Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. revealed the three finalists for the 2026 Athletes Unlimited Softball League Rawlings Gold Glove Award® on Wednesday.
Utah Talons outfielder Jadelyn Allchin, Carolina Blaze infielder Alyssa Brito, and Oklahoma City Spark shortstop Sydney Romero are the three contenders to be the first AUSL player to win the award now that the Gold Glove has returned to professional softball.
Since its inception in 1957, the award has been bestowed upon top defensive athletes in professional, collegiate, and high school baseball.
Beginning in 2022, collegiate softball athletes were added as recipients. Eleven different AUSL athletes received the award while in college, with Kendra Falby and Jocelyn Erickson as repeat winners.
Previously, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for softball was also given annually to one player in the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF) from 2016-2019 before the league’s dissolution. Oklahoma City Spark third baseman Jessi Warren received the award in 2019.
Allchin was the Talons’ left fielder in the team’s title run this summer, starting in 24 out of 25 regular-season games and both Championship games. She recorded 54 putouts without an error. Her diving catch in the AUSL Championship-clinching game on July 26 was ranked a SportsCenter Top 10 moment.
Brito was a staple of the Carolina Blaze infield this season, starting in all 24 games with 136 2/3 innings at shortstop and 16 1/3 at third base. She had 43 assists, 29 putouts, and two errors for a .973 fielding percentage. Brito earned a spot at No. 5 on the SportsCenter Top 10 list on June 26 for turning one of her five double plays of the season while mic’d up during the TV broadcast.
Romero started all 25 games for the OKC Spark at shortstop and was the only athlete on the team to play all 160 2/3 innings at the same position too. She logged a .974 fielding percentage with 45 assists and 30 putouts. Romero made one of the most clutch plays of the season for the Spark, with a diving catch and glove toss to keep the team’s playoff hopes alive.
Established in 1887, Rawlings is an innovative, leading global brand and manufacturer of premium baseball and softball equipment, including gloves, balls, and protective headwear. Rawlings is the official game ball, glove, helmet, face guard, base, and equipment bag of Major League Baseball and the official bat, glove, and base of the AUSL.
Savanna Collins is the Senior Reporter for the AUSL. You can follow her on Instagram @savvyco.
