The continued interest and elevation of professional softball added another huge endorsement Wednesday, as Rule42 Sports Group announced a major investment in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League and the acquisition of Softball America. The pair of moves plants the tech-backed firm on both the pro and amateur sides of the sport.
Rule42, owned by entrepreneur and technology veteran Renée James, will become one of the AUSL’s largest investors, with James joining the league’s Board of Directors. James previously served as president of Intel and founded semiconductor company Ampere, which sold to SoftBank in 2025. She now also heads Rule42 Sports Technology Group, a newly launched company built around updating how amateur athletes get discovered and evaluated.
“This is an amazing time for women’s softball. Fan interest is incredibly strong, and the opportunities for athletes at both the amateur and professional levels have never been better,” James said in a press release. “Rule42 sees the potential for even more growth, and we’re backing that belief with action. By investing in the AUSL and buying Softball America, we’re going all-in on softball.”
The investment lands on the heels of a second season that gave the league plenty to sell. The six-team AUSL, founded in 2025, posted a 152% jump in average ESPN viewership across 47 broadcast games, up from 18 in 2025, while logging 25 sellouts, including 11 of 12 home dates in Portland. Merchandise sales climbed 110% year over year. The surge pulled in new partners, including adidas and Labcorp, while returning sponsors Sephora and Rawlings stayed on.
The league is backed by Athletes Unlimited, Major League Baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers and owner Mark Attanasio, and Ryan Sanders Baseball.
“Having someone with Renée’s extensive business experience and background take a substantial equity stake in the AUSL reinforces the league’s value and enormous upside,” said Jon Patricof, CEO and co-founder of Athletes Unlimited. “Renée has built multi-billion-dollar, high-growth companies and has a deep passion for sports. We’re excited to have her join the team.”
On the amateur side, the acquisition brings the sport’s leading news and rankings outlet under the Rule42 banner. Softball America evaluates prospects across high school recruiting classes and the college game, and its top 150 for the 2028 class, released Aug. 18, is widely regarded as the definitive ranking at that level. Michaela Landers enters September as the No. 1 player in the country, followed by Kylie Holden and Sophia Schlader.
A big change for young players and their families, were the rankings being free for the first time. Speaking on the outlet’s podcast, Tara Henry, Rule42’s vice president of softball and general manager of Softball America, said Rule42 made the top 150 free for the first time this year, a move she tied directly to James.
“Our founder, Renée James, her goal is to make it free to the athletes and the players to make sure that it’s accessible to everyone,” Henry said.
Writer Brady Vernon said the backing also gives the team room to cover the sport at a scale it could not reach before.
“Basically, we’re going to have more tools to cover the sport and better aspects than we’ve ever done before,” Vernon said, pointing to the goal of building “the most accessible data for everyone, from fans even to the back end of understanding the metrics.”
He called the deal “another big piece of the momentum of where our sport is going,” adding that it was “really cool to see other people investing into the sport and wanting to invest into us, in our community.”
“Joining Rule42 is a significant milestone for the Softball America team and our entire community,” Henry said. “This investment from Rule42 is a powerful commitment to women’s sports and to the continued growth and development of softball at every level.
With Rule42’s backing, we can create more opportunities for athletes, expand pathways to discovery and success, and bring greater visibility to the sport while advancing the continued growth of the game at every level.”
