The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) All-Star Cup features 45 professional softball athletes competing for four weeks in Rosemont, Illinois.

Athletes competing in the 2026 All-Star Cup season will be revealed this summer.

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Professional Softball Rules & Format

The Athletes Unlimited Format

Teams Change Each Series

The All-Star Cup brings a group of all-star athletes to one city for a playoff-intensity competition. Teams are redrafted each series, which means you see the best players battling with and against each other in different combinations. All active players from the roster will be on one of the competing teams.

The Leaderboard

As the season progresses, we keep a running leaderboard that counts points for each athlete individually. You can see the leaderboard change constantly throughout the game as athletes make plays.

Athletes earn points in three ways:

– When their team wins a game or inning
– When they make a positive play on the field; Pitchers may lose points for giving up an earned run.
– When they are voted one of the top 3 MVPs of a game by players and fans.

You don’t have to do the math, our leaderboard will do it for you. But if you want to know how many points a given action is worth, check out How We Score.

Captains

Each series the top three players on the leaderboard serve as team captains and draft their new teams. The captains have the ultimate authority over the team – lineups, in-game decisions, and practice plans. They also have a coach to collaborate with; we refer to them as facilitators.

For more on the draft check out our How We Draft video.

Becoming a Champion

At the end of the season, the athlete who sits atop the leaderboard is the champion — and the margin can be small! In some seasons, one play has decided the difference between first and second place. Every game, every play, every moment counts.

That means no meaningless mid-season games. No athletes taking a night off. This is all-star talent and playoff intensity, every game.

So pick your favorite players, cheer for their teams, vote for your MVP, and watch them compete to climb up the leaderboard. And when the final game ends we’ll see who rises to the top and is crowned the champion.

HOW WE DRAFT

After the last game of every series, the top three point scorers will be named team captains.

Team captains can consult with anyone they want before the draft, including any Athletes Unlimited staff, former coaches, and teammates.

During the draft, captains are allotted up to two minutes per pick. Once a player is selected their captain may consult them for further decisions. Once all players have been selected, it will be time to prepare for the upcoming slate of games and get ready to play ball.

HOW WE SCORE

Win Points

Win points are all about the team’s performance. They accumulate during both individual innings and overall game wins. Innings 1 through 6 are worth +10 points (60 total inning win points) and overall game wins are worth +70 points. There are no win points for the 7th inning.

If an inning is tied, the points roll over to the subsequent inning.

Game MVPs

After each game, the players and fans vote for players who they feel had standout performances.

These points will be added to the player’s individual total. Points are awarded as follows:

MVP 1: +60 points
MVP 2: +40 points
MVP 3: +20 points

Players also have the option to vote for a Defensive MVP (+20 points). For the Defensive MVP to be activated, 50% of eligible players must opt to vote. For example, if 28 players compete in a game, 14 must vote. If only 13 players vote, there will be no Defensive MVP. The player who receives the majority of that vote will receive 20 points so long as they have not already won MVP 1, 2, or 3.

Individual Stats

The final component of points is individual stats. Position players and pitchers earn points based on their performance.

Offensive Points

The breakdown for individual points is as follows:

– Single: +10 points
– Double: +20 points
– Triple: +30 points
– Home run: +40 points
– Stolen base: +10 points
– Caught Stealing: -10 points
– Walk: +10 points
– HBP: +8 points
– Sacrifice Fly/Bunt: +10

If a batter goes 3-for-5 with two singles and a home run but is caught stealing, they will be awarded 50 points.

10 (S) + 10 (S) + 40 (HR) – 10 (CS) = 50 points

Pitching Points

Pitchers earn +4 points for every out and -10 points for each earned run allowed.

For example, if a pitcher throws 5 2/3 innings and allows one earned run, they would earn 58 points.

(17 x 4) – (1 ER x 10) = 58 points

A player’s total points determine their leaderboard ranking, which will be used after each series to select captains.

Extra Innings

In extra innings, no player earns individual points and there are no additional win points to be earned per inning – only those that have rolled over.

For example, if all seven innings were tied and the game took nine innings to decide a winner, only 60 points, plus win points, would be awarded.