New Professional Softball Team Coming to Texas

Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), a professional softball league in the United States, has selected Round Rock, Texas as the home city for its new team, the 'Texas Volts.'

The Volts will use Dell Diamond in Round Rock as their home stadium starting in the 2026 season. The venue currently serves as the home stadium for the minor league baseball team, the Round Rock Express.

Why Round Rock?

AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng stated, "Texas symbolizes softball excellence at all levels," adding that "the thousands of fans who came to watch AUSL games last summer proved that this market can support a regular franchise."

In fact, when AUSL held spring training games in Texas in 2025, the response from Round Rock fans exceeded the league's expectations. This enthusiastic local reception became the decisive factor in securing the franchise.

AUSL's Growth Trajectory

AUSL is a newly established professional softball league founded in 2024, currently operating six teams. In its inaugural season, teams played in a touring format without home stadiums, but the league showed rapid growth and successfully secured investment from Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2025.

Starting in the 2026 season, each team will transition to a format where they settle in specific cities and play games at fixed home stadiums. The Texas Volts was born as part of this transformation.

A New Chapter for Texas Sports Market

Texas is a region with a strong fan base across major professional sports leagues including football, basketball, and baseball. Now with the addition of professional softball as a new option, Texas sports fans have even more diverse viewing choices.

Round Rock is a city within the Austin metropolitan area, already familiar to baseball fans through Express games. The ability to utilize the proven stadium infrastructure of Dell Diamond is expected to work as an advantageous factor for the franchise's establishment.

Future Outlook [AI Analysis]

With AUSL securing a stable league operation foundation through MLB support, the Texas Volts' settlement in Round Rock is likely to become a key example of women's professional softball's local rooting strategy.

Particularly, given that Texas is a powerhouse region for high school and college softball, the presence of a professional team is expected to provide role models and career pathways for local youth players.

However, early season attendance figures are expected to determine the pace of future league expansion, and how quickly the Volts can build a local fan base will be an important variable.