Utah goes back-to-back — the Talons sweep Chicago for a second straight AUSL crown
Montana Fouts closes it with a complete game, Jadelyn Allchin takes MVP, the AUSL hands out its season awards, travel ball crowns its champions, and the Little League Softball World Series opens in Greenville.
The city-based season ended the way last year's did — with the Talons on top. Plus the league's season hardware, travel ball's summer champions, the Little League World Series on deck, and what's still to come in a busy August. Let's dig in.
Lead Off
The Utah Talons are AUSL champions again. The league's No. 1 seed swept the Chicago Bandits in the best-of-three final at Texas A&M's Davis Diamond, winning 2–1 on Saturday and 6–1 on Sunday to become the first repeat champion in the two-year league's history. Ace Montana Fouts — named 2026 Pitcher of the Year days earlier — sealed it with a complete game, allowing one run on eight hits — a year after throwing a five-hit shutout to clinch the inaugural title in 2025. Outfielder Jadelyn Allchin was named Championship MVP after going 3-for-6 with three runs and three RBIs, including a two-run homer and an RBI double in the clincher. Saturday's opener, carried on ABC, was the first professional softball game ever shown on network television.
Why it matters: Utah's pitching-defense-and-selfless-offense formula is now the league's standard, not a one-year fluke — and the sport just put a championship-series game in front of a broadcast-network audience for the first time. AUSL →
By the Numbers
7 — complete games for Montana Fouts in 2026, an AUSL single-season record. She also set league marks with 62.1 innings, 63 strikeouts and seven wins — then saved her best for last, throwing title-clinching complete games in back-to-back championship series. Source · AUSL / Just Women's Sports.
Scoreboard
Last 7 days — the pro season signs off, travel ball crowns champs
| Final | Note |
|---|---|
| Talons 6–1 Bandits (AUSL Final G2) | Fouts' complete game clinches back-to-back titles; Allchin takes series MVP |
| Talons 2–1 Bandits (AUSL Final G1) | Pro softball's first-ever network-TV game, live on ABC from College Station |
| Bandits 6–5 Cascade (11 inn.) | Longest game in AUSL history; Ailana Agbayani's walk-off single sends Chicago to the final |
| Batbusters 11–6 Bombers Gold (18U) | OC Batbusters-Stith take the Alliance Fastpitch national title in three games in Kokomo, Ind. |
| Beverly Bandits 7–1 BSC Bengals (16U) | Bandits-Lewis/Moran win the PGF 16U Premier crown in Irvine |
This week — 5 to watch
| When | What | Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Aug 2 | Little League Softball World Series opens, Greenville, NC | ESPN networks |
| Sat Aug 8 | AUSL All-Star Cup begins, Rosemont, IL — 45 stars, four weekends | ESPN / MLB Net |
| Sun Aug 9 | Little League Softball World Series final | ABC |
| Now–Sun Aug 2 | PGF Nationals Week Two (14U, 12U & 10U), Huntington Beach | ESPN+ |
| Ongoing | Transfer-portal commitments & Class of 2027 verbals roll on | Extra Inning |
The city-based team season is done, but softball's summer runs deep into August.
Hot Corner
1. The AUSL hands out its season hardware
Before the finals, the league named its 2026 award winners. Chicago's Sami Williams took Hitter of the Year after hitting .427 with records in doubles (12) and RBIs (34); Utah's Montana Fouts earned Pitcher of the Year; Carolina catcher and Texas alum Reese Atwood was Rookie of the Year (.309, 8 HR, 25 RBI); and Utah's Bri Ellis was Comeback Player of the Year. Just Women's Sports →
2. Forty-five stars, one individual crown: the All-Star Cup is set
The AUSL unveiled the 45-player roster for its reimagined All-Star Cup, which opens Aug. 8 at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill. Three teams — redrafted before each series — compete over four weekends, with players earning individual points toward a single champion. Home-run leader Maya Brady, batting champ Skylar Wallace and RBI leader Sami Williams headline; all 12 games air across ESPN platforms, MLB Network and CBS Sports Network. AUSL →
3. The Little League Softball World Series opens in Greenville
Youth softball's biggest week is here. Twelve teams — eight U.S. regional champions and four international qualifiers — open the Little League Softball World Series on Sunday, Aug. 2 at Stallings Stadium in Greenville, N.C., the tournament's longtime home. Host North Carolina (Johnston County LL, Clayton) shares the bracket with Toms River, N.J., which represents the Mid-Atlantic region that captured the 2025 title, plus international entries from Japan, Italy, Puerto Rico and Quebec. All 22 games air across ESPN's linear networks — admission is free — building to the championship on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC. Little League →
4. Batbusters cap a summer-ending run for the Alliance national title
The OC Batbusters-Stith closed the travel season with the 18U crown at the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series in Kokomo, Ind., rallying to beat Texas Bombers Gold in a three-game final (dropping Game 1 in eight innings, then winning 9–6 and 11–6). La Mirada sisters Riley Hilliard (Oklahoma commit) and Reese Hilliard (Stanford) led the charge, with Riley homering twice and driving in five in the clincher. Los Cerritos Community News →
5. PGF Nationals crowns its Premier champions in Irvine
Week One of PGF Nationals wrapped at Bill Barber Park, with the Beverly Bandits-Lewis/Moran taking the 16U Premier title 7–1 over the BSC Bengals-Briggs after a four-run second inning. The tournament's marquee prospect stage now rolls into Week Two (14U and 12U) through the weekend in Huntington Beach. Los Cerritos Community News →
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From the Dugout
Podcast pick: In the Circle (D1Softball) — the crew breaks down Utah's repeat and the season awards, from Fouts' record book to Reese Atwood's rookie year. Takeaway: the Talons don't win with the loudest highlight — they win the inning, over and over, so build your team's summer around clean defense and productive outs, not just the home-run derby. Listen →
Clip of the week: @aj_andrews_ — the first woman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove turns her feed into a defensive clinic: footwork, glove angles and outfield reads broken down rep by rep. Save this one for your next fielding practice.
Worth a read: MLB.com's top performers of 2026 is a tidy season-in-review of the names who defined the AUSL's first city-based year.
Play of the Week
Eleven innings, one swing: Agbayani walks off the longest game in AUSL history
With a championship berth on the line, the Bandits and Portland Cascade pushed to a league-record 11 innings on July 23. Stanford rookie Taryn Kern kept Chicago alive twice, tying the game in the eighth and again with an RBI double in the 11th. Two batters later, Ailana Agbayani lined a walk-off single down the right side for a 6–5 win — the longest game in AUSL history and a ticket to the final.
Source: @theauslofficial · Watch the full clip →
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