Stanford's Taryn Kern Going to Bandits, With a Familiar Face in the Dugout

Taryn Kern is going pro. The Stanford star is the latest Cardinal to jump to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, and yet another sign of what Stanford softball has to offer aspiring athletes. The program has made over 20 NCAA tournament appearances and multiple College World Series trips, but a national title has eluded them. What they are doing is producing professionals.

Selected by the Chicago Bandits with the fifth pick of the second round in the 2026 draft this week, Kern becomes the second player from Stanford to play in the league, joining former Stanford star pitcher Alana Vawter. Vawter made her AUSL debut last season with the Carolina Blaze.

The AUSL started last year, and is the most prominent pro league for softball, backed by Major League Baseball as an investor, and ESPN as a broadcast partner.

Kern also joins the AUSL during a key time for the league. Last season, the league had only four teams that did not play in permanent cities. But for 2026, the league will expand to six teams with each of the teams having a permanent city to call home. Kern figures to be one of the marquee names for the Bandits, in what will be the league's most important season yet.

Playing and starting in 232 games throughout her college career, Kern hit .404 with 23 home runs and 68 RBI in her freshman season at Indiana, earning both Big Ten Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.

Transferring to Stanford following the season, Kern's first year on the Farm in 2024 brought on some statistical challenges. Starting all 67 games, Kern hit .275 with seven home runs and 32 RBI.

But Kern wasted no time in getting back to form in 2025, hitting .348 with 19 home runs and 43 RBI in 55 games, and followed that up with a strong season this year. Currently hitting .388 and leading the Cardinal in both home runs (18) and RBI (43), Kern will be a key bat in the Cardinal's postseason run.

The AUSL season begins on June 9 and ends on July 20, starting very soon after the college season ends. Kern's coach on the Bandits will be a familiar face in Shonda Stanton, who was also her head coach at Indiana, offering some familiarity for this transition period.

For Kern, the next chapter is already being written, but before we skip ahead too far, she still has some work to do in the ACC Softball Championship this week.

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