“We are here planting seeds for trees we may never see the shade of.”
Outfielder Caroline Jacobsen heard this in her freshman year at Duke University, as her team in their inaugural season reflected on their impact on college softball.
In their first year, Jacobsen, alongside her teammates, realized the foundation they were building for generations to come. By her junior year, she would go on to compete in the NCAA regional tournament and recognize how quickly the program was taking off.
“I’m most proud to have just been a part of that program in general. It’s so incredible to see what they were able to do in such a short period of time. And I think that’s all attributed to the leadership that’s there at the helm,” said Jacobsen of the Duke Softball Program and Head Coach Marrisa Young.
When Jacobsen was drafted to the Talons for the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League season, she found herself in a similar situation. Both Duke University’s softball program and the AUSL ceased to exist before Jacobsen joined their initiatives. She’s no stranger to grassroots programs and has fully embraced the opportunities.
As the game grows, she continues to grow with it.
In her fifth year as a graduate student, she transferred to Clemson University – a program that was in just its third year. To Jacobsen, this was of no concern; wherever she goes, she continues to make magic.
“Clemson, they love their sports there. So that was a really cool environment to have midweek games where the stadiums were filled, in a different atmosphere, a different perspective of how much people really love softball,” Jacobsen said.
Starting from the ground up worked in college, and by the looks of the season she’s having, it’s paying off in the pros.
“I think it’s a lot of people buying into what could be, and kind of the vision of what the leadership has. So in that case [Duke] Coach Young and just knowing where she was going to take that program. And I think in this case [with the Talons], it’s kind of buying into not only Kim Ng, but Lisa [Fernandez] and Howard [Dobson] and kind of the vision that they have for this,” Jacobsen said.
Now, competing in front of sold-out crowds across multiple cities and helping lead the Talons to the first AUSL championship series, she is seeing her investment in the sport pay off tenfold.
“This is also laying the foundation as well. People 20 years down the line are going to be filling out massive stadiums. I think it’s just going to continue to grow from here. It’s like each year is the planting seeds part,” Jacobsen said.
Jacobsen was led to softball at a young age after following her two older brothers to the field for baseball games, tournaments and practices. She played several sports early on, but after long days spent at the ball field, softball just stuck.
Jacobsen shared that in those early days, playing professional softball was just a dream, but as her college career unfolded, it became more of a reality. Her teammate Peyton St. George, who went on to play professionally, reminded Jacobsen of the possibility.
“I think Peyton was the first one to really take that path for us at Duke and kind of show that that was an option in the first place,” Jacobsen said.
Jacobsen competed with Athletes Unlimited in 2023 and 2024 in the Championship Season (now the All-Star Cup) and was drafted to the AUSL in the 10th round.
Jacobsen has been an impact player every step of her journey, at the plate and in the outfield. At Duke, she was the first softball player to make the SportsCenter Top 10 and made the ACC All-Tournament team in their 2022 appearance. In her final collegiate year at Clemson, she was a Third-Team All-ACC selection. Now with the Talons, she’s hitting .384 with 17 RBIs, making her the team’s second highest run producer. It’s clear that she is an integral part of the growing programs she has joined.
“I’m just excited to see where this league goes. I think it’s been so fun being a part of it for the last couple years, and just seeing the change from last year to this year, the opportunities that we have at AUSL to travel around to all these really cool places and play in front of these great crowds,” Jacobsen said. “It’s kind of been even more than I expected already.”
Cayla Sweazie is a former collegiate softball player turned sports reporter with a passion for telling the stories of athletes. She is serving as a correspondent for the Talons of the AUSL. You can follow her on Instagram @caysweazie.
