ASU softball alumni catcher Sashel Palacios and outfielder Morgan Howe both competed in the first season of Athletes Unlimited this summer.
Athletes Unlimited is a new softball league where 56 players are invited to partake in six weeks of softball action. The top four players in the league would draft new teams each week.
ASU softball coach Trisha Ford said that, from a fan's perspective, Athletes Unlimited was a welcome addition to professional softball, mainly because there was no college, professional or Olympic softball to be played this summer.
“I think it did a tremendous job of getting us watching the game again, because a lot of us have missed it,” Ford said. “For them to be able to get it on and get it televised was a tremendous job by everybody involved. I think it really displayed why our sport is so fantastic.”
The 2020 season was not only Athletes Unlimited’s first season, but it was also Howe’s first time playing in professional softball.
Although Athletes Unlimited has a different structure than other professional softball leagues, such as National Pro Fastpitch, Howe enjoyed the changes and said she would participate again if given a chance.
“This was such a fun experience and you don’t have to worry about coaches and someone else making those decisions for you,” Howe said. “It was cool to get to know 56 other athletes and learn their strengths, how they play, how they view the game, their instincts.”
Even though Howe, who hit three home runs and drove in 12 RBIs during the season, enjoyed the experience of not having coaches for the first time, she was quick to give credit to Ford and the entire ASU coaching staff for preparing her for the professional game.
“They 110% prepared me for the professional level," Howe said. "Them knowing me, seeing things in me that I didn’t know and trusting in it from the beginning that I would catch along. That’s how they helped prepare me.”
As for Palacios, she has more experience in the professional ranks than Howe. Every year since her freshman year at ASU in 2014, Palacios has played with the Mexican National Softball Team. She has also played in the NPF for the Chicago Bandits and the Cleveland Comets.
This summer, Palacios was gearing up to play in the 2020 Olympics. But due to the COVID-19, she found herself playing in Athletes Unlimited with and against some of her national teammates.
“I think that’s what truly was really unique was that I got to play with and against them (her national teammates),” Palacios said. “I got to play with some of the other national team members that I would’ve never been able to play with if it wasn’t for this opportunity. It was really a unique experience to pick their brains and get to know them on a deeper level.”
Palacios, who posted a .455 on-base percentage on the season, is hopeful that the league will have a more significant impact on future softball players looking to turn pro down the line.
“What we were able to accomplish at Athletes Unlimited was very monumental," Palacios said. "(Support of softball) is very big in the collegiate atmosphere and then it kinda drops off at the professional level."
Palacios hopes what she and all the players accomplished would "continue to grow" so that her sister, Sharlize, a redshirt freshman at UA, would capitalize on "more opportunities" created by the league.
Howe echoed Palacios’ statements but stated that a player’s drive to succeed is what will propel them to that professional level.
“You gotta love it. If you don’t love it then it’s not for you,” Howe said. “If you want it, if you love it, don’t give up on it.”
Reach the reporter at cfahrend@asu.edu and follow @chris_drop_ on Twitter.
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