The U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT) bested their long-time foe in the 2026 USA Softball International Cup, defeating No. 1 Japan 2-0 in the championship game to earn gold.
Utah Talons pitcher Montana Fouts was near-perfect in the circle, throwing a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts. She didn’t allow a baserunner until the seventh inning when the leadoff batter reached on a single through the infield. Fellow Talons teammate Jayda Coleman crossed home in the second frame to score USA’s first run; she reached on a hard-hit single up the middle.
Oklahoma City Spark outfielder Maya Brady drove in the team’s other run in the fifth with a single to center field. Brady had a standout performance throughout the tournament and was named Tournament MVP. She hit two home runs over five games and posted a .538 batting average.
Fouts was named Most Valuable Pitcher and Texas Volts catcher Dejah Mulipola earned Defensive MVP.
The International Cup served as an Olympic preview as all 36 players of the potential Team USA athlete pool competed on two teams – the U.S. WNT and the U.S. Women’s Elite Team. The U.S. Women’s Elite Team finished third, beating Canada in a 7-0 run-rule victory to earn bronze. Thirty Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) players were represented in the tournament.
The U.S. WNT routed Australia, Canada, China, and the U.S. Women’s Elite Team on the way to gold. It was the red, white, and blue’s 12th tournament victory. It was previously known as the World Cup of Softball and returned to OKC after a six-year hiatus. Since the event began in 2005, Team USA has compiled an 88–7 record and has now won 11 of the 15 tournaments, with Japan claiming the other four titles.
Other AUSL highlights from the U.S. WNT include Chicago Bandit Skylar Wallace, who was 5-for-11 with a homer in the competition. Fouts, along with Rachel Garcia (Texas Volts), Lexi Kilfoyl (Bandits) Kelly Maxwell (Portland Cascade), and Karlyn Pickens (Carolina Blaze), dominated as a staff with two shutouts and a combined 37 strikeouts.
The U.S. Women’s Elite Team went 3-2 with victories over Chinese Taipei, American Samoa, and Canada but fell short to Japan and the U.S. WNT.
Chicago’s Morgan Zerkle paced the U.S. Women’s Elite Team offense with a .500 batting average, followed by OKC’s Bubba Nickles-Camarena (.444) and Utah’s Sahvanna Jaquish (.375). Carolina’s Ana Gold blasted three homers while Zerkle added two and Jaquish had one.
Keilani Ricketts (Blaze), Megan Faraimo (Talons), NiJaree Canady (Volts), and Ally Carda (Volts) made up the staff that logged 21 K’s for the U.S. Women’s Elite Team.
Over the next two years, the U.S. will prepare for softball’s return to the Olympics in the LA28 Games. To view the entire Women’s National Team Athlete Pool, visit USASoftball.com.
Savanna Collins is the Senior Reporter for the AUSL. You can follow her on Instagram @savvyco.
