Danielle O’Toole Goes No. 1 in Final AU Draft

Top Stories Graham Hays - August 22, 2022

Danielle O’Toole started the summer as the inaugural AUX champion. Having already announced her impending retirement, she finishes the summer as the No. 1 pick in the final draft of the Athletes Unlimited championship season. 

But will O’Toole be able to propel either herself or team captain Haylie McCleney past overall leader Dejah Mulipola and other contenders for the AU title? 

In trying to sculpt the rosters that will determine a champion, the quartet of Week 5 captains leaned on pitching early in the final weekly draft. In addition to O’Toole at the top of the draft, Rachel Garcia went No. 2 to Team Denham and Taylor McQuillin went No. 4 to Team Mulipola. 

Only Team Chidester bucked the trend, as captain Amanda Chidester made her customary first-round pick of fiancee and reigning defensive player of the year Anissa Urtez. And even Chidester went with pitching in the second round, selecting rookie Mariah Mazon at No. 6.

Team Mulipola led off the second round by taking Hannah Flippen with the No. 5 pick, while Team Denham selected Amanda Lorenz at No. 7 and Team McCleney selected Peyton St. George at No. 8.  

Mulipola opted for familiarity. She also selected McQuillin early in the Week 4 draft, a somewhat surprising move looking purely at this season’s numbers. But her former Arizona teammate came through all weekend, most of all with four clutch relief innings to secure a win Sunday that ensured Mulipola entered this week with a cushion. Also returning from last week’s squad are pitchers Odicci Alexander and Shannon Saile, infielders Lilli Piper and Sydney Romero and outfielder Victoria Hayward.

While McCleney was surely motivated purely by taking the best pitcher on the board, a byproduct of her first pick is that it gives O’Toole her most viable path to doubling up her titles this summer. In order to move ahead of any captain who selected her, O’Toole would have to outscore that person solely in stat and MVP points – all players on a given team receive equal win points. But that’s easier for her to do with McCleney (a 90-point deficit) than it would be as Mulipola or Chidester’s teammate.

Entering Week 5, Mulipola leads Chidester by 98 points on the overall leaderboard, with Denham and McCleney tied for third, 146 points behind Mulipola. 

For context, Mulipola totaled at least 368 points in three of the first four weeks – and still managed 268 points in her lowest scoring week. Only two players, McCleney and Chidester, totaled at least 500 points in a week this season.

In other words, it isn’t impossible for one of the other captains to catch her – but it won’t be easy.

Here’s a look at other highlights from the Week 5 draft: 

• Garcia, O’Toole and Urtez had the curious distinction of going in the first round of all five drafts this season. Curious not because they didn’t deserve the honor, but because as good as each of them was, none could quite climb high enough to be a captain herself. In stat points, Garcia ranks sixth, Urtez 10th and O’Toole 19th (with the league’s second-best ERA). 
• Flippen went no lower than seventh in any draft this season. She enters Week 5 ranked seventh overall. But as the only player in the top 10 selected by Team Mulipola, she drew the short straw. It will be nearly impossible to make up a 264-point deficit solely through stat and MVP points. 
• The league said the Aliyah Andrews was active with limitations after a collision Saturday. Team Mulipola selected Andrews in the 11th round. Mulipola also selected Courntey Gano in the final round, an automatic pick to fill a positional need. Gano is questionable for Week 5, leaving the leader’s team potentially shorthanded. 
• A midseason injury replacement in AUX, Mariah Mazon climbed all the way to the second round and de facto ace status for Team Chidester in Week 5. She was an 11th round pick in the opening AU draft but climbed to the third and second rounds the final two weeks. She has a 4.27 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 21 innings. 
• The Romero sisters finally reunite. Team Mulipola selected both sisters, Sydney in the fifth round and Sierra in the 12th round. It’s the first time they will play together since the first round of AUX games in June.
• Team Mulipola also reunited the Edwards sisters, with Taylor Edwards sharing a dugout with  Tatum Edwards, the team’s facilitator. 
• Team Chidester selected Sara Groenewegen with the 38th pick, although the Canadian will be unavailable for one game this weekend. Team Denham selected Aleshia Ocasio with the next pick in the 10th round, with the league classifying the reigning champion as available with limitations. 

Team Mulipola (Gold)

Player	Position	AU Rank	Stat Points
Taylor McQuillin	P	33	116
Carrie Eberle	P	15	150
Shannon Saile	P	46	54
Odicci Alexander	P	28	76
Dejah Mulipola	C	1	482
Mia Davidson	C	14	314
Lilli Piper	CI	36	96
Alysen Febrey	CI	55	72
Courtney Gano	CI	59	18
Hannah Flippen	MI	7	298
Sydney Romero	MI	21	262
Sierra Romero	MI	53	128
Victoria Hayward	OF	13	294
Morgan Zerkle	OF	34	276
Aliyah Andrews	OF	51	120

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Team Chidester (Orange)

