The AUSL had fans, brands, and media chasing its rise ball during its debut year, and partners from Major League Baseball to Sephora joined the growing chorus from the softball league’s dugouts.

First, let’s go to the stat sheets: At the end of Athletes Unlimited’s inaugural AUSL softball season, which took the league’s four teams through 12 cities in roughly two months, the new league posted 20 sellout crowds and more than $1 million in merchandise sales. With help from Major League Baseball’s digital infrastructure, AUSL drew 5.3 million pageviews on its official website, 237 million social media impressions, and 450,000 new followers.

Throughout its season on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU—and immediately following ESPN’s most-watched Women’s College World Series ever —its games averaged ju

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