USA Softball Sweeps Australia Behind MVP Efforts From OU Softball Alum

She led USA's offense with a .714 batting average.

Team USA's Alyssa Brito was named MVP of the International Series against Australia to start 2026. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The United States Women's National Softball Team dominated a four-game series against Australia over three days at Redlands Softball Park in Brisbane to open the new year.

It was Team USA's first visit to Australia since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Pitching was lights out for the Eagles and didn't let Australia score a single run in four contests. Team USA won by scores of 9-0, 14-0, 7-0 and 8-0. 

Megan Faraimo, Montana Fouts, Kelly Maxwell and Karlyn Pickens combined for 38 strikeouts and scattered just two hits across 21 innings. Fouts led the Eagles with 14 strikeouts, followed by Maxwell (9), Pickens (8) and Faraimo (7).

However, it was a Team USA rookie infielder who took home the International Series Most Valuable Player honors.

Nothing but 𝐖'𝐬 in Brisbane 🔥#USASoftball | #USWNT pic.twitter.com/go91a33tTC

— USA Softball Women's National Team 🇺🇸 (@USASoftballWNT) January 4, 2026

A Debut to Remember

Oklahoma alum Alyssa Brito made her Team USA debut and went 5-for-7 with two home runs, including a grand slam, four runs scored, and eight RBIs.

The Eagles posted a .340 team batting average and combined for 32 hits and 36 RBIs.

Brito led the way a .714 batting average, followed by Hannah Flippen (.556), Aubrey Leach (.500) and Morgan Zerkle (.375). 

The Eagles also blasted five home runs throughout the series, including two apiece from Brito and Sierra Sacco, while Flippen added one.

International debut → 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝑴𝑽𝑷 🇺🇸@alyss_33 | #USASoftball pic.twitter.com/zR1ksjT1SF

— USA Softball Women's National Team 🇺🇸 (@USASoftballWNT) January 3, 2026

Who Else Did Team USA Take Down Under?

The makeup of the Eagles for the four-game series featured a mixture of professional veterans and two collegiate standouts.

The team's two student-athletes were Pickens (Tennessee) and catcher Reese Atwood (Texas).

The rest of the roster makeup included 14 former student-athletes from four athletic conferences: SEC (10), Big Ten (2), Big 12 (2), ACC (1) and Sun Belt (1), who collectively represent 11 NCAA Division I universities.

Five players wore the Red, White, and Blue for the first time in international competition — Atwood, Brito, Pickens, Sacco, and Ana Gold.

Oklahoma led the way with three athletes, followed by Kentucky, Tennessee, and UCLA with two each. Alabama, Arizona, Duke, Florida, Marshall, Mississippi State, Texas, and Utah are also represented with one athlete apiece.

Japan Ends 2025 On Top of Women's Game

Despite winning a gold medal at The World Games and the U-18 Women's World Cup, the United States closed out 2025 ranked No. 2 the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings.

The 2025 rankings featured a record-setting 70 programs, topping the previous record of 67, which was set in December 2018, before the total dropped to 65 in June 2021 following the global COVID-19 pandemic.

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