Who Should Go First in the AUSL Expansion and Allocation Draft
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is gearing up for its second season and will kickstart the action on Monday night with a two-part live draft process to support competitive balance.
With the announcement of two expansion teams, over 100 athletes declared for the draft and are eligible to be selected by the six teams: the Bandits, Blaze, Cascade, Spark, Talons, and Volts.
While the original four teams, Bandits, Blaze, Talons, and Volts, got to project five players, the athletes available in the allocation pool are a mix of veterans, rookies, newcomers from other professional leagues, and stars from past Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball seasons.
The Expansion Draft is designed to allow the two new franchises, the Spark and Cascade, to build the foundation of their roster by selecting from unprotected players currently affiliated with existing AUSL teams.
Following the Expansion Draft, the AUSL will hold the Allocation Draft, during which all six teams may select players not currently on AUSL rosters.
A coin toss was held on Monday afternoon to decide which of the two expansion teams would get the overall picks, and it was determined that the Spark has the first pick in the expansion draft, followed by the Cascade with the second selection.
The Cascade will then have the first pick in the Allocation Draft, followed by the Spark and the original four teams.
the pick order has been determined! 🚨@ausl_spark won the coin toss and elected to have the first pick in the Expansion Draft. @AUSL_Cascade will then have the first pick in the Allocation Draft!
— AUSL (@theAUSLofficial) December 1, 2025
tune in tonight at 7pm ET on ESPNU! 📺 pic.twitter.com/PtJUwOmpMg
It all begins on ESPNU at 7 p.m. ET Monday night, but here’s a look at who the Spark and Cascade might take in the first rounds.
Who should the Spark Draft No.1?
Sam Landry, Pitcher
The Spark has to build its roster from scratch and pitching is key. Because there aren't many pitchers available in the expansion draft, it makes sense that a former Sooner pitcher would be off the board first.
In addition to her position, Landry also had the the second-highest selling jersey in the league's inaugural season.
Who should the Cascade Draft No.1?
Jocelyn Alo, Utility
The home run queen is returning to Athletes Unlimited after spending a short stint in the league during the Athletes Unlimited X (AUX) series in 2024, before she continued summer play with the Oklahoma City Spark. Alo was one of the core members of the team during its inception, and it would be shocking if they didn’t pick up one of the best hitters in the game.
Just like her magnificent collegiate career at Oklahoma, where she ended as the NCAA all-time leader in home runs (122), slugging percentage (.987), and total bases (761), Alo made history in her AUX season. She secured second place in the final league standings when she amassed 1,338 leaderboard points, finishing just six points behind Bubba Nickes for the AUX title. That was the closest finish in any Athletes Unlimited season.
Beginning its journey in the AUSL with an offensive threat would make a huge statement.
Kathryn Sandercock, Pitcher
Though she didn’t play during the inaugural AUSL season, Sandercock has been fierce during previous All-Star Cup seasons. She spent two seasons with the league, amassing a 2.29 ERA in 25 appearances and seven saves before competing in a pro league in Japan. In 2025, her ERA was an excellent 1.08 across 51.2 innings.
The Florida State standout and 2023 ACC Pitcher of the Year is an arm anyone would want in their bullpen, especially the Cascade for its debut season.
AUSL Draft Rules
- The Spark and Cascade will select from the pool of unprotected players using a snake format.
- The expansion teams will select five players (no more than three from any one team in this round)
- There may be up to three additional rounds, and original teams can add a player to their protected lists before each round.
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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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