashes against No. 23 Liberty and No. 5 Oregon, among others.

Tennessee will begin the invitational against unranked BYU at 7 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage of the tilt streaming on GameChanger.

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.

Oklahoma's Ailana Agbayani celebrates her three-run homer with her team during the 2025 NCAA softball tournament.
Four-time defending champs Oklahoma will face Alabama in this weekend's Super Regionals. (BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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.

Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady celebrates a 2025 NCAA softball postseason win.
2024 National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady led Texas Tech to a program-first Super Regional. (Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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: