CLEMSON, S.C. – Four former Clemson softball players are set to play in the second season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) after Caroline Jacobsen (Talons) and McKenzie Clark (Blaze) were retained by their respective 2025 teams, while Maddie Moore and Valerie Cagle were drafted during the Allocation Draft. Through six years as a program, the Tigers have produced 11 professional softball players, including six within the Athletes Unlimited League. The four Tigers will be reunited with previous teammates, as Jacobsen and Moore make the Talons roster, while Clark and Cagle are both on the Blaze.
After a historical inaugural season, the AUSL expanded to include the Oklahoma City Spark and Cascade to bring the league to six clubs for the 2026 season. The Expansion Draft was the first of a two-draft process that will support competitive balance and is designed to allow the two new franchises to build the foundation of their roster by selecting from unprotected players affiliated with the existing AUSL teams. After the Expansion Draft, the AUSL held the Allocation Draft, which had all six teams selecting players that weren’t already on AUSL rosters.
Jacobsen, who was crowned a champion after the Talons won the inaugural AUSL Championship Title, was protected by the program for the 2026 season. Jacobsen finished her collegiate career at Clemson in 2023 and will enter her fourth season of professional softball after joining Athletes Unlimited prior to the Championship season (now known as the All-Star Cup) that year. She continued with the league in 2024 before being drafted to the Talons last year for the 2025 AUSL inaugural season and participated in the 2025 All-Star Cup. On her pro career, she maintains a .261 average, .443 slugging percentage and .326 on-base percentage. She has 46 career hits and 27 RBIs, that includes 28 hits and 17 RBIs during the 2025 AUSL season. She’s recorded 15 doubles, five home runs and one triple during her three-year stretch.
Clark, who was a three-time All-ACC selection for the Tigers during her tenure, was retained by the Blaze during the expansion draft. She will enter her third year of professional softball after joining AU in 2024 for the AUX and Championship seasons before being drafted by the Volts and later traded to the Blaze for the AUSL inaugural season and All-Star Cup. As a pro, Clark maintains a .225 average, .442 slugging percentage and .320 on-base percentage. She has scored 27 runs and tallied 29 hits, including seven home runs, three doubles and two triples with 21 RBIs.
Moore became the newest professional softball player for the Tigers after being drafted by the Talons in round four as the No. 21 pick during the Allocation Draft. A 2025 graduate, Moore joins the ranks of AUSL after a standout career at Clemson where she was a two-time NFCA All-American and two-time All-ACC First Team member. Moore helped the Tigers to their first ACC Tournament Championship and third Super Regional during her time in the Orange and Regalia while clocking 201 career hits that included 40 home runs, 36 doubles and five triples. She accumulated 161 RBIs and scored 171 runs during her tenure and holds the defensive record for most double plays turned.
Cagle rejoins the Athletes Unlimited landscape after being picked up in the Allocation Draft by the Blaze in round four as the No. 23 selection. She began her pro career after being the first overall pick in the 2024 AU Draft and has played for both the Onze Gezellen Softball Dames 1 (2025) and Florida Vibe (2025) during her career. A 2024 graduate, Cagle finished her collegiate career as a three-time NFCA First Team All-American and was the 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and Rawlings Gold Glove (pitcher) winner. Cagle still holds 20 career records for the Tigers, and in her lone AU Championship season with AU in 2024, Cagle held a 1-1 record in the circle with a 2.56 ERA through 13.2 innings of work.
The final rosters for each AUSL team will be set following the College Draft that will include at least two NCAA players for each roster in the spring.
