Portland,OR Awarded AUSL Pro Softball Team–Expansion Draft Has BIG Names

If you have a daughter, or know someone whose daughter plays competitive softball, they're going to want to head to Portland, Oregon this summer.

  AUSL Awards an Expansion Franchise to Portland, Oregon

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League was founded in 2025, following the explosion of softball, part of the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

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Softball, especially at the collegiate level, is the fastest-growing sport in the US.  Although other sports command bigger audiences, the rate of growth for softball outstrips all other college sports.  In 2024, 1.7 million people watched the NCAA Women's World Series, compared with 1.63 million for the men's baseball. Softball has more viewers than the WNBA as well.

Now the AUSL has announced Portland, Oregon, will be getting a team this summer, the Cascades.  The roster contains some of the biggest names in the college game. The league launched with four teams, and this year will have five, located in Salt Lake City, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Durham North Carolina and Round Rock Texas, just north of Austin.

The expansion roster includes a very familiar face, pitcher Sam Landry who was the #1 pick last year following her stellar career at Oklahoma.  Arguably one of the best pitchers in the game, she gained a cult following for her 'librarian-like' fashion glasses she wore while pitching.

Another member will be former UW and 2024 US National Team Member Sis Bates, who holds virtually every Husky softball offensive record. The roster also includes standout Korbe Otis and Kendra Falby of Florida, Paige Sinicki out of the University of Oregon, and other All-Americans.

The team will play at a beautiful facility, Hillsboro Park, formerly Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro, OR which is 20 miles east of Portland.  The Hillsboro Hops of the High A West Baseball League (which includes the Tri-City Dust Devils) built a brand new stadium at the complex, and The Portland Cascade will play at the 'old' field that will also be used for Portland State softball.

The season in June and July will be 25 games, with the AUSL World Series being televised on ESPN.  Many AUSL games are currently carried on ESPN  and ESPN2.

Hillsboro is also the site of the biggest softball showcase tournament in Oregon, if not the Pacific Northwest, The Valley Invite.  Our daughter has played there multiple times in her club career. The facilities are incredible--we've been there.