TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Softball's Sydney Stewart was selected to the Portland Cascade of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) on Monday night during the 2026 AUSL Collegiate Draft.
 
Stewart was one of 17 collegiate athletes to receive a golden ticket this season by the AUSL to guarantee a spot on one of the league's six teams.
 
This is the second year of the AUSL and the league expanded to six teams – the Chicago Bandits, the Carolina Blaze, the Portland Cascade, the Utah Talons, the Oklahoma City Spark, and the Texas Volts – prior to the 2026 season.
 
Stewart, who was picked by the Cascade in the second round and was the ninth overall pick, will be wrapping up her collegiate career with over 45 home runs and over 140 RBI. During her career, she has maintained a .354 batting average and a .726 slugging percentage.
 
This season, Stewart has been unstoppable at the plate, batting .429 with a 1.034 slugging percentage, 51 hits, 76 RBI, and 20 home runs. Following the conclusion of the regular season, she earned the title of Big 12 Batting Champion after recording a .490 batting average during conference play. In Big 12 action, she led the conference in batting average, on base percentage (.655), slugging percentage (1.314), OPS (1.969), RBI (40), home runs (13), and walks (27).
 
Stewart garnered NFCA All-American second team and All-Big 12 first team accolades in 2025. She has earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors three times during her career and was named to the USA Softball Top 25 Player of the Year list last week.  
 
The AUSL regular season will begin June 9 with the six teams playing for the 2026 AUSL Championship.