‘Lived up to its billing’: How Wichita was a success hosting AUX pro softball league

Thousands of softball fans filled up Wilkins Stadium, including four out of nine sell-outs, to support the debut of the Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX season in Wichita.

After the league’s two-week stay concluded with another sellout on Tuesday, Athletes Unlimited vice president Cheri Kempf gave a glowing review of Wichita as a host city.

From the fan support to the behind-the-scenes work done by Visit Wichita’s Jessica Viramontez and WSU facilities director Brad Pittman, Kempf was ecstatic about how the first professional women’s sports league to play a full season in Wichita unfolded.

“You anticipate how a venue and a city are going to perform and I think Wichita answered the bell every time,” Kempf said. “You could feel the energy (with the crowds). I think people were enthusiastic about it. These players are the best in the world and they deserve to play in front of a crowd and feel that energy. We’re grateful and thrilled to be in Wichita and it definitely lived up to its billing.”

With the recent upgrades to Wilkins Stadium, which included new batting cages, lights and turf, it’s no surprise the facilities were up to the standard to host 42 of the world’s best softball players.

While the games were the main attraction, those handful of hours at the stadium made up a small part of the overall experience for the players. Just as importantly to WSU, it received high marks from the players and AU staff about the convenience and quality of the hosting setup.

Everything was in close proximity for the players and staff, who lived in The Flats apartment complex, received a complimentary membership to YMCA on campus and had a locker room and training room located in the nearby Heskett Center. Everything was within walking distance, but players also had access to golf carts to drive around campus.

“I loved Wichita and this experience,” said outfielder Bubba Nickles, who earned top MVP honors for the season. “The way that they took care of us (exceeded) any of our expectations. We had so much help and support. I just loved it.”

While the AU Pro Softball roster featured several prominent names, like Jocelyn Alo (Oklahoma), Montana Fouts (Alabama) and Aubrey Leach (Tennessee), that surely attracted fans, there was no doubt that former Wichita State All-American Sydney McKinney was the star attraction in Wichita.

It was a successful homecoming for McKinney, who finished a career-best sixth on the points leaderboard and led all players with a .429 batting average. She particularly enjoyed watching so many Shocker fans become AUX fans over the course of their 15-day stay.

“It was just a lot of fun to be here in Wichita again and I think (the fans) fully embraced it,” McKinney said. “And seeing all of the little girls who came out was so cool too.

“I know, for a lot of them I’m their favorite player and they made that known, so that was so awesome to get to meet them. I tried to have a camp here and do some lessons and really tried to connect with them. It means so much to me that I’m able to be that for so many little girls because some of the people I’m playing with right now were my role models growing up. So I feel humbled and so lucky to be a part of this.”

On the final night of games, WSU softball coach Kristi Bredbenner said the experience had proved to be a win all around: for Athletes Unlimited, for the players, for Wichita fans and for WSU.

“It shows what kind of sports community Wichita is and how much interest we have in softball and supporting women’s sports,” Bredbenner said. “I think our softball program has done well enough to open that door a little bit wider for a softball audience.

“To have something like this, hopefully repeatedly, I think it’s just a no-brainer. And (WSU athletic director) Kevin Saal said it best, to have 18 games on ESPN networks with our Shocker logo front and center, you can’t pay for that kind of publicity.”

Athletes Unlimited recently announced it will alter its format next summer for its Pro Softball season, switching to four teams that will play a 30-game season in multiple cities.

After such a strong debut showing, Wichita has been promised to be one of the stops in 2025 and is in consideration to host one of the four teams when the AUSL becomes a city-based league in 2026.

“We absolutely have our eye on Wichita,” Kempf said. “We’re still working on the exact structure and what that might look like, but we know we need venues and cities. We want to go where people want us and Wichita has proven that in spades.”