There’s still a way to watch Oklahoma softball players in action on the diamond even though the college season is over.
A new professional softball league, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), opens up on Saturday with five former Sooners on rosters, including Sam Landry, Sydney Romero, Hope Trautwein-Valdespino, Keilani Ricketts and Tiare Jennings.
The league includes four teams: the Bandits, Talons, Blaze and Volts. The teams don’t have home bases so will travel to different cities for its 24-game season.
Stops include Seattle; Norman, semont, Illinois; Wichita, Kansas; Sulphur, Louisiana; Omaha, Nebraska; Salt Lake City, Utah; Round Rock, Texas and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The league will be at Love’s Field on June 20-23. The postseason will be in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on July 26-28.
The AUSL plans to become a city-based league in 2026 after touring during its inaugural season.
Opportunities are rare for great softball players, especially when the Olympics did not have the sport for a brief time. Pro softball leagues have failed before, but there’s hope for the AUSL after getting backing from the MLB. AUSL games will even get a national spotlight with all games either being on the ESPN network or on MLB.com.
Opening Day will feature a doubleheader on Saturday. The Talons and Bandits will play at 2 p.m. CT on MLB.com, followed by the Volts vs. Blaze at 6:30 p.m. on MLB Network. You can see the full schedule here.
Every Oklahoma softball player on an AUSL roster
Sam Landry, RHP, Volts
Landry was the No. 1 overall pick in the AUSL’s first draft. In one season at OU this year after transferring from Louisiana, Landry took over as the Sooners’ ace with a 1.94 ERA and 25-6 record. She was named a 2025 NFCA Second-Team All-American and SEC Newcomer of the Year.
Sydney Romero, IF, Talons
Romero is still playing even after coaching at the college level. She also competed in the Tokyo Olympics with Team Mexico. At OU, Romero was a two-time First-Team NFCA All-American, the 2019 Big 12 Player of the Year and finished as the program’s all-time leader in at-bats (853), doubles (58) and sacrifice flies (13).
Hope Trautwein-Valdespino, RHP, Blaze
Trautwein-Valdespino was at OU just one season after spending the first of her career at North Texas. She was still in Norman long enough to be First-Team All-Big 12 Conference in 2022 and won a national title. She had a 22-1 record with a 0.77 ERA as a Sooner.
Keilani Ricketts, LHP, Blaze
Ricketts is a Sooners legend after starting 208 of 220 games between 2010 and 2013. She had a career 133-35 record and 1.26 ERA. Ricketts was the first player in OU history to be named USA Softball Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013.
Tiare Jennings, IF, Volts
Jennings was part of the legendary 2024 Sooner class that won four national titles. She’s one of only 21 players in NCAA Division I history to receive four NFCA First-Team All-America honors. She was also named to the Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team four times.
