Montana Fouts' Bullpen Session Leaves MLB’s Harold Reynolds Stunned
While big news continued to come out of Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings, Athletes Unlimited Softball League ace Montana Fouts and catcher Sharlize Palacios decided to make some noise of their own.
After MLB Network‘s Harold Reynolds hosted a press conference promoting the second season of the AUSL, Fouts and Palacios demonstrated their skills inside the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort media room on Tuesday.
Fouts, the two-time first-team All-American pitcher for Alabama and recent champion with the Talons of the AUSL, left MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds and writers in the room stunned.
Former Alabama star and AUSL pitcher Montana Fouts threw a bullpen in the media room at the MLB Winter Meetingspic.twitter.com/X9gwAaazTf
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 10, 2025
“Imagine this, if Nolan Ryan walked into the ballroom and started throwing a bullpen, what would that look like?” Reynolds said on MLB Network after the bullpen session. And that’s what we did. She started letting it fly, and it was beautiful. She throws a 75 miles per hour pitch. Can you imagine your reaction time? That’s why this sport is so fun to watch.”
Reynolds is no stranger to the softball world, his daughter Ella is a 2027 Oregon commit.
After the bullpen session went viral on Tuesday, Fouts got in on the chatter.
“Have to get it in somehow! Thanks to MLB and Mr. Reynolds for letting me put the arm in a circle!”
Have to get it in somehow! Thanks to MLB and Mr. Reynolds for letting me put the arm in a circle! https://t.co/5d9MpRAulE
— Montana Fouts (@MontanaFouts) December 10, 2025
Fouts is coming off a remarkable pro season after being drafted 35th overall last January. She went 4-2 overall with a 2.21 ERA and 33 strikeouts across 38 innings. In the championship game of the season, she threw a complete game shutout to make league history.
Fouts was drafted with the 35th overall pick in last January’s inaugural AUSL draft and went 3-2 overall with a 2.21 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 31 innings during the league’s inaugural season. She also threw a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts to secure the Talons’ first AUSL championship in July.
Prior to her pro career, she became a household name at Alabama. Named the NFCA Pitcher of the Year in 2021 after throwing an NCAA-best 349 strikeouts and leading the Crimson Tide to the 2021 Women’s College World Series, many little girls were seen around the AUSL championship series wearing her uniform.
She finished her collegiate career in 2023, ranking second in Alabama history in career strikeouts (1,181), third in shutouts (35), fourth in wins (100) and complete games (89), and fifth in ERA (1.66).
AUSL commissioner Kim Ng and infielder Sierra Romero also joined the meetings to celebrate the debut season of the league, which was a huge milestone for the sport, and looked ahead at what’s to come in 2026.
Scenes of @MLBNetwork's Harold
— MLB Network PR (@MLBNetworkPR) December 9, 2025
Reynolds hosting the @theAUSLofficial press conference ahead of their second season, including Montana Fouts, Sharlize Palacios, Sierra Romero and AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng: pic.twitter.com/exBtPr8JtQ
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Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.
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