Portland Cascade
Pro softball arrives in Portland. MLB-backed league. ESPN broadcasts. First pro softball on broadcast TV. Hillsboro Ballpark.
What Is the AUSL?
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League is a professional softball league backed by a strategic investment from Major League Baseball. Six city-based teams. 25-game regular season. Playoffs feature a play-in between the #2 and #3 seeds, top team gets a bye into a best-of-three Championship Series. Under a multi-year ESPN deal, 50 exclusive games air annually, including one marquee game on ABC -- the first time professional softball has aired on US broadcast television.
The Team
Key Players
Paige Sinicki (Oregon) and Sis Bates (Washington) anchor the PNW connections. Sam Landry (Oklahoma, #1 overall pick) and Kelly Maxwell (Oklahoma State, US National Team) bring star power. Built through the Expansion Draft and Allocation Draft on ESPNU.
Head Coach: Tairia Flowers
Olympic gold medalist in softball. Part of the AUSL's veteran leadership group with six Olympic medals, 17 NCAA championships, and 17 All-American honors collectively.
The AUSL
Carolina Blaze (Durham, NC) · Chicago Bandits (Rosemont, IL) · Oklahoma City Spark (OKC) · Portland Cascade (Hillsboro, OR) · Texas Volts (Round Rock, TX) · Utah Talons (Salt Lake City). The Bandits, Blaze, Volts, and Talons played in 2025's touring format. The Cascade and Spark are expansion teams for 2026.
Key Dates
| Date | Event | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Jun 9 | AUSL Opening Day | Away at Carolina Blaze | All 6 teams play on opening day |
| Wed, Jun 18 | vs OKC Spark | Home - Hillsboro Ballpark | Home Opener |
Full 25-game schedule at theausl.com/cascade. Season runs June through late July, followed by the Championship Series.
"Portland has been in the midst of this great women's sports movement that has swept the country and has been making a real push to be the center of women's sports."Kim Ng, AUSL Commissioner · First female GM in MLB history
Ng owns a house in McMinnville and her husband owns Silas Wines in the Willamette Valley. Portland previously hosted the Little League Softball World Series for more than 20 years.