Pitcher Sam Landry made the biggest jump on the All-Star Cup leaderboard, moving up 29 spots to become a first-time captain. The Portland Cascade player sits at third overall and had the first pick of the draft for Series Three.
She shared five keys and strategies for putting together her 15-player roster that will compete for points individually and as a team.
Landry felt some stress stepping into the captain role for the first time. But when the pressure mounted ahead of making her selections, she told herself there’s “no wrong pick” in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League All-Star Cup. The 45 athletes she’s competing with and against are the top performers from the AUSL regular season, which has almost 100 players across the six teams.
“Everybody is good,” Landry said.
Built-in arm
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be intentional with her selections. With the first overall pick in the Series Three Draft, Landry could go in any direction that she wanted, and she was all in on the Utah Talons 2025 Pitcher of the Year, Georgina Corrick.
“I love how she pitches. I love getting to watch her, and I love being on the same team as her,” Landry said.
Landry recognized the advantage of being a pitcher herself; she only has to use three selections on pitchers instead of four, like the captains who are position players. Between her and Corrick, she already has starters for the two games Team Landry will play on Friday and Saturday.
Pitcher’s pick different
She can also avoid the hitters that challenge her in the circle. When asked if there was anyone who fit that criteria, the answer was immediate: Morgan Zerkle.
“I hate throwing to her because she just finds a way to get a job done – and I absolutely love that about her – but it makes me hate throwing to her,” Landry explained. “She’s gonna find a way on, whether it’s barely hitting it, dropping a pop-up over second base or shortstop.”
“I had to get her because I personally do not want to throw to her.”
Get the Bruin Bombers back together
One of Landry’s high-priority goals was to reunite a collegiate duo that does damage: Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery.
The two batted back-to-back in the lineup throughout their entire careers at UCLA and were dinger for dinger with one another throughout their senior season. Grant finished 2025 as the new NCAA DI single-season home run record holder with 42.
“I want them to live their college days again, where they were literally blasting balls left and right,” Landry said. “So that was something I was trying super hard to get while also building a team.” She snagged Grant with her second pick, then got Woolery in the fifth round.
The Bruin Bombers are back along with three other UCLA alums: Maya Brady, Rachel Garcia and Delanie Wisz, helping to make up an incredibly powerful lineup to provide run support.
Cascade Reunion
The other reunion Landry wanted to make was with the Portland Cascade teammates. She was able to secure Grant along with shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan and catcher Sydney Stewart.
“We have four Cascade on one team, so that really excites me. I wish I had the other two as well… but more motivation to try to be captain next week so that I can get them,” Landry said.
The strategy holds for a team that had proven success in its first year in the AUSL as an expansion franchise. They went 14-11 and qualified for the playoffs.
Having a scouting eye
It was clear when talking to Landry that she had a pulse on players she wasn’t familiar with, too. One that jumps out when looking at her draft board is Sydney Sherrill, and Landry confirmed the two had never crossed paths, not even spoken, until practice this week. So what made her branch out to an unfamiliar teammate with her fourth pick? Watching her on an opposing team with Cahalan.
“They had been on the team together, and just seeing them work, I was like, ‘I want Kenleigh and Syd Sherrill up the middle,” Landry explained. “I think that would be killer. So I was super excited about that.
“I faced her [Sherrill] last week… I think she hit two hard balls off me. And so that was another one I was like, if I can get away from pitching to her, I would love that, actually,” Landry added.
Landry used that awareness as a pitcher to think through who had been hitting well over their four games so far and balanced that with looking at their regular season stats. She took both into account about 50-50.
“Seeing how everybody plays, sometimes you have to go out of who you’re comfortable with to get who you know you can play really well with.”
Tune in
Team Landry will get their start on Friday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. ET against Team Palacios on CBS Sports Network. They’ll face Team Klingler on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Savanna Collins is the Senior Reporter for the AUSL. You can follow her on Instagram @savvyco.