Player	Position	AU Rank	Stat Points
Mariah Mazon	P	37	126
Haylie Wagner	P	49	30
S. Littlejohn Watkins	P	32	86
Sara Groenewegen	P	52	102
Taylor Edwards	C	38	226
Jordan Roberts	C	57	60
Amanda Chidester	CI	2	384
Sydney Sherrill	CI	43	50
Hayley Busby	CI	60	76
Anissa Urtez	MI	8	298
Kelsey Harshman	MI	10	294
Rylee Bayless	MI	41	16
Bubba Nickles	OF	19	274
Jazmyn Jackson	OF	24	152
K. Stokes-O'Connor	OF	25	46

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Team Denham (Blue)

Player	Position	AU Rank	Stat Points
Alyssa Denham	P	3	336
Rachel Garcia	P	26	352
Aleshia Ocasio	P	20	266
Greta Cecchetti	P	50	-16
Sahvanna Jaquish	C	6	400
Gwen Svekis	C	29	176
Tori Vidales	CI	23	340
Danielle Gibson	CI	31	136
DJ Sanders	CI	16	166
Aubrey Leach	MI	17	200
Caleigh Clifton	MI	30	166
Janae Jefferson	MI	44	108
Amanda Lorenz	OF	18	286
Megan Wiggins	OF	56	110
Rachel Lewis	OF	54	44

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Team McCleney (Purple)

Player	Position	AU Rank	Stat Points
Danielle O'Toole	P	5	266
Peyton St. George	P	47	70
Maggie Balint	P	39	4
Danielle Watson	P	58	-36
Erika Piancastelli	C	12	272
Sashel Palacios	C	40	112
Sam Fischer	CI	9	194
Nadie Taylor	CI	35	72
Aly Harrell	CI	45	24
Sis Bates	MI	48	104
Abby Ramirez	MI	22	100
Andrea Filler	MI	42	152
Haylie McCleney	OF	4	356
Shannon Rhodes	OF	11	420
N. Rangel-Mendes	OF	27	0

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Draft Results

Round One

• McCleney: Danielle O’Toole, P
• Denham: Rachel Garcia, P
• Chidester: Anissa Urtez,MI
• Mulipola: Taylor McQuillin, P

Round Two

• Mulipola: Hannah Flippen, MI
• Chidester: Mariah Mazon, P
• Denham: Amanda Lorenz, OF
• McCleney: Peyton St. George, P

Round Three

• McCleney: Erika Piancastelli, C
• Denham: Sahvanna Jaquish, C
• Chidester: Taylor Edwards, C
• Mulipola: Victoria Hayward, OF

Round Four

• Mulipola: Carrie Eberle, P
• Chidester: Bubba Nickles, OF
• Denham: Tori Vidales, CI
• McCleney: Sam Fischer, CI

Round Five

• McCleney: Shannon Rhodes, OF
• Denham: Aubrey Leach, MI
• Chidester: Kelsey Harshman, MI
• Mulipola: Sydney Romero, MI

Round Six

• Mulipola: Morgan Zerkle, OF
• Chidester: Haylie Wagner, P
• Denham: Caleigh Clifton, MI
• McCleney: Sis Bates, MI

Round Seven

• McCleney: Abby Ramirez, MI
• Denham: Gwen Svekis, C
• Chidester: Jazmyn Jackson, OF
• Mulipola: Shannon Saile, P

Round Eight

• Mulipola: Lilli Piper, CI
• Chidester: Sydney Littlejohn Watkins, P
• Denham: Megan Wiggins, OF
• McCleney: Andrea Filler, MI

Round Nine

• McCleney: Maggie Balint, P
• Denham: DJ Sanders, OF
• Chidester: Sydney Sherrill, CI
• Mulipola: Mia Davidson, C

Round 10

• Mulipola: Odicci Alexander, P
• Chidester: Sara Groenewegen, P
• Denham: Aleshia Ocasio, P
• McCleney: Nadia Taylor, CI

Round 11

• McCleney: Danielle Watson, P
• Denham: Janae Jefferson, MI
• Chidester: Hayley Busby, CI
• Mulipola: Aliyah Andrews, OF

Round 12

• Mulipola: Sierra Romero, MI
• Chidester: Kiki Stokes-O’Connor, OF
• Denham: Danielle Gibson, CI
• McCleney: Aly Harrell, CI

Round 13

• McCleney: Sashel Palacios, C
• Denham: Rachel Lewis, OF
• Chidester: Jordan Roberts, C
• Mulipola: Alysen Febrey, CI

Round 14

• Mulipola: Courtney Gano, CI
• Chidester: Rylee Bayless, MI
• Denham: Greta Cecchetti, P
• McCleney: Nicole Rangel-Mendes, OF

Week 5 Schedule and Broadcast Info

Friday

• Team Denham vs. Team Chidester, 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
• Team Mulipola vs. Team McCleney, 8 p.m ET, ESPN+

Saturday

• Team McCleney vs. Team Chidester, 1 p.m. ET, ESPNU
• Team Denham vs. Team Mulipola, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Sunday

• Team McCleney vs. Team Denham, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN+
• Team Chidester vs. Team Mulipola, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+