On Sunday, ex-UA star Jennie Finch welcomed current UA utility player/catcher Sydney Stewart into the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, the latest Wildcat to join that elite club.
After the Wildcats’ win over Baylor, the Olympian presented Stewart with one of the AUSL’s golden tickets, declaring that she will be picked in the league's upcoming draft.
“It means so much, especially coming from a legend here at the U of A, Jennie Finch, seeing her walk out was so special and then also just having my family and my teammates alongside me, my coaches, meant the world to me,” Stewart said.
Arizona softball's Sydney Stewart, center, is overcome with emotion after receiving an AUSL golden ticket after Sunday's game vs. Baylor in Tucson.
Athletes Unlimited launched in 2020 with its first AU Pro Softball Championship Season, later adding women’s lacrosse, volleyball and basketball leagues. Then last year, it formed the AUSL.
Last season, Devyn Netz got a golden ticket after a UA home game and was picked 10th overall by what would become the Chicago Bandits.
“I was super bummed and so sad last year when I wasn't able to make Devyn’s and so when I got the phone call I was like, ‘whatever it takes, I’m going to Tucson.’ I'm like, ‘that's fine, I’m going there, I’m gonna make it happen,’” Finch said. “So missing out on Devyn’s hurt really bad, so it's so great to be back here to do it again and hopefully I'll keep coming back and bring those tickets.”
Former UA softball star Jennie Finch speaks to the current Wildcat squad after a game vs. Baylor March 29, 2026 in Tucson.
Stewart is the fourth player to get a golden ticket this season. The draft is May 4.
UA head coach Caitlin Lowe played for the USSSA Pride of the National Professional Fastpitch. She liked the golden ticket idea, celebrating getting drafted with fans.
“It's so cool because they're so involved, Tucson’s been showing out for us every single game, and to let them experience that is huge because they're the ones that are here,” Lowe said. “They get to see her at our best, at our worst and everything in between, and they know what the journey is like and I know that so many people follow the careers.
“I know they did with Devyn, my daughter being one of them,” she added. “So it's just really cool to make that connection because Tucson's going to be a fan of her for a very long time, not just in a Wildcat jersey.”
Last year the AUSL toured through 10 cities. Now it has teams based in Durham, North Carolina; Chicago, Oklahoma City, Portland, Ore.; Round Rock, Texas; and Salt Lake City.
The season starts on June 9, and the games will be on ESPN networks, with one on ABC.
Finch is one of the league’s star-studded crew of advisors. The other advisors are Cat Osterman, Natasha Watley and Jessica Mendoza.
Former Wildcat Jenny Dalton-Hill is the general manager of the Bandits.
“Honestly, I think it says if you buy in and you work your tail off, we develop professional athletes here, we develop great people, great humans that are ready to tackle whatever they decide to do and they're going professional in something and they're going to exceed at it,” Lowe said about the UA alumni in the league. “So I think that's the coolest thing to see someone like Stew just totally buy into the process in a very humble way and she's just gone about her business getting better, but pouring into people, too, which is really exciting for the future of this country.”
Former Wildcat players in the league include pitcher Taylor McQuillin of the Carolina Blaze, Netz representing the Texas Volts and catcher Dejah Mulipola and pitcher Alyssa Denham on the Portland Cascade.
Salpointe Catholic alumnae Tairia Flowers is the head coach of the Cascade.
Finch said the slew of Wildcats in the league is due to the tradition that former UA head coach Mike Candrea built up and that Lowe and her staff, like assistant coach Lauren Lappin, continue. Lappin played with Lowe in the NPF and with Finch and Lowe in the Olympics after going to Stanford.
“I think it's a huge testament to what being an Arizona Wildcat is and bringing your A game every single day and the tradition and foundation that coach Candrea has laid, and Lappin and Cait now continue,” Finch said. “There's a standard of excellence and it's super neat to be able to continue seeing us be able to have that opportunity.”
Finch said the return of a pro softball league also helps the national team and gives players more of a chance to develop.
“It's a dream, truly a dream," Finch said. "I know several of us, Cait, Lap, we all played in the National Pro Fastpitch league and then to see how it disbanded and is just so disheartening and you know that there's 15 players that can go on and wear USA across the chest, but there's so much talent. They need a place to play, and we have to showcase what they do and how they do it. It's so exciting to bridge the local communities and the college fan bases now to the AUSL.
Arizona softball's Sydney Stewart's golden ticket guarantees that she'll be drafted in AUSL's upcoming draft.
“So I think that's what I love most, obviously bringing the golden ticket and elevating these athletes and making their dreams come true, but even more so, being able to bring the AUSL into these homes and stadiums all across the country and these programs and their fan bases that are oh so strong and just amazing and they love the game of softball and there is more softball after this so they can go watch their favorite collegiate athlete now in the pros and compete and I think even more so thinking about just, the impact it'll make on Team USA.”
The Women’s Pro Softball League (1997–2001) and NPF (2004–21) folded, but Major League Baseball is one of the investors in the AUSL. Former MLB executive Kim Ng is the AUSL’s commissioner.
Ng was the first female general manager of a major men’s pro sports team.
Finch said the league is great because it also provides opportunities to women who aren’t playing.
“Yes, of course, the players get to play at that next level, but it goes so much further than the players, which I love most,” Finch said. “It goes to the media, the umpires, the strength coaches, the coaches now that get to coach in the pro league, so there's so much more job opportunities and people thought they would have to go be in men's professional sports. I remember Jade (Hewitt), our photographer, came up to me in tears and she said ‘Jennie, I always thought I would have to go to the men but I've been here for six years and I love it and I get to live my dream job every single day.’
“And so it trickles down into so many different areas and now my daughter she thinks it's normal, that there's a pro league again, it's on TV and she can watch it and I love it,” she added. “She has jerseys of all the players at home and that's what it's all about, like that's our daughter's model and that's what we tried to and will continue to try to build."
