Courtesy of San Diego State Athletics –
SAN DIEGO – On Monday, San Diego State softball’s head coach, Stacey Nuveman Deniz, was announced as a head coach for next summer’s inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, following the conclusion of the Aztecs’ 2025 season.
Nuveman Deniz has led the Aztecs to four out of a possible five Mountain West titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances across her first three seasons at the helm of SDSU softball. She has been named the Mountain West Coach of the Year in two of her three seasons.
A three-time College Softball World Series champion, three-time first All-American and the 1996 National Player of the Year, Jenny Dalton-Hill will be joining Nuveman Deniz as the General Manager for their team.
Players will be assigned to teams in the AUSL Allocation Draft, set for early 2025. Later in the spring, teams will fill out their 15-player rosters with a college draft prior to the beginning of the season in June.
In its first season, the AUSL will have four teams, each playing 30 games for a total of 60 across four weeks. The league will travel, with games taking place in six to eight different cities. Following the season, the AUSL is bringing back the AUSL All-Star Cup (formerly known as the AU Pro Softball Championship Season). ESPN is the founding broadcast partner of the AUSL and will televise at least 30 games on its networks next summer.
In 2026, the league will shift to a city-based league.
Current advisors for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League include Kim Ng (senior advisor), Jennie Finch and Jessica Mendoza.
Nuveman Deniz and the Aztecs open their season with a pair of home games at SDSU Softball Stadium on February 6. San Diego State will face Cal State Northridge at 1 p.m. and Oklahoma at 6 p.m.
