Twelve former UCLA softball players are spread across five of the six teams in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. Three are recent class of 2026 graduates fresh off a record-breaking campaign culminating in a knockout during bracket play of the Women’s College World Series. A handful of UCLA softball staff members are involved in the league as well, involved in three teams. Daily Bruin Sports assistant editor Kate Bergfeld reflects on the Bruin impact as the AUSL concludes its second-ever season.

Utah Talons: Jadelyn Allchin, Megan Faraimo, Sharlize Palacios, Taylor Tinsley, Jordan Woolery

Five former Bruins represent the Talons, the most on any team.

Outfielder Jadelyn Allchin, pitcher Megan Faraimo, catcher Sharlize Palacios, pitcher Taylor Tinsley and infielder Jordan Woolery helped lift the Talons to a first-place finish and back-to-back titles.

Allchin, who completed her graduate season at UCLA in 2024, was named the AUSL Championship Most Valuable Player. She hit a two-run home run in the first inning of the title match and followed up with a double in the fourth to bring in another runner. Defensively, she made a key diving catch in the third frame to round out her game.

Including regular season play, Allchin led the team in nearly all hitting statistics, bringing in 20 runners and knocking in 29 hits – seven more than the second best on the team.

Faraimo concluded the 2026 season with 42 strikeouts, good for the fourth-highest in the league. She had a 3.83 ERA across 45.2 innings pitched – the third most in the league – with teammate Montana Fouts sitting at the top of the leaderboard for strikeouts.

Palacios, who did not commit a single error across 321 chances behind the plate in 2024, had a .500 batting average throughout her two postseason appearances. Across the season, she maintained a slugging percentage of .511 while batting in 11.

Tinsley, one of two Bruin rookies on the team, is one of the Talons’ five pitchers. While she was not in the circle for most of the 2026 season, Tinsley came through when needed. She, along with Fouts, were the only Talons pitchers to record shutout games, and she allowed just 11 hits over seven innings pitched.

The other half of the new UCLA duo, Woolery, was a steady presence in the infield. Playing at both first and third base, she recorded 94 putouts and 47 assists, good for the first and second on the team, respectively, along with four double-plays.

Offensively, Woolery ended her rookie campaign with an on-base percentage of .385; through 68 plate appearances, she tallied 24 hits, including one four-bagger.

UCLA associate head coach Lisa Fernandez has also served as the Talons’ general manager for the past two seasons, and is one of the coaches for the AUSL Pro Game taking place at the Little League Softball World Series.

Allchin, Faraimo, Palacios and Woolery were all listed for the AUSL All-Star Cup, which takes place in Rosemont, Illinois starting August 8.

Portland Cascade: Megan Grant

Utility “Chef” Megan Grant, who finished her UCLA career in May, continues to send hits soaring deep over the fence.

Having set the NCAA single-season home run record with 42 four-baggers during her senior campaign, Grant finished second in the AUSL with ten home runs in her rookie season.

Grant finished the campaign with 14 runs, an on-base percentage of .393 and a team-leading slugging percentage of .754.

Defensively, Grant recorded 13 putouts and 21 assists, mainly from the right field. She was one of six members of the Cascade listed to the AUSL All-Star Cup.

She is not the only Bruin in Portland, as she is joined by head coach and former Bruin infielder Tairia Flowers. Flowers helped bring the Bruins to back-to-back WCWS championship appearances in 2000 and 2001, before finally winning the title in 2003.

Oklahoma City Spark: Maya Brady, Bubba Nickles-Camarena, Delanie Wisz

If anyone was to beat Grant for the highest number of home runs, it was going to be a fellow Bruin.

Utility Maya Brady knocked 11 four-baggers across her 67 at-bats. As the most dominant offensive player on the Spark, she finished with a slashline of .403/.481/.985.

She scored 25 times out of her 43 hits during her 21 games played.

Delanie Wisz, who led the Bruins as a fifth-year senior with a .405 batting average 16 home runs and 63 RBIs in 2025, became a staple for the Oklahoma City infield.

Wisz tallied 135 putouts with a perfect fielding percentage. At first base, she had five double plays and helped catch four runners attempting to steal.

She, along with Brady, will appear in the AUSL All-Star Cup.

The Bruins are well represented on the Spark’s staff as well. Head coach Kirk Walker spent 23 years as a member of the Bruins’ coaching staff, during which he helped win seven national championships.

Walker won one AUSL championship in 2025 as an assistant coach on the Talons, before stepping away to lead the Spark in their inaugural season.

Texas Volts: Rachel Garcia, Ally Carda

A Bruin bullpen.

Right-handed pitchers Rachel Garcia and Ally Carda make up a third of the Volts pitching staff.

Garcia finished her career with the Bruins in 2021. Throughout her time at UCLA, she won the Honda Award for softball three times, and the Honda Cup twice, among an abundance of other achievements.

Drafted to the AUSL in 2025, she has been a staple in the circle for the Volts. She led the six pitchers with 52 strikeouts across 44.1 innings pitched. Offensively, Garcia had an on-base percentage of .333.

She is the final Bruin who will be playing in the AUSL All-Star Cup.

In her nine games, Carda retained an ERA of 3.50, holding opponents to a .260 batting average. Having played her last season for UCLA in 2015, she was drafted to the Volts in 2026. In her rookie season, she recorded 12 strikeouts.

Chicago Bandits: Jessica Clements

The Bandits went 16-9 in the 2026 season, ultimately falling to the Talons in the championship series, with Jessica Clements being the only former Bruin on the roster.

Clements spent her final collegiate campaign at UCLA after graduating from Cal Poly in 2024. She tallied 44 RBIs and six home runs, and was a key piece in the Bruins’ victory over the Ducks in the 2025 WCWS with a walk-off two-run home run in the seventh.

In her AUSL rookie season, she had an on-base percentage of .342, with ten runs, ten hits and one home run. In the outfield, she collected 18 putouts and tacked on two assists.