Legendary Crimson Tide pitcher Montana Fouts returns to Rhoads Stadium at the University of Alabama this weekend for the 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League championship series, but this time she’ll be representing the Talons.
Fouts and the Talons will face off against Lexi Kilfoyl and the Bandits in Game 1 of the AUSL’s inaugural best-of-three championship series on Saturday, July 26. Game 2 is set for Sunday, July 27, followed by Game 3, if necessary, on Monday, July 28.
The Talons and Bandits are sending their aces to the circle for Game 1. The Talons will start Georgina Corrick, and Kilfoyl will take the mound for the Bandits. Corrick has the lowest ERA in the league (2.04), while Kilfoyl (2.35) has the second-lowest. Fouts, who has the third-lowest ERA (2.71), and Taylor McQuillin will get the starts for Game 2 on Sunday.
Both teams are very familiar with each other. The Talons and Bandits have faced each other eight times during the inaugural season of the AUSL, most recently on July 13 in the Talon’s 6-3 comeback win in Omaha, Nebraska. The regular season head-to-head is tied 4-4, but the Bandits outscored (45-31) and outhit (70-59) the Talons in the eight matchups.
Here’s everything you need to know about the AUSL championship series, from the full schedule, to team rosters and players to watch in the championship series:
When does the AUSL championship series start?
Game 1 of the AUSL championship series gets underway on Saturday, July 26 at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local) at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
How to watch Bandits vs. Talons: TV, stream for Game 1
- Time: 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT)
- Location: Rhoads Stadium (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Streaming: ESPN+
Stream the AUSL championship series on ESPN+
Full AUSL championship series schedule
All times Eastern. * If necessary
The Talons secured home field advantage with the best record in the league:
- Game 1 – Saturday, July 26: Bandits vs. Talons (3 p.m., ESPN)
- Game 2 – Sunday, July 27: Talons vs. Bandits (2 p.m., ESPN)
- *Game 3 – Monday, July 28: Bandits vs. Talons (7 p.m., ESPN2)
Talons full roster
- Head coach: Howard Dobson
- General Manager: Lisa Fernandez
- Catcher Sharlize Palacios (UCLA)
- Infielder Bri Ellis (Arkansas)
- Infielder Tori Vidales (Texas A&M)
- Infielder Sydney Romero (Oklahoma)
- Infielder Hannah Flippen (Utah)
- Infielder Ali Aguilar (Washington)
- Outfielder Sierra Sacco (Mississippi State)
- Outfielder Caroline Jacobsen (Clemson)
- Outfielder Jadelyn Allchin (UCLA)
- Outfielder Victoria Hayward (Washington)
- Utility Sahvanna Jaquish (LSU)
- Utility Maya Brady (UCLA)
- Pitcher Megan Faraimo (RHP, UCLA)
- Pitcher Raelin Chaffin (RHP, Mississippi State)
- Pitcher Montana Fouts (RHP, Alabama)
- Pitcher Georgina Corrick (RHP, USF)
- Pitcher Mariah Lopez (LHP, Utah)
Player to Watch: Will Georgina Corrick continue her domination in the championship series? Corrick was named the Pitcher of the Year after going a perfect 6-0 this season. She recorded 27 strikeouts in 34.1 innings pitched and threw the only two shutouts of the entire season, including the league’s first-ever complete game shutout over the Volts on June 21. Corrick has the lowest opponent batting average (.202) in the entire league. Maya Brady enters the championship series red hot. She made her professional debut for the Talons on July 16 after a Grade 2 hamstring strain sidelined her the beginning of the season. She has a league-leading .647 batting average through six games.
Bandits full roster
- Head coach: Stacey Nuveman Deniz
- General Manager: Jenny Dalton-Hill
- Catcher Jordan Roberts (Florida)
- Catcher Mia Davidson (Mississippi) *Temporary Inactive List
- Catcher Mary Iakopo (Texas)
- Infielder Danielle Gibson Whorton (Arkansas)
- Infielder Sydney McKinney (Wichita State)
- Infielder Delanie Wisz (UCLA)
- Infielder Erin Coffel (Kentucky)
- Infielder Skylar Wallace (Florida)
- Utility player Cori McMillan (Virginia Tech)
- Outfielder Morgan Zerkle (Marshall)
- Outfielder Bubba Nickles-Camarena (UCLA)
- Outfielder Bella Dayton (Texas)
- Utility Cori McMillan (Virginia Tech)
- Pitcher Taylor McQuillin (LHP, Arizona)
- Pitcher Emiley Kennedy (LHP, Texas A&M)
- Pitcher Odicci Alexander (RHP, James Madison)
- Pitcher Sarah Willis (RHP, UCF)
- Pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl (RHP, Oklahoma State)
Player to Watch: The Talons must keep Skylar Wallace off the bases because she’s likely to score. Wallace recorded a league-high 26 runs this season, with 10 of them coming against the Talons. Outfielder Morgan Zerkle has also had success against the Talons. She has a .419 batting average (fourth-best in the league) and registered 12 hits against the Talons.
2025 AUSL standings
The AUSL’s inaugural season features four teams — Talons, Bandits, Blaze and Volts — playing a 24-game season across 10 metro areas, including Chicago, Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City. The top two teams punched their tickets to the AUSL championship series. Here’s how the regular season shook out:
- Talons: 18-6
- Bandits: 15-9
- Volts: 8-16
- Blaze: 7-17
2025 AUSL end of season awards
- AUSL Hitter of the Year: Erin Coffel (Bandits)
- Pitcher of the Year: Georgina Corrick (Talons)
- Defensive Player of the Year: Hannah Flippen (Talons)
- Rookie of the Year: Ana Gold (Blaze)
- 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League All-Defensive Team (in Alphabetical Order)
- Jadelyn Allchin (Talons) – Outfield
- Erin Coffel (Bandits) – Middle Infield
- Georgina Corrick (Talons) – Pitcher
- Hannah Flippen (Talons) – Middle Infield
- Ana Gold (Blaze) – Corner Infield
- Baylee Klingler (Blaze) – Utility
- Korbe Otis (Blaze) – Outfield
- Sharlize Palacios (Talons) – Catcher
- Sierra Sacco (Talons) – Outfield
- Jessi Warren (Volts) – Corner Infield
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.