The Chicago Bandits returned to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League Championship in 2026, only to finish runner-up to the Utah Talons again. Despite the familiar disappointment, General Manager Jenny Dalton-Hill is celebrating the season her team put together.
“Right after the fact, right after the season, sometimes you can dwell on the shoulda, coulda, wouldas that you wish had been different in a season,” Dalton-Hill said. “But more than anything, I want to celebrate the amount of talent that we had on the field there at the end of the year.”
Chicago finished 16-9 with one of the league’s most productive offenses, but struggled to produce timely hits against the Talons’ pitching staff in the championship.
“Our offense is solid. Our pitching staff is fantastic. Our defense is electric,” Dalton-Hill said. “It’s just being able to find the timely hit in the moment to be able to produce the runs to get the win.”
Adjusting to an Unpredictable Season
The Bandits entered 2026 with a different roster, and several expected starters were unavailable early.
Lexi Kilfoyl, Kat Sandercock and Skylar Wallace began the season in Japan, requiring Chicago to adjust its lineup and rely on reserve players. When Erin Coffel was later sidelined by injury, Wallace stepped in at shortstop upon her return.
Maintaining the team’s culture remained a priority for Dalton-Hill through those roster changes.
“Professionally, it’s different for these players to have to get used to players coming in and out of a program,” she explained. “But one of the things that we’ve talked about on the Bandits is making sure that they understand that we set the temperature and we don’t allow someone coming in to change the thermostat.”
After three close losses to the Talons in their opening series, Dalton-Hill and the coaching staff held a team meeting to help players take ownership of their roles.
“We needed to empower our athletes to find their voice and be the one to be the difference, not look around to find someone else that they could follow, but to be the leader themselves.”
The Bandits later responded with a nine-game winning streak, the longest in AUSL history, and finished second in the regular-season standings.
Finding Different Ways to Score
Under first-year head coach Shonda Stanton, the Bandits used both power hitting and small ball, with players adjusting to what each situation required.
“I think the offense of the Bandits is just execute to score,” Dalton-Hill said. “Sometimes it required a base hit, sometimes it required a bunt. Sometimes it required a squeeze bunt in a tight situation.”
Sami Williams hit .427 across 25 starts, tying for the league lead with 32 hits. She set AUSL single-season records with 12 doubles and 34 RBIs and earned Hitter of the Year honors, following teammate Erin Coffel’s 2025 award.
Dalton-Hill said associate head coach Courtney Martinez, who had previously coached Williams, helped the Bandits recognize her potential in the draft. She credited Williams’ offseason work.
“I can’t take credit for the way that these two players have played,” Dalton-Hill said of Williams and Coffel. “The way that they have shown up prepared is what has made them great in the season.”
That kind of preparation is also on Dalton-Hill’s mind for Chicago’s rookies, including Ailana Agbayani. She said the move from a structured college training schedule to an independent professional offseason can make a player’s second year especially challenging.
“One of the hardest transitions, I think, is year one to year two,” she said. “That transition speaks volumes to who they are as an athlete, and the way that they prepare is just so important because it happens in the dark where no one else is watching and no one else is expecting them to do it.”
Building Around the Coaching Staff
Dalton-Hill entered 2026 with a new head coach in Shonda Stanton, whose energy and approach to working with athletes appealed to the Bandits GM.
“She listens to the athlete. She’s able to navigate difficult moments by being able to meet our players where they are,” Dalton-Hill said. “And for me, that’s so important.”
Dalton-Hill also valued having a coaching staff that could work independently while supporting one another. She sees her role as maintaining relationships and providing coaches with the resources they need, allowing Stanton to be the primary voice on the field.
Associate Head Coach Courtney Martinez provided continuity from Chicago’s inaugural season, while pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney helped manage a staff featuring five accomplished pitchers, including Lexi Kilfoyl, Kat Sandercock, and Taylor McQuillin.
Dalton-Hill praised Mowatt-McKinney’s ability to keep pitchers engaged in game preparation, even when they weren’t in the circle.
“The bullpen can be a place that is very toxic, or it can be a place that is very beneficial to your ball club,” she said. “And I think one of the things that makes our team so good is that not only do we have great pitchers one through five, but we have great people in the bullpen who not only support the pitchers and the roles that they have, but also in the dugout.”
Looking Ahead to 2027
For Dalton-Hill, the next step is for the Bandits to establish those connections sooner and play more consistently from the beginning of the season.
“I think for us, we need to find consistency from the beginning,” she said. “I mean, we were a team that struggled out of the gates and then went on the longest winning streak in AUSL history. And so, I’d rather have that streak start at the beginning than the middle of the season.”
She’s taking lessons from other teams, including the Portland Cascade’s camaraderie, the Talons’ confidence at the plate and the Texas Volts’ willingness to celebrate big moments. Chicago also expects Jocelyn Alo to return in 2027 and add another power bat to the lineup.
With the roster training separately during the offseason, Dalton-Hill wants each player prepared to contribute when the team reunites.
“When you come in first or second in the league, you’re going to get everybody’s best game,” she said. “So we need to make sure that we show up every single day ready to attack rather than take what is given. And so, being a little bit more hungry is going to be really important for us in 2027.”
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.