Monday was a great day for Oklahoma softball’s legacy in the professional game as nine former players were selected in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) Expansion and Allocation Drafts to decide rosters for the 2026 season.
With all six teams – the Bandits, Blaze, Cascade, Oklahoma City Spark, Volts, and reigning champions Talons – featuring at least one Sooner from Patty Gasso’s eight-title Women’s College World Series dynasty, the program led all other programs in number of draftees.
Sam Landry and Sydney Romero are returners from the league’s inaugural season, while Kelly Maxwell, Kinzie Hansen, Jayda Coleman, Alyssa Brito, Jocelyn Alo and Rylie Boone played for the Spark as an independent team prior to joining the AUSL.
9 former Oklahoma softball players selected in 2025 AUSL Draft
Landry was the second pick in Round 1 of the Expansion, where she was joined on the Cascade by fellow pitcher Maxwell, who had the honor of being the No. 1 overall pick in the Allocation.
top 2, not 2 - @kellymax28 is headed to the Cascade! https://t.co/TirZoZNGIm
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) December 2, 2025
The Spark brought back two players in Hansen and Lee, and traded Coleman over to the Talons in exchange for Romero. Brito and Boone were picked by the Blaze and the Volts, respectively, while Alo became the first OU player to appear on the Bandits' roster since the franchise was revived last year.
The Volts' Tiare Jennings and the Blaze's Keilani Ricketts were granted Protected Player status ahead of the draft, so both WCWS champions remain on their team from the past season.
Although Oklahoma already is already well-represented with 11 players, the rosters aren’t finished yet as the Sooners will have another chance to add more during the College Draft in the spring.