The Athletes Unlimited Softball League will surprise softball stars with “golden tickets” in the coming weeks leading up to the draft – letting them know they will be drafted this season to one of six AUSL teams.
Participants will find out which team selected it — and the overall selection order — during the AUSL Draft Show on May 4 (ESPN2; 7 p.m. ET).
And on Friday, pitcher Negari Kanade was presented with his first golden ticket by commissioner Kim Ng and Patrick Mahomes.
The first golden ticket of 2026 📷📷
NiJaree Canady gets her first 2026 golden ticket to be drafted into the ASL! pic.twitter.com/2mB7bWIfgj
– Ausl (@theAUSLofficial) March 28, 2026
As a top-12 pitcher for 2025, the Texas Tech senior signed two seven-figure NIL contracts and led Stanford to two straight World Series appearances before transferring. Last year, Texas Tech reached the national championship series before falling in Game 3.
