Sami Williams, Montana Fouts Win Top 2026 AUSL Awards; Reese Atwood Named Rookie of the Year

Chicago Bandits third baseman Sami Williams was named 2026 AUSL Hitter of the Year and Utah Talons right-hander Montana Fouts won Pitcher of the Year at the league’s first awards reception, held Friday night in College Station, Texas.

Carolina Blaze catcher Reese Atwood was Rookie of the Year. Utah’s Bri Ellis won Comeback Player of the Year, and Chicago’s Odicci Alexander-Bennett received the AUSL Impact Award.

The reception came the night before Game 1 of the Championship Series between the Talons and Bandits at Davis Diamond.

Hitter of the Year: Sami Williams

Williams hit .427, second in the league, and started all 25 games at third base for the Bandits. She set AUSL single-season records with 12 doubles and 34 RBIs.

Pitcher of the Year: Montana Fouts

Fouts set four AUSL single-season records: 7 wins, 7 complete games, 62.1 innings and 63 strikeouts. Her high was 12 strikeouts against the Texas Volts on June 18, and she struck out 10 Bandits on July 18.

Rookie of the Year: Reese Atwood

Atwood, the Blaze‘s second-round pick out of Texas in the 2026 College Draft, hit .309 with a team-high eight home runs. Her 25 RBIs ranked third in the league. She reached base in each of her last 12 games.

Comeback Player of the Year: Bri Ellis

Ellis hit .353, fifth in the league, with five home runs and a .450 on-base percentage that ranked fourth. She hit a walk-off home run against Carolina on July 4.

Impact Award: Odicci Alexander-Bennett

AUSL players vote on the Impact Award themselves. They chose Alexander-Bennett for her work with the Natasha Watley Foundation, which expands access to softball for girls in historically marginalized communities. Natasha Watley is an AUSL advisor. On the field, Alexander-Bennett went 1-0 with a 3.71 ERA in five appearances.

The other awards were decided by a vote of team and league personnel, broadcasters, media members and fans. The league said fan participation more than tripled from 2025.

2026 All-AUSL Team

• Pitcher: Montana Fouts, Utah Talons
• Catcher: Reese Atwood, Carolina Blaze
• Corner infielders: Sami Williams, Chicago Bandits; Bri Ellis, Utah Talons
• Middle infielders: Skylar Wallace, Chicago Bandits; Sydney Romero, Oklahoma City Spark
• Outfielders: Maya Brady, Oklahoma City Spark; Jadelyn Allchin, Utah Talons; Korbe Otis, Portland Cascade
• Utility: Megan Grant, Portland Cascade

Utah placed three players on the team. Chicago, Oklahoma City and Portland had two each, and Carolina had one. The Volts had none. Brady set the league’s single-season home run record this year with 11.