Even before the Athletes Unlimited Softball League Expansion Draft, Bandits General Manager Jenny Dalton-Hill knew the roster would be shaken up by expansion draft picks from the Spark and Cascade. And even before then, there were already gaps to fill left by retirements following the 2025 season.
With catcher Jordan Roberts and infielder Danielle Gibson Whorton stepping away from the game, Dalton-Hill faced difficult choices about which players to protect heading into the draft. The Bandits lost Sydney McKinney, Bubba Nickles-Camarena, and Delanie Wisz to the expansion teams, giving them the third overall pick in the allocation draft.
Before the draft began, the Bandits protected five players: Taylor McQuillin, Erin Coffel, Morgan Zerkle, Lexi Kilfoyl, and Skylar Wallace. Following the expansion draft, they added Mary Iakopo and Bella Dayton to the protections.
For Dalton-Hill, leaving players like McKinney unprotected was a difficult move to make.
“Just knowing that she was going to be such a hot commodity in the draft, it was hard not to protect her, knowing that she would be taken.”
Saying goodbye to core members like McKinney wasn’t easy and involved some emotional conversations, but it didn’t dim Dalton-Hill’s excitement for the new additions joining the team.
Kat Sandercock Boosts the Bullpen
The Bandits addressed their pitching needs with their first pick, selecting right-handed pitcher Kathryn Sandercock fourth overall in Round 1. Sandercock played in Japan last year and holds a 2.29 ERA across 58 innings in her AU career. Known as a closer but capable of filling multiple roles, she’s someone Dalton-Hill has had her eye on for quite some time.
With an extensive international résumé with Team USA, which includes a 2023 Pan American Games Gold Medal, Dalton-Hill believes Sandercock will elevate the entire pitching staff with her mentality and experience.
“I think what will happen is she will be able to help mold that mentality, and whether it’s younger pitchers or other pitchers, to help them be more valuable for us as well,” Dalton-Hill said. “She could throw a complete game and not bat an eye.”
Mary Iakopo Provides a Trusted Backstop
The Bandits protected catcher Mary Iakopo during the expansion draft, prioritizing the comfort level their pitchers had established with her behind the plate. Iakopo spent time with the Volts before joining the Bandits as a reserve player and eventually earning a permanent roster spot. She started 10 games last season.
“In talking to our pitchers, they were very comfortable throwing to Mary,” Dalton-Hill said. “Having our pitchers comfortable was one of the biggest factors, knowing that pitching last year was maybe the one area we could have improved more on.”
Iakopo worked through some struggles at the plate last season, but the consistency she brings to each pitcher-catcher battery she appears in made her worth protecting.
“When you’ve got hard drop ball pitchers like a Lexi Kilfoyl, you need her to feel confident throwing it, and if the ball gets away, that she’s not concerned,” Dalton-Hill explained.
Alo and Clements Balance the Lineup
The Bandits selected utility player Jocelyn Alo 10th overall in Round 2 and outfielder Jessica Clements 16th overall in Round 3, replacing the production lost in the expansion draft with a combination of power and speed.
Alo fills the crucial lineup protection role that McKinney provided last season, giving the Bandits a dangerous hitter that opposing pitchers can’t avoid.
“Last year, we had Syd McKinney to hit behind Coffel, to protect her, and we knew that we would lose her,” Dalton-Hill said. “By picking up Alo, it gives us the opportunity to protect our other hitters as well. Because if you throw around Coffel, you throw around Zerkle, you throw around other players in our lineup, you’ve got to throw to Alo… in other situations, Alo has been the one being protected, but now she becomes the protector.”
Clements brings versatility and speed that flew under the radar during the draft process. Dalton-Hill anticipates using her in a similar role to McKinney, balancing the team’s power from both sides of the plate while adding a speed element to the lineup.
“She’s one of those players that we are hoping to use in a Syd McKinney kind of way,” Dalton-Hill said. “We anticipated losing Syd, Bubba, and Delanie. We made sure that our power was going to be balanced on the left and right. We wanted to make sure we had some speed. And with Jessica, we feel like we get a really well-rounded player who maybe flew under a lot of people’s radar.”
The Bandits rounded out their selections with middle infielder Sami Williams in Round 4 and left-handed pitcher Emiley Kennedy in Round 5 before passing in Round 6. They’ll turn to the 2026 College Draft in the spring to complete their roster.
The full Bandits roster can be found here.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
