USA Softball Player of the Year Shares Heartfelt Message

Bri Ellis had no time to dwell on her senior season with Arkansas, let alone her entire collegiate career.

The USA Player of the Year was drafted No. 2 overall in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) College Draft, and with the league starting training camp during the Women’s College World Series (WCWS), Ellis was expected to join her new team, the Talons, as soon as her season was over.

In one of the best seasons in program history, Arkansas was just one game short of making its first-ever WCWS appearance when it lost a devastating 7-4 battle to Ole Miss in Super Regionals.

Ellis’s 2025 Collegiate Career Highlights:

Finished third in the nation in home runs with 26, which was an Arkansas single-season program record
Scored 68 runs on 59 hits and added 72 RBIs.
Ranked first in the NCAA in on-base percentage (.639) and slugging percentage (1.090).

A woman runs off of first base. — May 23, 2025; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks first baseman Bri Ellis (77) leads off of first base during the first inning against the Ole Miss Rebels in game 1 of the Super Regional at Bogle Park. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

But Ellis had no other option but to move forward.

With one day of rest between the end of her collegiate career, heading to Oklahoma City to accept her POY award, and moving on to Chicago for AUSL camp, she was open on TikTok about her battle with plantar fasciitis in both of her feet and fighting back spasms.

There was no slowing down, and Ellis felt the pressure of joining a league full of legends. As a rookie with the Talons, she did her absolute best navigating a new team, learning the ropes of professional ball, and playing where her feet were.

Ellis started 22 games for the first-place Talons and helped them become the first-ever team in league history to win a championship. Little girls across the nation lined up all summer for an opportunity to see the standout.

A woman fields a softball at first base. — Bri Ellis played for the Talons of the AUSL. | AUSL

Now that the season is over, the Arkansas alum has had more time to fully process everything she has been through the last few months and what playing for Arkansas has meant to her. She took to Instagram with a heartfelt message dedicated to fans, her teammates, coaches, and most importantly, herself.

“I will never be able to describe the hurt, the pain, the guilt, the shame, the devastation, the anger, and the disbelief that I felt the day my college career came to an end. Only just now have I been able to gather my feelings about it, and it will take a long time for the hole in my heart to heal,” Ellis said in the post.

"I think back to the postseason, and I can't help but be angry with myself. About all the things I should have done. That I could have done. That I wish I would have done differently. It's been a constant, heavy, and vicious battle in my head with the thought of letting my team down. Our fans. My coaches. The program. The state.

"It's taken me until now to realize that I didn't let anybody down. In fact, I built so many people up. I was a leader, a listener, an inspiration, a friend. I cried, I laughed, I was pissed off, I was filled with more joy than one could imagine. I experienced every single emotion so deeply, with the same passion that l've always had. I was myself. And at the end of it all, that's all I ever wanted. A home that accepted me for who I was, that pushed me far beyond belief, and that was proud of me, no matter how I performed.

"I am proud to say that I gave every ounce of my heart and soul to this team. The fans. The coaches. The program. The state. Never in a million years did I think I would be a part of something so special.

"I am proud of my performance this season, which, if you know me, is hard to say. I will always be my harshest critic, but have learned that it's okay to give yourself a pat on the back once in a while. And while I will never be satisfied, I can look back and smile at what I was able to accomplish- a true, complete, and concrete belief in myself.

"I am proud of who I have become. I have found a sense of self and a purpose in my being. And best of all, this is only the beginning. So while I will miss (almost) every bit of college softball, I am forever grateful to have it as a chapter in my book, one that I will cherish forever.

"Thank you will never be enough to Coach Deifel and the rest of the coaching staff for changing my life. You believed in someone who rarely believed in herself."