A softball domino effect is happening in the Carolinas, as seeds at the grassroots level have blossomed into successful college programs and now the pros.
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) celebrated in Durham on Wednesday, marking the start of the Carolina Blaze calling the Bull City home.
The addition comes after Duke University, now the home field for the Blaze at Smith Family Stadium, started its program eight years ago. Then factor in Clemson, which launched the school’s softball program in 2020.
“I’m just over the moon about this,” said Blue Devils Head Coach Marissa Young. “Softball has been desperate for a league that provides viability and sustainability for our athletes to continue their professional careers.”
Duke Softball: Est. 2018
Young has been Duke’s head coach since the program’s start. She had a vision to make Duke a top program year in and year out and needed athletes who believed in it, too.
Some of those same trailblazers for the young college program are now pioneers for the Blaze. Ana Gold, a four-year letter winner with Duke, was the 2025 AUSL Rookie of the Year and a member of the All-Defensive team. She ranked in the top 10 in multiple offensive categories, like her .373 batting average, .667 slugging percentage, and 1.094 OPS. She also tied for fourth in the league for home runs.
This level of production isn’t new for Gold, who holds Duke records of 54 home runs and 199 runs batted in.
Pitcher Jala Wright will join Gold on the Blaze this season. The Charlotte, N.C., native owns the Blue Devils’ single-game strikeout record and is the second ACC Pitcher of the Year in program history. Another product of Young’s program, Caroline Jacobsen, was the Talons’ best hitter last season and won the inaugural AUSL Championship.
Only 96 roster spots total in the league, and the Blue Devils lay claim to three of them. That isn’t lost on Young.
“This was absolutely the dream from day one, but it really is a tribute to these women for coming to a place like Duke that wasn’t established… I think our program is really built on grit and resilience. There’s nothing easy about what we’ve done here, building a program from scratch,” Young said.
She sees a common thread in these athletes. Duke is a top-tier global institution with prestigious academics. Gold, Wright, and Jacobsen are no slouches – they balanced working in the classroom and on the field.
“So I think that balancing act that they had to do their four years, now they’re in a place where they’re a pro athlete and softball is their only focus, they are really thriving,” she added.
Recruiting can be challenging because of those academic expectations, and the transfer portal can be tough to utilize for the same reason. But Young quickly established her program as a contender not only in the Atlantic Coast Conference but nationally.
The 2024 season was their strongest campaign, advancing to the Women’s College World Series for the first time. They finished the year with a 52-9 program record and their second ACC Championship. Last year was Duke’s fifth straight season with 40-plus wins.
And when the new kids on the block from Durham didn’t take the conference title last year, it was claimed by an even younger program less than 300 miles southwest.
Clemson Softball: Est. 2020
John Rittman was hired in November of 2017 to lay the foundation of Clemson Softball, well in advance of the first games ever being played.
During that time, he contributed to the design of the stadium, hired staff, began recruiting, but maybe most importantly, he got to know his new neighbors in South Carolina.
“Getting out and speaking to the community and doing clinics and camps, really opened my eyes to how much people love fastpitch softball in this part of the country,” Rittman said. “The Clemson community was really hungry for us to add softball.”
Hungry might be an understatement. When the program put season tickets on sale in October ahead of their inaugural season in February of 2020, every season ticket was purchased.
Since then, they’ve sold out season tickets every season, and just six years after their inaugural game, McWhorter Stadium is already up for renovations. It was named the 2025 NFCA Field of the Year after adding a berm to accommodate the ravenous fan base.
“We’re still trying to catch up and have enough seats for everybody that wants to come watch us play,” Rittman said.
For good reason. Rittman and the Tigers have a .752 winning percentage, claimed the regular season title in 2021, and won their first ACC Championship last year.
Also, like Duke, they have their fair share of athletes in the league. Outfielder McKenzie Clark and utility player Val Cagle will call the Carolinas home again with the Blaze. Clark was a four-year starter for the Tigers whose name is scattered across the record books. Cagle put the program on the map as the program’s first ACC Freshman of the Year (2021), ACC Player of the Year (2021, 2023), and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year (2023).
Infielder Maddie Moore is also on the Talons roster for the upcoming season. Her teammate Jacobsen not only played at Duke, but also received a Master’s Degree at Clemson and helped them to a Super Regional appearance. (Both schools share in their affinity for and claim Jacobsen as an alum).
Rittman is headed into his 39th year as a college softball coach. He’s coached in Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, and Kansas, and spent nearly 20 years in the softball hotbed of California at Stanford.
He’s seen the sport’s popularity explode, but he recalls a time when there were few college programs in the region. South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama were the only softball teams in the Southeastern Conference when the conference began in 1997. More programs from the NAIA to DI emerged throughout the early 2000s, and now Duke and Clemson have arrived as top contenders in the last 10 years.
“It’s interesting because you can find talent anywhere. There are so many good players out there in all parts of the country,” Rittman said.
But in the decade he’s spent in South Carolina, he’s seen the rise of softball firsthand.
“I think the talent level is getting better,” Rittman said. “The opportunities for players to grow at a young age and play this great game are there. This specific region of the country is just scratching the surface on talent level and opportunities.”
Carolina Blaze: Est. 2026
This summer will be the team’s first in Durham, but its second as a franchise. The Blaze was one of the AUSL’s inaugural four teams on a cross-country tour last year with 24 sellouts.
Choosing home cities for the now six teams was a challenge; common denominators were locations with proven fan engagement, strong softball traditions, and infrastructure to support a world-class professional experience.
Durham has over a century of baseball history with the Durham Bulls and the Durham Black Sox, one of several Negro League baseball teams that called the city home. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) is one of the top minor league stadiums in the country.
“This market was a shining example of a coordinated, collaborative effort between major stakeholders,” Commissioner Kim Ng said.
Ng pointed to the DBAP hosting the Blaze launch event as evidence of the “selfless concerted effort” to bring the Blaze to Durham.
Softball is not just on the rise in the Carolinas – it has arrived – but it wouldn’t be without programs like Duke and Clemson sowing the seeds of fandom in the area.
Savanna Collins is the Senior Reporter for the AUSL. You can follow her on X @savannaecollins.