Cat Osterman, Lisa Fernandez among GMs for new Athletes Unlimited softball league
United States' Cat Osterman reacts after a ground out that ends the first inning of a softball game against Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Yokohama, Japan. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
American softball greats Cat Osterman and Lisa Fernandez are among the general managers who will lead teams in the new Athletes Unlimited softball league.
The league made the announcement on Monday. Four general managers and coaches have been selected for the league, which will start with a touring format next year before becoming city-based in 2026. Games will be played in several cities in 2025, including Chicago and Wichita, Kansas.
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 four-time All-American at Texas. She won the Athletes Unlimited individual championship in 2020.
Kelly Kreschman 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 that 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.
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.
Athletes Unlimited will have two softball seasons. The first will have traditional teams. The second, in the summer, will be the individual format that's been featured since its debut in 2020.
