Photo: Jade Hewitt/Athletes Unlimited

AUSL Allocation Draft: Kilfoyl Goes First Overall; Hoover, Brady Among Selections

Top Stories D1Softball Staff - January 29, 2025

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) held their first-ever player allocation draft on Wednesday night.

Four teams made 12 selections each in the draft, filling out the majority of their respective rosters ahead of the AUSL’s debut this summer. The teams made their draft selections from a pool of available players, with a total of 48 players selected.

The four teams that make up the AUSL, each led by a general manager/head coach tandem, are:

• Bandits (general manager Jenny Dalton-Hill/head coach Stacey Nuveman-Deniz)
• Blaze (general manager Dana Sorensen/head coach Alisa Goler)
• Talons (general manager Lisa Fernandez/head coach Howard Dobson)
• Volts (general manager Cat Osterman/head coach Kelly Kretschman)

Former Oklahoma State All-American Lexi Kilfoyl was the No. 1 overall selection in Wednesday night’s draft, picked by the Bandits. Kilfoyl starred last summer in her rookie season with Athletes Unlimited and earned a top-4 finish in the AU championship season.

Ex-LSU All-American pitcher and longtime professional player Carley Hoover was picked No. 2 overall, going to the Blaze. Hoover’s pro career has largely been international, primarily in Japan, and she will make her Athletes Unlimited debut in the AUSL this summer.

A pair of UCLA Bruins and former teammates, Megan Faraimo and Rachel Garcia, went back-to-back at No. 3 and No. 4 to complete the first round of the draft. Faraimo was selected by the Talons – hearing her name called by Lisa Fernandez, her former coach at UCLA – while Garcia went to the Volts and GM Cat Osterman.

Some miscellaneous anecdotes from Wednesday’s draft:

• Six players that were drafted will make their Athletes Unlimited debuts this summer. In addition to Hoover, that list includes Maya Brady, Tiare Jennings, Alana Vawter, Ciara Briggs, and Bella Dayton.
• Amanda Lorenz, the defending AU champion, was selected No. 7 overall by the Volts and was the only position player selected in the first two rounds of the draft.
• Three former LSU Tigers will band together on the Blaze. Pitcher Carley Hoover and outfielders Aliyah Andrews and Ciara Briggs were all drafted by the club.
• Morgan Zerkle and Sydney McKinney, who serve as Marshall University’s head coach and assistant coach during the college season, were both selected by the Bandits and will play together in the AUSL.
• Victoria Hayward, the first-ever player signed to Athletes Unlimited in 2020, was the final player selected in Wednesday’s draft. Hayward was selected at No. 48 overall by the Talons.

Check out the round-by-round draft recap below. Players are listed with their overall draft selection and position.

Round	Bandits	Blaze	Talons	Volts
1	1. Lexi Kilfoyl (P)	2. Carley Hoover (P)	3. Megan Faraimo (P)	4. Rachel Garcia (P)
2	8. Taylor McQuillin (P)	5. Aleshia Ocasio (P)	6. Georgina Corrick (P)	7. Amanda Lorenz (OF)
3	11. Skylar Wallace (MIF)	12. Aubrey Leach (MIF)	9. Sharlize Palacios (C)	10. Dejah Mulipola (C)
4	14. Bubba Nickles (OF)	15. Aliyah Andrews (OF)	16. Hannah Flippen (MIF)	13. Jessi Warren (CIF)
5	17. Mia Davidson (C)	18. Anissa Urtez (MIF)	19. Maya Brady (UT)	20. Tiare Jennings (MIF)
6	24. Erin Coffel (MIF)	21. Keilani Ricketts (P)	22. Sahvanna Jaquish (UT)	23. Payton Gottshall (P)
7	27. Morgan Zerkle (OF)	28. Kayla Kowalik (C)	25. Ali Aguilar (MIF)	26. Sis Bates (MIF)
8	30. Delanie Wisz (CIF)	31. Baylee Klingler (CIF)	32. Tori Vidales (CIF)	29. Erika Piancastelli (OF)
9	33. Sydney McKinney (MIF)	34. Alana Vawter (P)	35. Montana Fouts (P)	36. Kelsey Stewart-Hunter (CIF)
10	40. Odicci Alexander (P)	37. Ciara Briggs (OF)	38. Caroline Jacobsen (OF)	39. Mariah Mazon (P)
11	43. Sarah Willis (P)	44. Taylor Edwards (C)	41. Sydney Romero (MIF)	42. McKenzie Clark (OF)
12	46. Bella Dayton (OF)	47. Kalei Harding (OF)	48. Victoria Hayward (OF)	45. Sierra Romero (MIF)