Cat Osterman, Lisa Fernandez among GMs for new format of Athletes Unlimited Softball League

American softball greats Cat Osterman and Lisa Fernandez are among the general managers who will lead teams in the new format of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.

Athletes Unlimited announced on Monday that four general managers and coaches have been selected for the league, which will start with a new touring format in June before becoming city-based in 2026. Games will be played in several cities in 2025, including Chicago and Wichita, Kansas.

Kelly Kretschman will coach Osterman’s team and Howard Dobson will coach Fernandez’s squad. Jenny Dalton-Hill will be the general manager for a team coached by Stacey Nuveman-Deniz and Dana Sorensen will be the general manager for a squad Alisa Goler will coach.

They will be part of an overall leadership group. It includes Kim Ng, the league’s senior adviser in charge of launching the league, and advisers Osterman, Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza and Natasha Watley.

“This unprecedented collection of general managers and head coaches, with their decades of elite softball experience, unique perspectives, and intense drive, sets the stage for AUSL to meet the moment to deliver an action-packed, world-class softball league that this sport has deserved for so long,” Ng said.

Fernandez, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, is associate head coach at UCLA. The Bruins have won five national titles in her 26 years on the staff, and she won two as a player for the team.

Osterman is a three-time Olympian and was a four-time All-American at Texas. She won the Athletes Unlimited individual softball championship in 2020.

Athletes Unlimited Softball has featured an individual format since 2020. This will be the first time it will have a traditional team-based league. There will be two seasons next summer, with the second maintaining the individual format.

ESPN, the founding broadcast partner of the AUSL, will carry at least 30 games on its platforms. Each team will play 30 games. Team names and logos have not yet been determined.

By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer