The 2026 Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) All-Star Cup begins on Aug. 8 in Rosemont, Illinois.

The four-series season features 45 of the league’s top players competing to become the individual champion utilizing Athletes Unlimited’s innovative format. The 2026 All-Star Cup will feature 12 games at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois, and air nationally across ESPN platforms, MLB Network and CBS Sports Network.

Here’s everything you need to know.

2026 AUSL All-Star Cup at a Glance

2026 AUSL All-Star Cup Roster

The 2026 AUSL All-Star Cup features 45 of the league’s top players, including fan selections Reese Atwood, Rylie Boone, Alyssa Brito, Bri Ellis, Jayda Coleman, Megan Grant, Karlyn Pickens and Jordan Woolery.

Every AUSL club is represented on the All-Star Cup roster. The Chicago Bandits, Carolina Blaze and 2026 Champion Utah Talons lead the league with nine selections apiece, followed by the Oklahoma City Spark with seven, Portland Cascade with six and Texas Volts with five.

The roster features many of the standout performers from the 2026 AUSL Regular Season, including Pitcher of the Year Montana Fouts, AUSL Championship MVP Jadelyn Allchin, league home run leader Maya Brady, Hitter of the Year Sami Williams and many of the league’s breakout rookies and veteran stars.

Check out the full list of athletes competing in the 2026 AUSL All-Star Cup.

How to Watch the 2026 AUSL All-Star Cup

All 12 games of the 2026 AUSL All-Star Cup will be broadcast nationally across ESPN platforms, MLB Network and CBS Sports Network.

Check out the full broadcast schedule.

How the AUSL All-Star Cup Draft Works

Bringing the top performers from the AUSL Regular Season to Rosemont, Illinois, the All-Star Cup delivers playoff-intensity softball with a twist: teams are redrafted every series. Every active roster player will take the field, battling both alongside and against the league’s best.

After the last game of every series, the top three point scorers will be named team captains. Each captain will be assigned to a team based on their standing.

Team 1 (No. 1 Captain): Wears a black and gold edition of their AUSL Regular Season uniform.
Team 2 (No. 2 Captain): Wears their dark-colored AUSL Regular Season away uniform.
Team 3 (No. 3 Captain): Wears their light-colored AUSL Regular Season home uniform.

Team captains can consult with anyone they want before the draft, including any AUSL staff, former coaches, and teammates.

During the draft, captains are allotted up to two minutes per pick. Once a player is selected, their captain may consult them for further decisions. Once all players have been selected, it will be time to prepare for the upcoming slate of games and get ready to play ball.

The captains have the ultimate authority over the team – lineups, in-game decisions, and practice plans. They also have a coach to collaborate with, referred to as facilitators.

How the AUSL All-Star Cup Leaderboard Works

As the season progresses, a running leaderboard tallies points for each athlete individually. You can see the leaderboard change constantly throughout the game as athletes make plays. 

Athletes earn points in three ways:

You don’t have to do the math; our leaderboard will do it for you. But if you want to know how many points a given action is worth, we’ve got you covered.

Complete AUSL All-Star Cup Point System Breakdown

Win Points

Win points are all about the team’s performance. They accumulate during both individual innings and overall game wins. Innings one through six are worth +10 points (60 total inning win points), and overall game wins are worth +70 points. There are no win points for the 7th inning.

If an inning is tied, the points roll over to the subsequent inning.

Game MVPs

After each game, players and fans vote for players who they feel had standout performances.

These points will be added to the player’s individual total. Points are awarded as follows:

MVP 1: +60 points
MVP 2: +40 points
MVP 3: +20 points

Players may also vote for a Defensive MVP (+20 points). This award requires at least 50% player participation to activate (e.g., 15 out of 30 players). The top vote-getter receives 20 points, provided they haven’t already won MVP 1, 2, or 3.

Individual Stats

The final component of points is individual stats. Position players and pitchers earn points based on their performance.

Offensive Points

If a batter goes 3-for-5 with two singles and a home run but is caught stealing, they will be awarded 50 points.

10 (S) + 10 (S) + 40 (HR) – 10 (CS) = 50 points

Pitching Points

Pitchers earn +4 points for every out and -10 points for each earned run allowed.

For example, if a pitcher throws 5 2/3 innings and allows one earned run, they would earn 58 points.

(17 x 4) – (1 ER x 10) = 58 points

A player’s total points determine their leaderboard ranking, which will be used after each series to select captains.

Extra Innings

In extra innings, no player earns individual points, and there are no additional win points to be earned per inning – only those that have rolled over.

For example, if all seven innings were tied and the game took nine innings to decide a winner, only 60 points, plus 70 win points, would be awarded.

How does a player win the 2026 AUSL All-Star Cup?

At the end of the season, the athlete who sits atop the leaderboard is the AUSL All-Star Cup Champion — and the margin can be small! In some seasons, one play has decided the difference between first and second place. Every game, every play, every moment counts.

That means no meaningless games. No athletes taking a night off. This is all-star talent and playoff intensity, every game.

The 2026 AUSL All-Star Cup runs Aug. 8 through Aug. 30 in Rosemont, Illinois. Tickets to the 2026 AUSL All-Star Cup are available now.