A flashy system is bringing increased spotlight to a pro softball league hoping to gain footing in its second season. The MLB-backed Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), run by former Marlins GM Kim Ng, announces the players in its annual college draft by handing future draftees “golden tickets” during or after their NCAA games.
This ticket ensures that players will be selected by one of the six AUSL teams in the May draft.
This year, AUSL handed 17 NCAA players golden tickets. Million-dollar Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady received the first at a March 27 home game, with Red Raiders alum Patrick Mahomes making the announcement.
Athletes Unlimited VP Cheri Kempf originated the golden-ticket system. She tells Front Office Sports that she wanted to give athletes individualized moments before getting drafted, since players will not attend the in-person event in Nashville amid the college season.
“The players are present. Their fans are present. Their teammates are there,” Kempf says of the approach. “Whereas when we were doing drafts in the past, the players might not even be watching the draft—they found out through the grapevine after it all happened. The moment was gone on them.”
While all of the 2025 AUSL College Draft selections signed with teams (Kempf expects 2026 picks to do the same), pro softball drafts have long been an afterthought.
Before last year’s inaugural AUSL season, Athletes Unlimited ran a pro softball league that competed directly with the now-defunct Women’s Pro Fastpitch in 2022 and 2023. Athletes were drafted by both leagues within weeks of each other, often not competing for the teams that selected them because they had to pick one over the other.
AUSL hopes to increase the college draft’s legitimacy and intrigue by tapping existing fans of NCAA softball, which remains the sport’s largest platform in the U.S. Part of that effort comes from social media.
An AUSL spokesperson tells FOS that “golden-ticket moments” have generated 14 million impressions for the league’s social media accounts this season, up 67% from its campaign last season. Since Canady received the first ticket, AUSL social media accounts have gained nearly 14,000 followers.
Golden tickets are not a draft official declaration—before the NCAA season begins, Ng and AUSL general managers coordinate with teams to determine if players of interest want to be considered for the draft.
Kempf says that college softball players face murky rules about declaring for pro softball drafts. Currently, she says players “cannot declare their intention to go pro right now,” but there are also no explicit guidelines about draft declaration in the sport. The golden ticket system, she says, is a way around jeopardizing athletes’ eligibility without concrete guidelines in place. The National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association, which advises on NCAA rules, did not respond to an FOS inquiry.
Regardless of the uncertainty, Kempf says that AUSL has had a positive experience coordinating golden-ticket moments with college coaches, athletic directors, and gameday operations.
“The experience in working with those people has been a 10, and it all goes back to [that] they know what’s coming and they know this is going to be a moment,” she says. “The people involved with it from the campuses are almost childlike, looking forward to the surprise.”
AUSL competition begins June 9, just a few days after the Women’s College World Series ends. The league, which expanded to six teams with individual home markets ahead of the 2026 season, will culminate the golden ticket campaign during the AUSL College Draft. It airs May 4 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
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