Seattle Sports Commission Responds to Speculation About AUSL Team
When Husky Softball Stadium hosted a three-game series between the Volts and the Blaze during the 2025 inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League season, it was an audition for what could be more permanent.
Throughout the 2025 summer, the AUSL took its show on the road, looking for cities to call home, and Seattle made the most of its opportunity, selling out all three games.
Speculation has swirled around one of the AUSL's two expansion teams calling Seattle home, and the Seattle Sports Commission would love it if the Cascade played in Montlake for years to come.
Seattle is a softball town!!
— Chris Hein (@cmhein) July 13, 2025
Incredible weekend hosting @theAUSLofficial at the Greatest Setting in College Softball.
So many amazing @UWAthletics and @UWSoftball staff who helped made it possible. #GoHuskies x #AUSL pic.twitter.com/v7CkAwypOJ
"Seattle has a long and proud history of supporting women’s sports, and we’re always excited when new opportunities emerge that could enhance our region’s sports landscape," a spokesperson for the Seattle Sports Commission shared with Softball On SI via email. "We’re big fans of AUSL and aware of their ongoing market evaluation. We continue to follow the league’s progress and look forward to seeing how the selection process unfolds."
When it comes to where the AUSL teams will be playing in 2026, only two have been revealed. The Oklahoma City Spark will be staying in OKC, and the Bandits will be playing in Chicago, although the exact location has yet to be announced.
In a previous interview with Softball On SI's Allison Smith, league commissioner Kim Ng hinted that the Cascade could play near the water.
"In terms of the Cascade, we hired a great agency out of Chicago, and they helped us think through a huge list of names," Ng told Smith. "Cascade, it depends on which city that name is attached to; it has different meanings. One is for cascading water and free flowing, and the strength of the ocean and water. And then I think in terms of if we go somewhere where it's not on a waterfront, it would have different meanings. So we'll just have to see where it ends up."
Seattle, we love you 🥹💜@UWSoftball pic.twitter.com/UfFvVcAT1v
— AUSL (@theAUSLofficial) July 12, 2025
Since the interview, the AUSL debuted a secondary logo for the team that featured mountains, which led to more speculation because the Cascade Range runs from southern British Columbia through Washington, Oregon, and northern California.
"Seattle’s commitment to women’s sports is deep and enduring, and the response to AUSL has been very encouraging," the spokesperson from the Seattle Sports Commission added. "We've had outstanding communication with AUSL throughout their process, even dating back to when we were planning for the successful series this past summer in the Emerald City.
"Regardless of the league’s initial footprint, AUSL has a strong vision and trajectory, and we look forward to exploring ways to partner as the league grows. We are big fans of this league."
The AUSL plans to reveal the remaining locations on Jan. 13, 2026.
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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+.