Ciara Briggs Returns to AUSL, Texas Volts Following Months-Long Health Scare

This year didn't start out the way Texas Volts outfielder Ciara Briggs thought it was going to.

In January 2026, Briggs began experiencing eye pain and blurred vision paired with a severe headache while helping with a group hitting session. Alarmed, Briggs headed to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a brain bleed caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

The abnormal cluster of blood vessels that caused the bleed could not be surgically removed, so instead Briggs underwent radiation treatment that kept her away from the 2026 AUSL season.

"I've been through a lot, and this is by far the hardest thing I've gone through," Briggs said in an Instagram Reel.

Another round, another protect! Ciara Briggs has been protected to lock her up for the 2026 season.@LSUsoftball pic.twitter.com/p7WYPu0GRg
— TEXAS VOLTS | AUSL (@AUSL_Volts) December 2, 2025

The LSU grad participated in the 2025 AUSL season, starting in 19 games and racking up a .320 batting average with seven runs and 16 hits. She was also a participant in the AUSL 2025 All-Star Cup, playing in 10 games and hitting a .333 average.

“It was definitely very challenging mentally, just knowing what I used to do,” Briggs said in a Volts press release. “But I’m trying, and I think it also helped shape my perspective on life and on trying to see the good in all things.”

But after months of appointments, procedures and setbacks, she announced on Sept. 30 to her followers on Instagram that she was cleared to return to the field.

Fighting through tears, she expressed her gratitude to her friends, family and supporters.

"I have so much to be thankful for," Briggs said. "Even through this hard, long journey, there's also been so many great things that have happened. It's brought me closer to my faith, which I'm really grateful for."

SHE'S BACK!!!!! 😭⚡️

OF Ciara Briggs has signed for the 2027 season to return to the Volts
✍️ https://t.co/4E1vRJzq6g pic.twitter.com/R9Y6GcNDTc
— TEXAS VOLTS | AUSL (@AUSL_Volts) October 29, 2026

The Volts weren't absent from her life either. Her teammates rallied around her, and general manager Cat Osterman stayed by her side the entire time.

In her update on Instagram, numerous players commented, showing their support for the softball player. It even reached the page of Paige Sinicki, an AUSL player who made her return to the diamond this year after battling Stage 2 breast cancer.

"So happy for you!" Sinicki wrote.

Now, with a new season brewing, Briggs is excited to get back out on the field in Round Rock, Texas. As she puts on her purple uniform, she's already expecting to get emotional, but after a health scare like the one she's been through, there isn't a single person who would fault her.

“I’m just excited putting on the jersey and just representing something bigger than myself, and I’m just excited to run out on the field,” Briggs said. “I mean, I can see myself crying the day of the first game. Because I’m just an emotional person, and it just will hit me all at once.”

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