MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Announces Plans to Invest in Professional Softball
With the announcement of Kim Ng as the first commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, it is only fitting for Major League Baseball to get on board.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed a variety of topics Tuesday in a conversation at SBJ’s 2025 CAA World Congress of Sports, including the league's plan to invest in professional softball in “in the not-too-distant future.”
“Softball’s been a huge part of our youth development programs," Manfred added. "The biggest determinant of fandom is: Did the kid play as a young person? And it’s really important in women’s sports, because they are often the decider in households as to how money gets spent."
Softball on SI reached out to the AUSL by phone on Wednesday to ask about Manfred's comment and a league spokesperson declined to comment.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league is expected to announce some news about an investment in softball soon.
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) April 22, 2025
"Every place that we're doing baseball, we try to do softball alongside it."#SBJWorldCongress pic.twitter.com/uUyqfOHlSL
Before taking over as commissioner, Ng served as an adviser, reunited her with the sport she grew up playing.
"I love this sport," Ng told ESPN. "I grew up playing softball. From middle school on, I played softball, played in college and have, at some points in my career, worked to try and help strengthen the game. Have always kept my eye on it from afar, as I was in baseball, pursuing other things. But it's been a big part of my life. I have four sisters. Three of us played in college, so it's been a big part of our lives.
"When you talk about this, I think it's part of a movement. I think we're in the middle of this transcendence of women's professional sports, now a part of the mainstream conversation. And that's exciting to me."
The AUSL will kick off its inaugural season on June 7 with four teams competing in a 10-city, 24-game tour.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.